HULU SELANGOR: Construction work on the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, and Selangor has reached an average of 65 per cent as of April, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
He said in Selangor, particularly, the project has progressed by more than 26 per cent up to last month, in line with the schedule for the preparation of the ECRL line from Gombak to Port Klang by December 2027, with operations set to commence in January 2028.
"Today, over 100 kilometres (km) of track has been laid. I was told that each day, over 1km of the railway track could be laid.
"The ECRL project is highly efficient. Each day there is progress… by the day not by month, so that's why the project is running very smoothly.
"For your information, the ECRL network in Selangor, which is nearly 120km, will have five stations, namely the Gombak, Kapar and Jalan Kastam Integrated Terminals for passengers only. The Bandar Serendah and Puncak Alam stations are connecting stations for passengers and cargo," he said at the launch of the ECRL Career Carnival here today.
He said the Serendah area here will become the main station to connect the Port Klang and East Coast routes, thus making the area an important logistics hub.
"The ECRL line which crosses Selangor can boost the tourism, hospitality and business sector in Batang Kali, which also has the potential to become a railway transport centre to drive the industry.
"This can be achieved with the construction of 'Pintasan Serendah' to Port Klang which includes standard gauge tracks for ECRL and meter gauge tracks for KTMB, thus strengthening the competitiveness of rail freight transport as well as the logistics sector and local cargo handling," he said.
He also explained that land acquisition for the construction of the train infrastructure on the East Coast has been completed while in Selangor, developers have been given another year to resolve the matter.
Commenting on the Career Carnival, Loke said it was part of the Mesra ECRL Programme, which includes an open interview for the East Coast Rail Link Industrial Skills Training Programme (PLKI-ECRL) to offer training and job opportunities to locals.
The PLKI-ECRL initiative is expected to train a total of 1,800 locals to participate in the construction phase of the project and 3,200 local trainees for the operation and maintenance phase in the future. -- BERNAMA