The East Coast railway line (ECRL) is a single-track metre gauge railway line in Malaysia that runs between the Gemas railway station in Negeri Sembilan and the Tumpat railway station in Kelantan. Gemas is the rail junction between the West Coast line and East Coast railway line. Like the West Coast railway line, it is called the East Coast railway line (Malaysia) because it serves two of Peninsular Malaysia's East Coast states, namely Pahang and Kelantan. In fact, it does not run along the coast at all and only meets the South China Sea when it terminates in Tumpat railway station. It runs through the interior, often through deep jungle, thus earning the nickname Jungle Railway. Terengganu is the only state in Peninsular Malaysia not served by the KTM railway network.[1]
The junction between the West Coast (left) and East Coast (right) lines north of Gemas. Most of the stretch of the West Coast line has been double tracked and electrified to make way for the ETS, a new higher-speed intercity service introduced by KTMB in 2010.
The East Coast rail line was discontinued due to floods which struck the east coast on 22 December 2014, causing extensive damage to the track infrastructure, signage equipment as well as track maintenance machinery which was submerged in water. In August 2020, Malaysian transport minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said the government had allocated RM874.7m to upgrade track infrastructure and trains at the east coast sector and the railway should resume service by 2021.[3]
On 12 April 2021, KTMB launched its KTM Class 61 Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) trains for the east coast route between Kelantan and Pahang. Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said the DMU trains were being introduced specifically to replace KTM’s conventional diesel trains for the KTM Intercity East Coast rail link between Tumpat and Kuala Lipis. He claimed the new DMU will reduce travel time as the average speed of the train is about 100kph, compared to the conventional trains that run between 50kph and 60kph. The DMU trains, covering 216km from Tumpat and Gua Musang and 94km from Gua Musang to Kuala Lipis, would be fully operational in stages. The Tumpat-Gua Musang-Kuala Lipis route represents the first phase of the upgrading process. The second phase will cover routes to Gemas, Negeri Sembilan, while the third phase will cover the Gua Musang-Mentakab stretch along the Pahang route.[4]
KTM Intercity
