The Malaysian Transport Minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong has signed the full approval for the ECRL - East Coast Railway Link, Section C2 (ITT Gombak - Serendah - Puncak Alam - Port Klang), which was submitted by Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL), through the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD). The construction works with 2 Hard rock TBMs in Section C2, including the 16.39 km twin-bore Genting tunnel between Bentong and Gombak, will take 3 years.
The TBMs, manufactured by CCCC Tianhe Machinery and Equipment Manufacturing Co Ltd in Shanghai (China) were specially designed for use in hard rock conditions and are equipped with 4 torque cylinders. Each TBM head weighs 900 t with 25 m in length and 8.98m in diameter and - together with its back-support system - it weighs 1,600 t and measures 266 m in length.
The TBMs dismantled in 286 packages started their sea journey on the 25/06/2021 from the Port of Shanghai and arrived in Port Klang on the 04/07/21. Convoys of trucks and low loaders transported the TBMs from Northport to the construction site at Bentong (Pahang). The machines will start the Genting tunnel driving in March 2022.
The Genting Tunnel - which crosses the Titiwangsa Range - will be the first ECRL tunnel built by TBM as compared to the drill & blast method used on the project’s previous tunnels.
MRL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc.), is the project and asset owner of the ECRL, while China Communications Construction Company Ltd (CCCC) is the Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning (EPCC) contractor for ECRL Project.
The 665-km East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) is a new passenger and freight rail service that will traverse the East Coast states of Kelantan, Terengganu, and Pahang before linking the Klang Valley on the West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. At speeds of up to 160km/h the ECRL is set to reduce travel time from Kota Bharu to the Klang Valley area to approximately 4 hours as compared to an average of 7 hours by road. The ECRL route will run in three sections, namely Section A (Kota Bharu - Dungun), Section B (Dungun - Mentakab) and Section C (Temerloh - ITT Gombak - Serendah - JalanKastam/Port Klang).
The construction - started in 2017 - has resumed since May 2019. Work on the tunnel project is expected to take three years. the construction of the ECRL will be completed on schedule by December 2026.
For further information click here, visit https://www.mot.gov.my/en/media/social-media and visit https://www.mrl.com.my/en/. 02/22.
