Final breakthrough for the 2.8 km long Kuantan East Coast Rail Link ECRL tunnel occurred on the 17/10/2022, two months ahead of schedule. Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL) is the owner of the ECRL project, and China Communications Construction Co (CCCC) is the main contractor of the mega project.
The final blast in the Kuantan tunnel punched through the last barrier about 1,700 m from the tunnel's entrance portal. The tunnel traversed two east coast states: 976 m of the tunnel's length is in Pahang and 1,890 m is in Terengganu. The tunnel's entrance portal at Kg Alor Batu Jabor and exit portal at Bukit Galing Forest Reserve are both under the Kuantan district in Pahang.
The single-bore Kuantan tunnel was excavated using the drill-and-blast method and is the longest of the 12 ECRL tunnels to have broken through. Three other ECRL tunnels are currently undergoing excavation & are expected to breakthrough by the end of 2022.
The Kuantan tunnel will accommodate two standard gauge railway tracks. The construction of Kuantan Tunnel will enable the ECRL railway track to comply with its maximum gradient of 0.9 percent.
ECRL’s Ground-Breaking TBM was launched on the 23/06/2022 and it is the first TBM to start excavation works for the 16.39km Genting tunnel.
The machine was launched from the Bukit Tinggi portal. The TBM1 - with an average excavation capacity of 400m - 600m per month - is expected to take approximately 2.5 - 3 years to excavate the first tube of the tunnel. The second machine, TBM2, is expected to be fully reassembled and tested before year-end.
Costing RM 50.27 billion, the 665km-long ECRL connecting Kota Bharu, Kelantan and Port Klang, Selangor, spans four sections namely Section A from Kota Bharu to Dungun; Section B of Dungun to Mentakab; and Section C from Mentakab to Port Klang. The alignment includes 128km of an elevated portion, as well as numerous tunnels in Terengganu, Kuantan and Pahang.
The ECRL project, scheduled for completion in December 2026, will link Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang with the Klang Valley, and is projected to derive 70% of its revenue from freight services, and the remainder from passenger services and is expected to be operational in January 2027.
Click here for the tunnelbuilder archive information and visit https://www.mrl.com.my/en/ecrl/, https://www.mot.gov.my/en and http://en.ccccltd.cn/. 42/22.
