First phase of track installation for ECRL in Malaysia completed ahead of schedule

KUALA LUMPUR, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Track installation for the first phase of East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), a mega rail project in Malaysia being built by the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), has been accomplished ahead of schedule, the project owner has said.

Spanning from Kuantan Port City (KPC) in Pahang state to Dungun in Terengganu state, covering a distance of 92 km, the first phase of track installation was accomplished one month ahead of its schedule, said Malaysia Rail Link Chief Executive Officer Darwis Abdul Razak on Tuesday, attributing the achievement to the innovative CCPG-500A track laying machine.

"On average, we managed to lay 1.5 km to 2.0 km of tracks per day, completing the KPC to Dungun stretch by the end of February," he said.

He added that the ECRL track installation work has now entered its second phase since March 9, covering a mainline stretch of about 90 km from KPC to Maran in Pahang state.

A major infrastructure project under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the ECRL runs from Malaysia's largest transport hub Port Klang and travels across the peninsula to Kelantan state in northeastern Malaysia.