The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) Project, a railway link infrastructure project in Malaysia, has achieved the completion of the 959m long Gombak Tunnel, one month earlier than planned.
This milestone marks the 36th tunnel breakthrough for the project located.
The ECRL Project is owned by Malaysia Rail Link (MRL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Malaysian Minister of Finance. China Communications Construction (ECRL) is the project’s engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning (EPCC) contractor.
According to the parties, the final blast in the Gombak Tunnel cleared the remaining 38m of rock, utilising the drill-and-blast method of excavation.
Nearly 5.8 million work hours were logged to achieve this breakthrough, with permanent lining work progressing to 892m. The tunnel’s design will accommodate two standard gauge railway tracks upon completion.
The Gombak Tunnel’s excavation work began in June 2023, with the breakthrough originally scheduled for Q4 2024.
All the associated civil works for the tunnel are expected to conclude by March 2025. The tunnel will support the ECRL railway track’s gradient requirements of 0.9%, allowing for minimal forest clearance in the Batu 11 Gombak area.
The ECRL Project includes the construction of 41 tunnels spanning a combined length of approximately 69km along its rail alignment. Of these, 21 tunnels are located in Section A (Kota Bharu-Dungun) and Section B (Dungun-Mentakab), while the other 20 tunnels are part of Section C (Mentakab-Port Klang).
Within Section C, nine tunnels are situated in Selangor, including the 3.5km Serendah 1 Tunnel and the 9.85km Serendah 2 Tunnel. Serendah 1 and Serendah 2 are both currently under excavation.
The ECRL Project recorded its first tunnel breakthrough at the 1.1km Paka Tunnel in Terengganu, completed six months ahead of schedule in April 2021. In Selangor, the first tunnel breakthrough was achieved at the 469m Sungai Buaya 2 Tunnel in May this year.
MRL CEO Dato’ Sri Darwis Abdul Razak said: “The ECRL Gombak Tunnel breakthrough marks another milestone in the project’s progress as it is an integral component for the completion of the ECRL alignment from Kota Bharu, Kelantan to the Gombak Integrated Terminal, Selangor by December 2026.
“We are optimistic to commence ECRL operations from January 2027 onwards to align with the aspirations of the people and the business communities by providing seamless transportation for passengers and freight respectively.”
Stretching 665km, the ECRL will link the East Coast states of Kelantan, Terengganu, and Pahang to Selangor on the West Coast. The project aims to reduce travel time between Kota Bharu and the Gombak Integrated Terminal to approximately four hours.
