These are the third changes to the East Coast Rail Link that was one of the showpiece infrastructure projects under
The double-track, 688-kilometer railway line carried a price tag of
His successor,
When he came to power, he forced
Mahathir's government, however, collapsed in
The line stretches from
Wee said it "will serve as a 'land bridge' from Kuantan Port to two terminals at Port Klang, namely Northport and Westport."
A major difference is the new line omits the route to Port Klang via southern
Instead, it will follow part of the original route proposed during Najib's administration but was scrapped by Mahathir's government -- that is, it will go through Bentong town in Pahang state, Gombak and Serendah towns before ending in Port Klang. The latter three are in
The new alignment, Wee told reporters, "offers value for money as it will extend rail connectivity to existing cargo hubs as well as increase the capacity in the transfer of cargo via the rail network."
The government believes the East Coast Rail Link is viable and targets a revenue ratio of 70 percent from freight and 30 percent from passengers.
Wee cited rail industry research forecast that it may transport some 26.12 million tons of freight in its first year of operation, higher than the 9 million tons expected if the old route via
The new alignment also is said to be able to attract 5.03 million passengers. Traveling time to
Wee said despite the realignment, the project is still on-target to be completed within seven years, with operations to commence in 2027. Currently, the construction of the project is 21.39 percent completed, concentrating on the northeastern coast section.
==Kyodo
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