The revised East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) route will make rail travel from here to Kota Baru in Kelantan almost as long as car journeys, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said.
He also commented on China Communications Construction Company’s alleged role to manage, operate and maintain the ECRL in a joint-venture with Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd.
“The proposal for China entitities to be involved in ECRL’s management is inappropriate because this is the country’s internal transportation,” Najib said.
KUALA LUMPUR: The revised East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) route will make rail travel from here to Kota Baru in Kelantan almost as long as car journeys, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said.
The former prime minister said the omission of the Titiwangsa Range tunnel through Bentong in the updated ECRL plans will add another hour or two to the trip.
“In other words, if we travel by car [from KL to Kota Baru], it takes seven hours… so if the [ECRL trip duration] is almost close to the time it takes to travel by car, there is no advantage in using the ECRL,” Najib told the press.
He told reporters after the third day of his RM42 million SRC International Sdn Bhd corruption trial that his administration’s plan to reduce the travel time to four hours on ECRL was now dashed.
He also commented on China Communications Construction Company’s alleged role to manage, operate and maintain the ECRL in a joint-venture with Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd.
“The proposal for China entitities to be involved in ECRL’s management is inappropriate because this is the country’s internal transportation,” Najib said.
He asserted that Malaysians have the capabilities to manage the entire rail system, as they have been training professionals for this particular role before this.
He cited Prasarana Malaysia Bhd, which received a contract from the Saudi Arabia government to manage the metro system between Mina and Muzdalifah, among others.
An ECRL that involves foreign management could involve security issues where knowledge of the country’s internal details might be exposed to foreigners, he said.
Instead, foreigners can become main contractors, and also technical advisors, Najib suggested.
The Prime Minister’s Office on Friday announced that the construction cost for Phases 1 and 2 of the ECRL has now been now reduced to RM44 billion, a reduction of RM21.5 billion from its original cost of RM65.5 billion.
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