KTM East Coast railway line


The KTM East Coast railway line is a single-track metre gauge railway line in Malaysia that runs between in Negeri Sembilan and in Kelantan. Gemas is the rail junction between the KTM West Coast Line and East Coast Line. Like the West Coast Line, it is called the East Coast railway line because it serves two of Peninsular Malaysia's East Coast states, namely Pahang and Kelantan. However, it does not actually run along the coast at all and only meets the South China Sea when it terminates at . It runs through the interior of Peninsular Malaysia, often through deep jungle, thus earning the nickname Jungle Railway. Terengganu is the only state in Peninsular Malaysia not served by the KTM railway network.
The East Coast Rail Link is planned to have an interchange with the East Coast Line at and expand the railway network to the cities located in the East Coast, such as Kuantan and Kuala Terengganu.

History

The East Coast Line was briefly disrupted due to floods which struck the east coast states on 22 December 2014, causing extensive damage to the track infrastructure, signage equipment as well as track maintenance machinery which were submerged underwater. In August 2020, then Malaysian Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong said the government had allocated RM874.7m to upgrade track infrastructure and trains at the east coast sector and projected that the railway would resume services by 2021.
On 12 April 2021, KTMB launched its KTM Class 61 Diesel Multiple Unit trains for the East Coast Line route between Kelantan and Pahang. Wee Ka Siong said the DMU trains were being introduced specifically to replace KTM's conventional diesel trains for KTM Intercity's Shuttle Timuran service between and. He claimed the new DMU will reduce travel time as the average speed of the train is about 100kph, compared to the conventional trains that run between 50kph and 60kph. The DMU trains, covering 216km from Tumpat and and 94km from Gua Musang to Kuala Lipis, would be fully operational in stages. The Tumpat-Gua Musang-Kuala Lipis route represents the first phase of the upgrading process. The second phase will cover routes to, while the third phase will cover the Gua Musang- stretch along the Pahang route.

Timeline

Source:
  • 4 April 1910: Bahau - Gemas
  • 1 October 1910: Triang - Bahau
  • 1 August 1911: Mentakab - Triang
  • 1 March 1912: Kuala Krau - Mentakab
  • 16 November 1912: Kuala Teh - Kuala Krau
  • 15 May 1913: Tembing - Kuala Teh
  • 4 May 1914: Tumpat - Pasir Mas - Tanah Merah
  • 15 October 1917: Kuala Lipis - Tembing
  • 1 September 1920: Pasir Mas - Rantau Panjang
  • 16 March 1921: Padang Tengku - Kuala Lipis
  • 15 November 1923: Chegar Perah - Padang Tengku
  • 21 July 1924: Tanah Merah - Kuala Krai
  • 17 October 1927: Kuala Krai - Manek Urai
  • 5 December 1927: Merapoh - Chegar Perah
  • 14 July 1930: Manek Urai - Kuala Gris, Gua Musang - Merapoh
  • 5 September 1931: Kuala Gris - Gua Musang

Services

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