KTM East Coast railway line

This article is about the metre gauge railway line. For the future standard gauge railway line, see MRL East Coast Rail Link.

The East Coast railway line (ECRL) is a single-track metre gauge railway line in Malaysia that runs between the Gemas railway station in Negeri Sembilan and the Tumpat railway station in Kelantan. Gemas is the rail junction between the West Coast line and East Coast railway line. Like the West Coast railway line, it is called the East Coast railway line (Malaysia) because it serves two of Peninsular Malaysia's East Coast states, namely Pahang and Kelantan. In fact, it does not run along the coast at all and only meets the South China Sea when it terminates in Tumpat railway station. It runs through the interior, 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.^[1]

East Coast Line
KTM East Coast Line at Gua Musang station.
Overview
Other name(s)	Jungle Railway
Native name	Talian Pantai Timur (Malay) மலாயா கிழக்கு கடற்கரை தொடருந்த வழித்தடம் (Tamil) 东海岸铁路线 (Simplified Chinese) 東海岸鐵路線 (Traditional Chinese)
Status	Operational
Owner	Keretapi Tanah Melayu
Locale	Peninsular Malaysia
Termini	Tumpat Gemas
Continues as	West Coast Line
Stations	67
Service
Type	Inter-city rail Freight rail
Services	KTM Intercity KTM Kargo
Operator(s)	Keretapi Tanah Melayu
Depot(s)	Tumpat Kuala Krai Gua Musang Kuala Lipis
Technical
Number of tracks	1
Character	Scenic route
Track gauge	1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge
Route map Legend Tumpat Depot Tumpat Kampung Kok Pasir Palekbang Wakaf Bharu Bunut Susu Kampung Machang Thailand Railway Thailand Malaysia border Rantau Panjang Gual Periok Repek Pasir Mas Pasir Mas Junction Chica Tinggi To'Uban Sungai Keladi Bukit Panau Tanah Merah Kampung Paloh Rawa Guillemard Bridge Temangan Sungai Nal Kuala Krai Depot Kuala Krai Pahi Manek Urai Kampung Baru Sungai Mengkuang Ulu Temiang Ulak Jeram Kampung Baru Bukit Abu Bukit Abu Kuala Gris Dabong Kemubu Sri Jaya Sri Mahligai Sri Bintang Sungai Tasin Jerek Baru Bertam Bertam Baru Limau Kasturi Sungai Sirian Kampung Sungai Sirian Sungai Koyan Pan Malayan Gua Musang Depot Gua Musang Lapan Tupai Mentara Baru Kelantan Pahang border Merapoh Telok Gunong Kubang Rasa Sungai Temau Chegar Perah Aur Gading Dura Kampung Berkam Bukit Betong Telang Padang Tengku Kuala Lipis Depot Kuala Lipis Kerambit Mela Jerantut Yard Jerantut Jenderak Kuala Krau Kerdau Semantan River Bridge Mentakab Yard Mentakab  ECR  Sungai Belengu Belengu Mengkarak Triang Kemayan Pahang Negeri Sembilan border Sungai Lui Ayer Hitam Kuala Pilah (closed 1931) Bahau Junction Bahau Jongkat Rompin Londah West Coast Line Gemas Junction Gemas  ETS

The East Coast Rail Link is planned to have an interchange with the ECRL at Mentakab and expand the railway network to the cities located in the East Coast, such as Kuantan and Kuala Terengganu.^[2]

History

The junction between the West Coast (left) and East Coast (right) lines north of Gemas. Most of the stretch of the West Coast line has been double tracked and electrified to make way for the ETS, a new higher-speed intercity service introduced by KTMB in 2010.

The East Coast rail line was discontinued due to floods which struck the east coast on 22 December 2014, causing extensive damage to the track infrastructure, signage equipment as well as track maintenance machinery which was submerged in water. In August 2020, Malaysian transport minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said the government had allocated RM874.7m to upgrade track infrastructure and trains at the east coast sector and the railway should resume service by 2021.^[3]

On 12 April 2021, KTMB launched its KTM Class 61 Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) trains for the east coast route between Kelantan and Pahang. Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said the DMU trains were being introduced specifically to replace KTM's conventional diesel trains for the KTM Intercity East Coast rail link between Tumpat and Kuala Lipis. 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 Gua Musang 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 Gemas, Negeri Sembilan, while the third phase will cover the Gua Musang-Mentakab stretch along the Pahang route.^[4]

Services

The East Coast railway line is served by a following:^[5]

• KTM Intercity
  • Ekspres Rakyat Timuran between Tumpat and JB Sentral.
    • The route between Gemas and JB Sentral is part of the West Coast Line while the route between Gemas and Tumpat is on the East Coast Line)
  • Shuttle Timur (stops at all stations and halts)
    • Between Tumpat and Dabong
    • Between Tumpat and Gua Musang
    • Between Tumpat and Kuala Lipis
    • Between Gua Musang and Kuala Lipis
    • Between Kuala Lipis and Gemas

Line network

Tumpat station, the northern terminus of the East Coast line

Gemas station, the southern terminus of the East Coast line

Main line

Station names[6]	Serving cities	Major landmarks	Comments
Tumpat	Tumpat, Kelantan
Kampung Berangan			Not in service
Kampung Kok Pasir			Halt
Palekbang			Halt
Wakaf Bharu	Kota Bharu, Kelantan		The nearest railway station to Kelantan state capital, Kota Bharu
Bunut Susu			Halt
Kampung Machang			Halt
Pasir Mas	Pasir Mas, Kelantan		Interchange to Rantau Panjang Branch Line
Chica Tinggi			Halt
To' Uban			Halt
Sungai Keladi			Halt
Bukit Panau			Halt
			Halt, Not in service
Tanah Merah	Tanah Merah, Kelantan
Sungai Kusial			Not in service
Kampung Paloh Rawa			Halt
Temangan		Guillemard Bridge
Tanjung Bidal			Halt, Not in service
Kampung Bidal			Halt, Not in service
Sungai Nal			Halt
Kuala Krai	Kuala Krai, Kelantan
Pahi			Halt
Manek Urai
Sungei Mengkuang			Halt
Kampung Baru Sungei Mengkuang			Halt
Ulu Temiang			Halt
Kampung Baru Bukit Abu			Halt
Bukit Abu
Kuala Gris			Halt
Dabong	Dabong, Kelantan
Kemubu
Sri Jaya			Halt
Sri Mahligai			Halt
Sri Bintang			Halt
Sungai Tasin			Halt
Jerek Baru			Halt
Bertam			Halt
Bertam Baru
Limau Kasturi
Sungai Sirian			Halt
Kampung Sungai Sirian			Halt
Sungai Koyan			Halt
Pan Malayan			Halt
Chegar Bongor			Not in service
Sungai Kemudu			Not in service
Kuala Neroh			Not in service
Gua Musang	Gua Musang, Kelantan
Chin Teck (振德)			Not in service
Lepan Tupai (Lapan Tupai)			Halt
Mentara			Halt, Not in service
Mentara Baru			Halt
Merapoh
Merapoh Baharu			Not in service
Telok Gunong			Halt
Kubang Rasa			Halt
Sungai Yu			Not in service
Sungai Temau
Chegar Perah
Paya Keladi			Not in service
Aur Gading			Halt
Dura			Halt
Kampung Berkam			Halt
Bukit Betong		Bukit Betong	Halt
Kampung Berhala			Halt, Not in service
Telang		Telang	Halt
Padang Tengku
Kuala Ketir			Halt, Not in service
Kuala Lipis	Kuala Lipis, Pahang
Kuala Lanar			Not in service
Tanjung Sekawin			Halt, Not in service
Sibar			Halt, Not in service
Batu Sembilan			Halt
Kuala Lentang			Not in service
Kerambit
Sungai Lik			Halt, Not in service
Limau Purut			Not in service
Mela			Halt
Kampung Sepial			Not in service
Tembeling			Not in service
Padang Piol			Not in service
Paya Teh			Not in service
Teh			Halt, Not in service
Jerantut	Jerantut, Temerloh, Pahang
Jeransong			Not in service
Jendarak			Halt
Mai			Halt, Not in service
Kuala Krau
Sungai Dalam			Not in service
Tekal			Halt, Not in service
Kerdau			Halt
Mentakab	Mentakab, Pahang
Sungai Belengu			Not in service
Mengkarak
Mentri			Not in service
Triang	Triang, Pahang
Mengkuang			Halt
Kemayan
Ayer Hitam			Not in service
Bahau	Bahau, Negeri Sembilan
Rompin			Not in service
Londah			Not in service
Gemas	Gemas, Negeri Sembilan		Interchange with West Coast Line
(Continue to West Coast Line)

Rantau Panjang branch line

Station names	Serving cities	Major landmarks	Comments
Pasir Mas	Pasir Mas, Kelantan		Interchange to Rantau Panjang branch line
Repek			Not in service
Lubok Batil			Not in service
Gual Periok			Not in service
Gual Sitok			Not in service
Rantau Panjang	Rantau Panjang, Kelantan		Not in service
(Continue to Southern Line)

See also

• KTM West Coast railway line

References

1. "The Jungle Railway". Malaysia Traveller.
2. "East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) Project, Malaysia". Railway Technology.
3. Tarrence Tan; Martin Carvalho; Hemananthani Sivanandam; Rahimy Rahim (11 August 2020). "Gemas-Tumpat rail line expected to be repaired and completed by mid-2021, says Dr Wee". The Star (Malaysia).
4. "Faster, smoother rail travel". The Star (Malaysia). 12 April 2021.
5. KTM Intercity
6. Peta Rangkaian Sistem KTM 1991

Further reading

• Raw, Oliver (24 November 2022). "A long-awaited journey on Malaysia's 'jungle' railway". The National (Abu Dhabi). Retrieved 30 November 2022.
• Sutton, David (3 February 2020). "A train journey through the jungle into Malaysia's colonial past". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 30 November 2022.

External links

• Jungle Railway in Malaysia – The best train times and most scenic sections