KUALA LUMPUR: Fares for the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) passenger service from Gombak to Kota Baru will start at RM125 one way for Economy class on Transit services, ahead of the targeted start of commercial operations on Dec 12.
Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL) chief executive officer Datuk Seri Darwis Abdul Razak said the government approved the proposed fare structure on Oct 16, based on a dynamic pricing mechanism.
"For the 523km Gombak-Kota Bharu route, Express fares start at RM147 one way, while Transit fares from Gombak to Kuala Terengganu and KotaSAS start at RM95 and RM60 respectively.
"Meanwhile, Express fares from Gombak to Kuala Terengganu and KotaSAS start at RM110 and RM68 respectively," he said at a press conference to announce the ECRL fares today.
He said the same starting fares would apply to journeys in the opposite direction.
The dynamic pricing mechanism allows ticket prices to vary according to factors such as travel time, demand and seat availability, giving passengers greater flexibility to plan their journeys according to their needs and budgets.
Transit services will stop at every scheduled station, while Express services will serve four main stations — Gombak, KotaSAS, Kuala Terengganu and Kota Baru.
The Express service from Gombak to Kota Baru is expected to take about four hours, compared with up to five hours on the Transit service, Darwis said.
The Express journey from Gombak to Kuala Terengganu will take two hours and 54 minutes, compared with three hours and 51 minutes on the Transit service.
For the Gombak-KotaSAS route, the Express journey is expected to take one hour and 27 minutes, while the Transit service will take two hours and five minutes.
In a move to make public transport more accessible, the cabinet has also approved a 50 per cent discount for children aged two to 12, Malaysian citizens aged 60 and above, holders of OKU (persons with disabilities) cards and government retirees.
Students aged 13 to 24 will receive a 40 per cent discount.
Official ECRL ticket sales are scheduled to begin in mid-November, while commercial passenger services on the Gombak-Kota Baru route are targeted to begin in mid-December.
Initially, 10 Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) train sets will operate at speeds of up to 160kph, connecting Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Selangor.
The ECRL will offer 12 services daily from Monday to Thursday, with six journeys in each direction. The frequency will increase to 16 services daily from Friday to Sunday, with eight journeys in each direction.
About 2.2 million seats are expected to be available throughout 2027.
Fares for other destinations will be announced on the ECRL website in mid-November.
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