ECRL extension to Rantau Panjang gets RM200m for early works

The federal government has agreed to extend the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) from Kota Bharu to Rantau Panjang on the Thai border, Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Mohd Nassuruddin Daud told the state assembly on 1 November 2026. Two days later the Finance Ministry approved more than RM200 million for preliminary works on the extension. The final route, construction cost and timetable have not been announced.

The extension

• Agreement with China: on 24 September Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said Malaysia and China had agreed on the proposal. It will be discussed with stakeholders before it goes to the Cabinet, and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul had responded positively
• State assembly: the state's request "received a positive response" after the Prime Minister's announcement, Nassuruddin said, adding that almost every project Kelantan asked for had been approved
• First money: of the more than RM250 million the Finance Ministry approved on 3 November, more than RM200 million is for preliminary works. These cover the initial design, land surveys and soil investigation, an environmental impact assessment, the railway scheme and site preparation
• Route as described so far: about 14km from the Kota Bharu station at Bandar Baru Tunjong to Pasir Mas, then 18km to Rantau Panjang, 32km in all, MRL chief executive Datuk Seri Darwis Abdul Razak said in June 2025. This replaced an earlier route north to Pengkalan Kubor
• Cost estimate: around RM2 billion, Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Hasbi Habibollah told Parliament in November 2024
• Thai link: Rantau Panjang faces Sungai Golok in Thailand. Malaysia and Thailand agreed in 2025 to revive KTMB's Pasir Mas–Sungai Golok line, idle since flood damage in 2006. MRL hopes the ECRL can one day form part of a rail route north to Laos and Kunming

The main line opens in December

• Opening: commercial services between Gombak and Kota Bharu, 523km, are targeted for mid-December 2026. Express trains take about four hours
• Fares: from RM125 one way (Transit) or RM147 (Express) between Gombak and Kota Bharu, approved by the Cabinet on 16 October. Ticket sales start in mid-November
• Service: 12 trips a day from Monday to Thursday and 16 from Friday to Sunday, about 2.2 million seats in 2027
• The project: 665km from Kota Bharu to Port Klang, RM50.27 billion. MRL owns it; a 50:50 joint venture of MRL and China Communications Construction Company will operate it. MRL is counting on freight as well as passengers
• Bus terminal: RM30 million for a new terminal on five acres at Tunjong, next to the Kota Bharu ECRL station

Airport and dam

• Sultan Ismail Petra Airport, Pengkalan Chepa: a 400-metre runway extension is under way and due by December 2027. The work is done at night because about 42 flights land each day. Nassuruddin listed the airport's upgrade to international status among the approved projects
• Lebir Dam: announced in Budget 2027 on 9 October as a long-term answer to flooding. The state secretary said it should solve about 80% of Kelantan's flood problem once completed

What is not known

• Cabinet approval of the extension, its final alignment and the land it needs
• The construction cost and when work would start
• How trains would cross into Thailand