MARAN: The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project has achieved another milestone as all the tunnels from Kelantan to Mentakab, Pahang have been successfully excavated.
Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali, the Chief Secretary to the Government and Malaysia Rail Link (MRL) chairman, announced that the breakthrough of the Kampung Gedung Siam 3 tunnel indicates the completion of tunnelling works in Section A (Kota Baru-Dungun) and Section B (Dungun-Mentakab).
“I am pleased to announce that the 1,328m-long Kampung Gedung Siam 3 tunnel has been successfully broken through as planned using the drill-and-blast method.
“The tunnel, with an average height of 13.47m and a width of 13.02m, will facilitate the operation of two standard gauge railway tracks in the future,” said Mohd Zuki at the milestone event.
He explained that the tunnel was necessary to achieve a maximum gradient of 0.74% for the ECRL track and to prevent extensive deforestation in the area.
Work in progress: The interior of the 1.32km-long Kampung Gedung Siam 3 tunnel. — Bernama
“With the efforts and close cooperation of the ECRL team led by the Maran base camp, I understand that the infrastructure work for the Kampung Gedung Siam 3 tunnel is expected to be fully completed by April 2024,” he added.
Out of the 25 ECRL tunnels that have been tunnelled, Mohd Zuki stated that 21 were located in Sections A and B, demonstrating the capability of MRL and China Communications Construction Sdn Bhd’s (CCC-ECRL) in overcoming engineering challenges and utilizing modern tunnelling technology.
He expressed confidence that tunnelling works in Section C, from Mentakab to Port Klang, will also progress smoothly and according to schedule, following the success in Section B.
Regarding Section C, he mentioned that four out of the 19 tunnels, including the 793m-long Kampung Temiang 1 tunnel, achieved breakthroughs this year.
Mohd Zuki informed that the excavation of the 16.39km-long Genting twin tunnel using two tunnel boring machines from China is proceeding as scheduled, with breakthrough expected in the second quarter of 2025.
He further stated that the ECRL project is pleased with the completion of critical works involving the installation of 108m long-span bridges at five locations in Sections A and B. He also mentioned that the installation of ECRL tracks will begin in the fourth quarter of this year, starting with the 90km rail alignment from Gebeng to Dungun.
In addition to Mohd Zuki, the event was attended by Land Public Transport Agency director-general Datuk Azlan Shah Al Bakri, MRL chief executive officer Datuk Seri Darwis Abdul Razak, and CCC-ECRL managing director Kong Qi.
Credit: The Star : News Feed
