Umno MP wants Putrajaya to keep Harapan's ECRL southern alignment

Umno's Jelebu MP Jalaluddin Alias wants Putrajaya to maintain the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) alignment altered by the previous Pakatan Harapan government to travel the south side of greater Klang Valley, passing through Negeri Sembilan.

This is amid discussions in the Perikatan Nasional government to revert the alignment back to the one by the BN government where the ECRL would travel through the north side of Klang Valley, passing through Gombak and Serendah to Port Klang.

"We welcome the new ECRL alignment passing through Jelebu as it will develop the district and won't be left out compared to other districts. There is no reason why it should be reverted.

"We still want the ECRL project to pass through Jelebu as many residents here can't wait for the project," Jalaluddin (above) was quoted as saying by Berita Harian.

He said the proposal to revert to BN's alignment, which was reportedly proposed by Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong, was the MCA president's opinion.

Yesterday, business publication The Edge Malaysia reported that Putrajaya was discussing the possibility of reverting the ECRL alignment to the one first proposed by BN.

The report, quoting an official within Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd, which is the project owner, said the proposed reversion mainly involves Section C which is the portion in the Klang Valley connecting to Port Klang.

"The proposal has been discussed in a national council meeting chaired by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin recently," the source was quoted as saying.

Under the original alignment by BN, the ECRL would pass through Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang before entering Selangor through Gombak and making its way to Serendah and Port Klang.

The then Harapan government altered the alignment so that it wouldn't go through Bentong and Gombak as initially planned, thus avoiding the need for a costly 17.8km tunnel through the Klang Gates Quartz Ridge. 

Instead, from Mentakab, it would run south to Kuala Klawang in Negeri Sembilan before entering Selangor through Bangi/Kajang and then proceeding to Putrajaya Sentral and finally Port Klang.

Kuala Klawang is a town in the Jelebu district.

Then Harapan prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had argued that this would provide better integration with existing transportation lines.

"The new alignment will leverage the existing KLIA Express Rail Link (ERL), as well as the future MRT2 Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya line, with an interchange in Putrajaya Sentral.

"This will improve passenger connectivity to other parts of the peninsula's west coast, as well as provide a direct link to Kuala Lumpur International Airport," he had said.

The planned Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed rail is also expected to pass the Putrajaya/Bangi area.

Coupled with other changes including the reduction from 24 to 20 stations, the project cost was reduced from RM66.5 billion to RM44 billion.  - Mkini