The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) is not “gila” (crazy) enough to charge passengers fare prices up to six times more than a flight ticket to the same destination, said former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.
He was responding to Terengganu PKR chief Azan Ismail, who had raised concerns about exorbitant fare prices for the ECRL due to the high construction costs, which are expected to climb further due to the weakening ringgit.
“Who did the calculations for him? Whose formula are you using? Claiming that the ECRL fare prices will be six times higher than flight tickets?
“Would ECRL be that crazy? (Peninsular) Malaysia’s entire east coast will be angry if the fare prices are that high.
“No, the government and ECRL are not crazy,” Najib said in a Facebook posting today.
Though the construction cost may be expensive, he said the tickets will be a reasonable price as the ECRL does not rely on the passengers’ ticket fares as their only source of revenue.
The main bulk of ECRL’s revenue source and traffic will be from transporting cargo, which is a two-way freight from the Kuantan port to Port Klang, he explained.
Another revenue source for ECRL would be transport-oriented development projects along the ECRL railway, he added.
Earlier today, Azan said he welcomed the prospect of ECRL providing improved travel for those on the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, but urged the government to ensure ticket prices remain reasonable.
Najib took a jab at Harapan, saying they finally admit the ECRL project is good and can resolve the issue of traffic jams during big celebrations in the country.
He then blamed the delay in the ECRL project on Pakatan Harapan’s attempt to lower the construction costs by reducing the number of stations and length of the rail link.
This caused the launching date of the ECRL’s operations to be pushed back from 2024 as planned by the former BN government under Najib’s administration to December 2026, he said.
“Because Harapan made a lot of noise when they were in power and the project was stopped, postponed and delayed, ECRL will not be able to start operating in 2024 as planned by the former BN government.
“It has been delayed to December 2026 instead, which means the rakyat will have to endure traffic jams every time there is a big festival for an extra two years.
“The country and the east coast’s economic development will also be affected for two years.
“Well done, Harapan,” he said sarcastically. - Mkini
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