KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 — The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) cargo service could replace about 79 lorries every trip, ease road congestion, and reduce the risk of crashes involving heavy vehicles, said Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Hasbi Habibollah.
He added that a 45-wagon ECRL cargo train can carry up to 3,150 tonnes in a single journey, far exceeding that of a lorry, which on average can carry only up to 40 tonnes.
“The ECRL is planned as a key freight transport infrastructure to connect the East Coast with the Klang Valley and Port Klang, in line with the Road-to-Rail Initiative.
“By shifting part of cargo movement from roads to rail, the ECRL service has the potential to reduce reliance on heavy vehicles on major highways, particularly routes linking the East Coast and the Klang Valley,” he said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Negara today.
Hasbi was responding to a question from Senator Norhasmimi Abdul Ghani about the extent to which the ECRL would reduce the number of heavy vehicles to improve highway safety.
However, Hasbi said the effectiveness of the modal shift would depend on several factors, including industry adoption rates, a competitive tariff structure, and the availability of first-and-last-mile connectivity.
On efforts to ensure the ECRL becomes the preferred transport option, Hasbi said the government is planning to develop various industrial hubs along the alignment, as well as a spur line providing direct access to Kuantan Port.
“Industrial hubs will certainly emerge along the alignment, including a vehicle manufacturing plant that has signed a memorandum of understanding to use this service. All these efforts are aimed at ensuring full use of the ECRL,” he said.
He added that a freight modal shift study estimates that 24.3 million tonnes of cargo a year could be transferred from road to rail by 2050.
“Based on an assumed load of 10 to 20 tonnes per lorry, this is indicative of a reduction of about 3,300 to 6,700 long-haul loaded lorry trips per day.
“These figures refer to a decrease in trips rather than the number of physical lorries, as lorries will still be required for first-and-last-mile deliveries,” he said.
