By rosebell
Following two breakthroughs in Selangor last week, the excavation process of 38 of the projects 41 tunnels was completed by Malaysia’s East Coast Rail Link (ECRL).
On April 7 the breakthrough of the 3.5km Serendah 1 Tunnel that was two months ahead of schedule, completed digging of the 38th tunnel.
Additionally, breakthrough was achieved on the 189m-long Rawang-Bestari Jaya Tunnel on 14 April.
The last barrier 2,046m from the tunnel’s exit portal was the place that final blast of the Serendah 1 Tunnel punched through and it was the culmination of almost 894,920 man hours of work excavating through primarily weathered granite, whereas prior to the breakthrough the permanent lining had been completed on 2.5km of the tunnel.
Providing space for two standard gauge railway tracks, this tunnel has an average height of 12m and width of 13m.
November 2022 was the date of commencing excavation works of the Serendah 1 Tunnel and were originally scheduled to break through on May 31 this year. All related civil works for the tunnel are expected to be completed by January 2026.
The construction of the Serendah 1 Tunnel will enable the ECRL railway track to comply with its maximum gradient of 0.9 per cent, as well as to minimise impact to water catchment areas, such as Batu Dam, and reduce open forest cutting at the Sungai Tua Recreational Forest.
The twin bores of the 16.39km Genting Tunnel as well as the 9.85km Serendah 2 Tunnel, are the three remaining tunnels under excavation.
The estimated date for break through of the two TBMs building the twin-bore Genting Tunnel is middle of this year. The Serendah 2 Tunnel, which is being excavated by drill and blast, is targeted to break through in the third quarter.
According to Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Dato’ Sri Darwis Abdul Razak: “The smooth excavation works at Serendah 1 Tunnel and Rawang-Bestari Jaya Tunnel were the result of the outstanding effort and commitment of the ECRL Project team at Section 8 and Section 9 respectively, as well as adoption of advanced tunneling techniques and safe construction practices.We achieved a major milestone with the smooth excavation of the 3.5km-long Serendah 1 Tunnel, which is central to the ECRL alignment linking Gombak to Port Klang in Selangor. Some 512,582m3 of soil and rock were safely removed with minimal ground movement and minor inconvenience to road users throughout the excavation period using the drill-and-blast method.”
He also added: “The Rawang-Bestari Jaya Tunnel was excavated by the benching method to enable a bypass for the ECRL alignment instead of having to cut through a main road along Jalan Rawang- Bestari Jaya. Extensive progress had been achieved in rail tunnel design and construction, adding that the project’s alignment required cutting through hilly terrain and dense forests to connect the East Coast with the Klang Valley.”
Being stretched from Kota Bharu, Kelantan to the Gombak Integrated Terminal, Selangor, Phase 1 of the ECRL Project’s construction is scheduled for completion by December 2026, with operations set for January 2027 onwards, while December 2027 is the determined date for completing construction of Phase 2, that links Gombak with Port Klang, and will be fully operational by January 2028.
While the engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning contractor is up to China Communications Construction Company Ltd, MRL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Minister of Finance, is the project owner of the ECRL .The 665km ECRL is due to traverse the East Coast states of Kelantan, Terengganu, and Pahang before linking with Selangor on the West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia.
Considering that the ECRL electric multiple unit train will travel at a maximum speed of 160km/h, this new line is going to provide journey times between Kota Bharu and the Gombak Integrated Terminal of four hours, compared to seven hours by road or more than 12 hours during festive season.
