21st October 2026 - 5 min read
The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) will charge from RM125 for a one-way ticket between Gombak and Kota Bharu. Tickets go on sale in mid-November, and the line opens in December.
Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL), which owns the ECRL, announced the fares at a press conference on 19 October, Bernama reported. The Cabinet approved the fares on 16 October, but the trains aren’t running yet. Passenger services are set to start on 12 December 2026, as long as the line passes its final safety checks and gets approval from regulators.
If you drive or take the bus to the east coast for the holidays, the train will be the faster way to get there. MRL says the express train from Gombak to Kota Bharu takes about four hours, compared with about seven hours by road. There are also discounts for children, students, and senior citizens.
There are two types of train. Transit trains stop at every station on the line. Express trains stop only at the four main stations, which are Gombak, KotaSAS (near Kuantan), Kuala Terengganu, and Kota Bharu.
Express trains are faster and cost a little more. From Gombak to Kota Bharu, the transit train takes up to five hours, about an hour longer than the express. These are the lowest economy-class fares for one adult, one way:
| Route | Transit (From) | Express (From) |
| Gombak To KotaSAS | RM60 | RM68 |
| Gombak To Kuala Terengganu | RM95 | RM110 |
| Gombak To Kota Bharu | RM125 | RM147 |
The same starting fares apply in the other direction, so Kota Bharu to Gombak also starts at RM125. The ECRL will also offer premium economy and business class seats. Fares for the smaller stations along the line are expected to be published when ticket sales open.
The ECRL uses dynamic pricing, so ticket prices change from trip to trip. They depend on what time the train leaves, how many people want to travel, and how many seats are left. RM125 is the lowest you’ll pay for a transit ticket from Gombak to Kota Bharu.
At the same press conference, MRL chief executive officer Darwis Abdul Razak said a mid-range transit ticket between Gombak and Kota Bharu costs RM156. That’s RM31 more than the starting fare. He also said there are limits in place to stop prices from rising too much.
The Cabinet approved a 50% discount for four groups. They are children aged 2 to 12, Malaysians aged 60 and above, persons with disabilities who hold a valid OKU card, and government pensioners. Students aged 13 to 24 get 40% off. MRL hasn’t said yet whether children under two travel free or pay a fare. Look for it in the fare details on Malaysia Rail Link’s website when ticket sales open in mid-November.
Based on the RM125 transit fare from Gombak to Kota Bharu, a child or a senior citizen would pay RM62.50. A student would pay RM75.
To see how the ECRL compares with driving, we worked out the cost of driving one way from Gombak to Kuala Terengganu. We picked this route because the highway goes almost all the way there, so the tolls are easy to work out.
The drive is 418km on the Kuala Lumpur-Karak Expressway and the East Coast Expressway, and takes about four hours, when the roads are clear. During festive seasons and school holidays, heavy traffic on both highways can make the drive much longer. Tolls for a car come to RM48.74. That’s RM9.50 at the Gombak and Bentong toll plazas, plus RM39.24 from Karak to Kuala Terengganu. We assumed a car that uses 6 litres of petrol per 100km, so the trip needs 25 litres. At the BUDI95 price of RM1.99 a litre, the petrol costs RM49.91. Altogether, the drive costs RM98.65 one way.
If you travel alone, the transit train at RM95 costs RM3.65 less than driving. The express train at RM110 costs RM11.35 more. For a family of two adults and two children aged two to 12, the car costs less. Even with the child discount, the family pays RM285 for the transit train or RM330 for the express train. The car costs RM98.65 for all four of them.
These are the one-way costs from Gombak to Kuala Terengganu side by side, using the starting train fares and our driving costs:
| Way To Travel | One Adult, One Way | Family Of Four, One Way |
| Driving (Tolls And Petrol) | RM98.65 | RM98.65 |
| Transit Train | RM95 | RM285 |
| Express Train | RM110 | RM330 |
The train fares don’t include getting to Gombak station. If you drive there and leave your car, parking adds to the cost. MRL hasn’t announced parking rates for the ECRL station yet. The Gombak station car park charges up to RM15 a day if you don’t take the LRT. For one adult on a three-day return trip, the transit train plus parking comes to as much as RM235, against RM197.30 to drive both ways.
Eventhough it costs more, the express train saves you time. MRL expects it to take about three hours from Gombak to Kuala Terengganu, an hour less than the drive. MRL hasn’t published the transit train’s time to Kuala Terengganu yet. The transit train stops at every station, so expect it to take longer than the express.
Tickets Go On Sale In Mid-November
Trains will run 12 times a day from Monday to Thursday, with six in each direction. From Friday to Sunday, there will be 16 trains a day, with eight in each direction.
Official ticket sales are expected to open in mid-November, with train times and ticket details to be shared through Malaysia Rail Link’s website. When sales open, check the fare for your date and time before you compare it with driving. The price you see may be higher than the starting fares in this article.
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As a creative content writer, Eloise has covered finance, business, lifestyle topics, and even moonlights as a singer-songwriter outside of RinggitPlus. Her current interests are learning the best ways to optimise spending and credit card hacks to gain more airline miles.
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