The suspension was then lifted a few months later after the signing of a supplementary agreement between MRL and CCCC in April 2019 on the revised construction cost and realignment of the southern route of the rail link.

[7][8][9] ECRL is realized by a semi-automatic Chinese technology that lays 1.5 km of tracks a day with an accuracy of 10 millimeters also thanks to GPS satellites.

[11][12] Meanwhile, for international freight service from China to Europe via Malaysia, the original alignment of ECRL is expected to help reduce the shipping time by as much as 30 hours.

[21] On 9 August 2017, then Prime Minister Najib Razak presided at the groundbreaking ceremony in Pahang state, marking the beginning of construction.

He said "The construction of this rail link is in line with the government's initiative for efficient national infrastructure as well as connecting towns and upgrading public transport in the rural areas of the east coast.

[24] After the fall of Pakatan Harapan government due to the Sheraton move, the new Perikatan Nasional is planning to revert the ECRL route back to its original alignment.

The new rail link is projected to connect passengers from Kota Bharu in Kelantan to ITT Gombak in Selangor in less than four hours.

The ECRL will continue north into Kelantan, serving stations at Tok Bali and Jelawat, before ending at Kota Bharu.

The tunnelling works will be carried out along the Gombak-Bentong area where the single-longest twin hill-tunnel spanning 18 km will be built under the Titiwangsa Mountains.

There will also be several underground lines, including in the heavily populated Gombak area near the Kuala Lumpur city centre.

This phase will cover the stretch from Gombak North to Port Klang (Jalan Kastam) through Serendah and two more future station located at Puncak Alam and Kapar.

The decision was said to enable the construction of a meter gauge bypass line from Serendah to Port Klang for Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) to be included into the new ECRL alignment.

All six customised diesel locomotives measuring 22m in length with a maximum speed of 100km per hour which arrived on 23 October 2023 will facilitate the transportation of track materials.