Thanks to a new concession agreement set between the Express Rail Link Sdn Bhd (ERL) and the government, ERL is now free to set their own prices for their train services.
ERL operates trains that connect KL Sentral, Kuala Lumpur’s main transit hub and the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, which is located in Sepang, 57 kilometres away.
The announcement of ERL’s new market freedom was made by Transport Minister Anthony Loke, the signing ceremony for the concession period extension agreement between the government and ERL.
According to a report from The Star, the extension of the concession will be from 2029 to 2059.
Although ERL is now free to set their own prices, Loke is convinced that this will be a win-win situation for both parties, as ERL is now able to provide the best service without being burdened by the operational costs, and it also lessens the financial obligations of the government.
Under the old concession agreement, the government was paying fees from the revenue of the Passenger Service Charge (PSC). The PSC was set at RM1 for each domestic passenger, and RM5 for each international passenger.
Loke also added that ERL is not planning to increase ticket prices yet.
Along with the announcement, Loke also reiterated that the government remains committed to improving alternative services for transit to KLIA, which will create healthy competition, which will lead to competitive rates.
As of now, the choices that a traveller can take to travel from KLIA to KL Sentral or vice versa is slim, with the only public transport offerings being the ERL trains and the bus service.
