The federal government and Express Rail Link (ERL) have signed a new supplementary concession agreement. The 30-year concession agreement will run from 2029 to 2059 and will allow the operator of the KLIA Ekspres and KLIA Transit city-to-airport services to implement a ‘market-driven’ fare structure.
According to The Edge, under the new agreement, the government will stop paying ERL a cut from airport passenger service charges (PSC) from 2029. PSC collected from outbound airline passengers at KLIA Terminal 1 (RM5) and Terminal 2 (RM1) are shared between Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) and the government – currently, ERL gets a share of the government’s portion.
Transport minister Anthony Loke said the supplementary concession agreement is a win-win situation between ERL and users, where the best service can be provided without burdening the operation in terms of costs. “The government remains committed to improving alternative services to KLIA that will create healthy competition in terms of competitive fare options,” he said.
The Seremban MP said that he hopes the supplementary concession agreement will pave the way for ERL to be self-sustaining. The service is loss-making – in the financial year that ended June 30, 2022, ERL incurred a net loss of RM156.34 million, down from RM209.95 million in FY2021, according Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM) filing. Revenue more than doubled to RM43.35 million in FY2022, from RM18.17 million in FY2021.
Since the start of operations in 2022, ERL fares were maintained at RM35 before an increase to RM55 in late 2015. According to the report, ERL’s original fare schedule should have been increased to RM41 in 2004, RM56 in 2009 and RM74 in 2014. This year, the fare for a single trip would be RM126.
ERL’s majority owner is YTL Corp with a 45% stake. Lembaga Tabung Haji owns 36% of the company, SIPP Rail 10% and the remaining 9% interest is owned by Trisilco Equity.
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