Railway electrification in Malaysia is a relatively recent development of rail transport in Malaysia. Malaysia's first railway dates back to 1885. The first electrified railway service though (KTM Komuter), only began on 3 August 1995.
"Railway electrification" in Malaysia mainly refers to the electrication of Keretapi Tanah Melayu's (KTM) West Coast railway line from Padang Besar to Johor Bahru. In doing so, any single-track rail used for passenger service is to be replaced with double tracks. Level crossings on the line are also to be eliminated, ultimately making majority of the line grade separated. As of 12 December 2025, the main West Coast Line from - (with the exception of the short JB Sentral-Woodlands portion) as well as several branch routes have been double tracked and electrified. Two electric train services operate on the stretch: the KTM Komuter and the KTM ETS. Former diesel-hauled KTM Intercity services along the line were phased out and replaced with the Komuter and ETS services.
Rapid transit systems in Malaysia are relatively new, the first of which was the LRT Ampang Line (then known as the STAR LRT), beginning operations 16 December 1996. They are designed and built fully electrified and grade separated from service launch.
Systems 25 kV 50 Hz AC railway electrification - Used by KTM Komuter and KTM ETS
Completed sections Rawang–Ipoh
The electrification and double-tracking project (EDTP) conducted on this stretch of the main West Coast Line enabled KTM to run trains at a maximum speed of between Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh.
This project, which had been beset by problems and delays, was completed in early 2008 and KTM ETS along the stretch commenced in 2010, cutting the journey time between Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh to 2.5 hours. This project has also enabled KTM to extend its KTM Komuter service to .
The infrastructure works component of the project was originally awarded to DRB-HICOM in 2000 for a value of RM2,579,920,005, while Mitsui of Japan was awarded the electrification and signalling component of the project worth RM1.9 billion supported by its principle sub-contractor, Siemens-Balfour Beatty Consortium. The contract between DRB-Hicom and the Malaysian government was signed on 2 April 2001. Four main subcontractors were appointed: Emrail Sdn Bhd for trackwork, Perspec Prime (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd for civil works, IJM Corporation Berhad for the construction of stations and UEM Construction Sdn Bhd for the construction of bridges.
The original completion date for DRB-Hicom was December 2003. The project however suffered problems which caused numerous delays, resulting in the government terminating the contract with DRB-Hicom and appointing UEM Construction Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of UEM (Malaysia) Berhad, to take over the project from 1 June 2005.
At that stage, DRB-Hicom was said to have completed 88% of the work. DRB-Hicom said one of the main causes of the delays was a dispute over a variation order and losses and expenses with the government.
Although there were threats of litigation, the matter was submitted for arbitration and was finally settled in May 2006 with the government paying DRB-Hicom a sum of RM425 million. The company added that it was still in negotiations with the government over issues pertaining to liquidated ascertained damages and release of the performance bond. Mitsui had also submitted a claim for compensation for being unable to carry out the electrification part of the project because of the delays to civil works with the government settling on an undisclosed sum in December 2006.
The project was completed in stages. It was completed up to in 2007 which also saw the launching of a KTM Komuter shuttle service from (where passengers connect to the main Komuter network). On 17 January 2008, the EDTP between Rawang and was officially completed. This was marked by an event where the Transport Minister officially declared the line opened.
Despite the completion of electrification and double-tracking works, KTM ETS services only began operating in 2010. Between 1 December 2008 and 2010, trains hauled by diesel locomotives were still used, running 10 trips a day.
KTM had initially planned to introduce a rapid intercity service between and , running 16 services a day initially and ultimately up to 32 services a day.
Currently, there are 16 ETS trips for each direction, with 5 trips beginning/terminating at Ipoh station. The initial KTM Komuter shuttle service was extended to and was eventually merged into what is now KTM Komuter's .
Sentul–Port Klang extension to Batu Caves
The EDTP extension to the Batu Caves branch line started at the end of 2006. The project, which costed RM515mil, included electrification, double-tracking and refitting the existing old track, signalling, communications, as well as construction of new stations at , , , and . Sentul was the terminus for KTM Komuter's then Sentul–Port Klang Line and the extension will enable the commuter train service to be extended to Batu Caves. Proposed during the 1990s, the project was initially given to DRB-Hicom Berhad and a letter of intent was issued by the Transport Ministry to the company on 13 April 2001. No letter of award was however issued and there was no movement until 2006 when site possession was given to contractor YTL Corporation Berhad on 17 November 2006. The project was completed in August 2010. The Sentul station is part of the Sentul Raya masterplan development under YTL Corporation Berhad.
The project was completed in 2010, with full passenger services launched in August 2010. The Sentul–Batu Caves branch line is currently served by KTM Komuter's .
Seremban–Gemas On 7 January 2008, the government of Malaysia announced that the Indian company, Ircon International won the RM3.45 billion (US$1 billion) contract to build a double track from to . The Seremban– EDTP was scheduled to be completed by 2010 and to Gemas by 2012. The project involved a stretch in Negeri Sembilan, in Malacca and in Johor. A tunnel and 9 bridges were be built in the process.
On 23 May 2008, a joint venture between IJM Corporation Berhad and Norwest Corporation won a RM490.12 million contract from Ircon International to construct, commission and maintain infrastructure works for the EDTP. The construction period was to be 21 months.
On 27 May 2008, a joint venture between Loh & Loh Corporation Bhd and Pasti Abadi Sdn Bhd won a RM273.01 million contract to construct, commission and maintain infrastructure works. The contract included site clearance, demolition and relocation works.
On 26 January 2010, then Chief Minister of Malacca, Mohd Ali Rustam said the EDTP works on the railway were 32.81% completed and it was expected to be operational by August 2012. Once completed, the travel time between Malacca and Negeri Sembilan will be shortened and new six-coach electric trains capable of carrying 350 passengers at will be used.
Part of the project, from to was completed in April 2011, and the stretch from Sungai Gadut to was completed on 31 July 2013. The line was energised in stages starting with the Sungai Gadut-Rembau stretch in April 2013, Rembau-Batang Melaka stretch in early July 2013 and finally Batang Melaka-Gemas section in late July 2013. The line was officially marked complete on 30 October 2013.
Currently, the entire route between Seremban and Gemas is served by both the (until and KTM ETS services.
Ipoh–Padang Besar This project was proposed in 2002 as a continuation of the Rawang–Ipoh EDTP. Initially, it was awarded to two consortiums. The "Northern section" between Ipoh and Padang Besar was to be handled by a consortium made up of the Indian Railway Construction Company (Ircon), DRB-Hicom Berhad and Emrail Sdn Bhd while the "Southern section" between Seremban and Johor Bahru was to be handled by a consortium made up of the China Railway Engineering Corporation-China Railway Telecommunications Corporation (CRET), DRB-Hicom Berhad and Hikmat Asia Sdn Bhd. However, on 21 October 2003, a letter of award was issued to a 50:50 joint venture between Gamuda and the Malaysia Mining Corporation Berhad (MMC). The change in contractors was based on the fact that MMC-Gamuda lowered the project cost to RM14.448bil, compared to the over RM44bil budget by the two foreign contractors. Members of the two previous consortia were invited to be sub-contractors and were given the first right of refusal but the invitation was not taken up.
On 17 December 2003, not long after taking over from Mahathir Mohamad, new Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced that the Malaysian government had decided to postpone the project. The government revived the project in 2007 when on 16 March, Deputy Prime Minister Mohd Najib Abdul Razak announced that the Cabinet Committee on Public Transport had decided to revive the shelved Northern section EDTP. On 21 April 2007, then Transport Minister Chan Kong Choy confirmed Ircon's participation in the "revived double-tracking project" and that the company will undertake the Seremban–Gemas portion of the Seremban–Johor Bahru route.
On 6 June 2007, Gamuda Berhad announced to Bursa Malaysia that it had received a letter from the Economic Planning Unit of the Prime Minister's Department that the Malaysian government had agreed to MMC-Gamuda's proposal to implement the "Northern" section of the project on a private financing initiative basis. It added that negotiations on the formal agreement would begin as soon as possible. Transport Minister Chan Kong Choy said works on the Northern section will begin by the end of 2007 and is expected to be completed by January 2013.
On 14 December 2007, Gamuda announced that it, together with MMC, had received a letter of acceptance dated 13 December 2007 wherein the Malaysian Government accepted the proposal by the MMC-Gamuda joint venture to carry out the EDTP from to on a design-and-build basis for a lump sum price of RM12.485 billion. The works comprised the design and construction of the infrastructure and system works in respect of the project which was to be completed within 60 months from the commencement date. The project cost escalated due to rise in oil prices and building materials. The group managing director, Datuk Lin Yun Ling, added that the company will undertake only 20 percent of the whole project while the rest of the construction will be out sourced to various companies around the country. The project was to be implemented as a construction contract with progressive payments, instead of the private finance initiative envisioned earlier. The design-and-build contract between the joint venture company and the Government of Malaysia was formally signed on 25 July 2008.
The project consisted of two sections, a 171 km stretch from to and another 158 km stretch from to . It was expected that the Ipoh–Butterworth section will be given a higher priority as it is a continuation from the Ipoh–Rawang stretch and will eventually shorten the travel time between Kuala Lumpur to Butterworth to 3.5 hours. The project will also feature a 3.3 km tunnel in Perak, which will become the longest rail tunnel in Southeast Asia.
The government announced on 18 January 2008 that site possession was given to MMC-Gamuda on 8 January 2008. Works on the site were expected to start immediately thereafter and were to be completed by 2013. It was also noted that the tracks will have the design speed of 160 to 180 km/h although the operator is expected to use only 140 to 160 km/h
On 8 July 2008, the joint venture company announced that the electrification and power supply contract has been awarded to Balfour Beatty group with a contract value of GBP 160 million. Works were expected to start immediately and were to be completed by January 2013. On the same day, the signalling and communication package were awarded to Ansaldo STS. The contract is expected to be worth 135 million Euros.