KUANTAN: The Construction Railway Operation Control Center (CROCC) located at Kuantan Port City (KPC) in Gebeng near here will serve as the command centre that monitors the track laying works for the entire 665km East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) mega-rail project.
ECRL Section 10 general manager Wu Lizhu said the CROCC which is manned by eight supervisors employs a smart operation management system for visual instructions and data analysis across the entire rail network.
"All the machines and equipment involved in the track laying works are installed with Global Positioning System(GPS) and camera devices. The status of the machines will be continuously updated by GPS and cameras to CROCC.
"The centre will respond and make necessary arrangements according to the updates received from the sites. All the instructions given to the site operators will be handled by CROCC including the track laying works daily schedule.
"Section 10(KPC) is special because the CROCC can monitor the track laying works for the entire ECRL mainline rail alignment. It is all about safety and commands will be given from the CROCC based on a regular schedule for track laying works," he told reporters during a media trip to KPC here yesterday.
Wu said the huge display screen at CROCC will provide updates on the track laying machines running status, location, velocity(speed) and other activities.
He said there are about 200 operators involved in the track laying works at the field and work is only carried out during the day.unlike the concrete sleeper production which is around the clock and based on 12-hour shifts.
Meanwhile, Wu said Section 10 which serves as the track laying base at KPC includes essential functional areas such as the CROCC, concrete sleeper production workshop, temporary track, and rail welding workshop.
"Section 10 is where the ECRL tracks and accessories are produced. As of December last year, there were around 900 workers at the site and expected to increase to over 1,200 workers when the project reaches its peak in the middle of this year.
"This section creates a lot of job opportunities for locals including professionals as it deploys a lot of high technology and requires expertise to handle the equipment. It is not often that we have such a major production in Malaysia," he said.
On Dec 11 last year, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah graced the official inauguration of the track-laying ceremony at the Section 10 ECRL station site here.
The 665km-long ECRL built with a cost of RM50.27 billion will traverse the east coast states of Pahang, Kelantan and Terengganu through to the Klang Valley. The rail project is scheduled to be completed in Dec 2026 and begin operations in 2027.