Sabah To Open Six New Railway Halts Along Sembulan-Kinarut Route

Malaysia, August 2026 – Six newly completed railway halts along the Sembulan–Kinarut route are scheduled to open in October, according to Sabah Deputy Chief Minister III Datuk Ewon Benedick. The facilities are located at Lok Kawi, Tombovo, Meruntum, Bukit Vor, Petagas and Petagas Memorial, and were completed earlier this year.

The additional halts are intended to provide passengers with more boarding and alighting points along the route, potentially improving access to rail services for communities between Sembulan and Kinarut. Ewon inspected the new facilities during a train journey from Tanjung Aru Station to Kinarut following the state’s 130th Railway Day celebration.

For Sabah’s rail sector, the development represents a relatively targeted approach to improving network accessibility without requiring the construction of a new railway corridor. The state is also considering several additional railway halts, suggesting that improving station coverage remains part of its broader approach to strengthening existing passenger services.

The state government is simultaneously assessing potential future network expansion. A feasibility study is underway for a proposed rail connection between Putatan, Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (KKIP) and Sepanggar Port. The study is expected to guide the state government’s decision on whether and how the proposed connection should proceed.

The planned October openings therefore form part of a wider effort to improve Sabah’s railway infrastructure and connectivity. While the six new halts focus on passenger accessibility along an existing corridor, the proposed Putatan–KKIP–Sepanggar Port link could eventually broaden the network’s role by connecting population centres with industrial and port facilities.

Source: The Star