Rail lines in Malaysia

Malaysia: Rail lines was 1,655 total route-km in 2021. ▲ Rising

Latest (2021)
1,655 total route-km
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
64th
of 104 countries
All-time high
2,773 total route-km
in 2017
All-time low
1,614 total route-km
in 1997
Years of data
22
1995–2021

Rail lines in Malaysia, 1995–2021

01.0k2.0k3.0k1995200820211995: 1.8k total route-km1996: 2.2k total route-km1997: 1.6k total route-km1998: 1.6k total route-km1999: 1.6k total route-km2000: 1.6k total route-km2001: 1.6k total route-km2002: 1.6k total route-km2003: 1.7k total route-km2004: 1.7k total route-km2005: 1.7k total route-km2006: 1.7k total route-km2007: 1.7k total route-km2008: 1.7k total route-km2009: 1.7k total route-km2010: 2.2k total route-km2011: 2.3k total route-km2017: 2.8k total route-km2018: 1.7k total route-km2019: 1.7k total route-km2020: 1.7k total route-km2021: 1.7k total route-km

Source: Railisa Database, International Union of Railways (UIC). Measured in total route-km.

Analysis

In 2021, rail lines in Malaysia stood at 1,655 total route-km.

That represents a change of down 26.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, rail lines in Malaysia peaked at 2,773 total route-km in 2017 and was at its lowest, 1,614 total route-km, in 1997.

Malaysia ranks 64th of 104 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.

Rail lines in Malaysia, year by year

Annual values for Rail lines (total route-km) in Malaysia, 1995 to 2021.
Year total route-km Change
1995 1,798 total route-km
1996 2,227 total route-km +23.9%
1997 1,614 total route-km -27.5%
1998 1,614 total route-km +0.0%
1999 1,622 total route-km +0.5%
2000 1,636 total route-km +0.9%
2001 1,636 total route-km +0.0%
2002 1,636 total route-km +0.0%
2003 1,667 total route-km +1.9%
2004 1,667 total route-km +0.0%
2005 1,667 total route-km +0.0%
2006 1,667 total route-km +0.0%
2007 1,667 total route-km +0.0%
2008 1,665 total route-km -0.1%
2009 1,665 total route-km +0.0%
2010 2,210 total route-km +32.7%
2011 2,250 total route-km +1.8%
2017 2,773 total route-km +23.2%
2018 1,655 total route-km -40.3%
2019 1,655 total route-km +0.0%
2020 1,655 total route-km +0.0%
2021 1,655 total route-km +0.0%

Malaysia compared with similar countries

  • Malaysia's 1,655 total route-km is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1,980 total route-km, 84% of the median. (34 countries reporting)
  • Malaysia's 1,655 total route-km is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3,159 total route-km, 52% of the median. (9 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Rail lines in Malaysia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
2018 -40.3% 2,773 total route-km 1,655 total route-km
2010 +32.7% 1,665 total route-km 2,210 total route-km
1997 -27.5% 2,227 total route-km 1,614 total route-km

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 1,775 total route-km 1,614 total route-km 2,227 total route-km 5
2000s 1,657 total route-km 1,636 total route-km 1,667 total route-km 10
2010s 2,109 total route-km 1,655 total route-km 2,773 total route-km 5
2020s 1,655 total route-km 1,655 total route-km 1,655 total route-km 2

Countries ranked near Malaysia

  1. 61 Mongolia 1,821 total route-km compare
  2. 62 Tunisia 1,777 total route-km compare
  3. 63 Israel 1,720 total route-km compare
  4. 65 Ireland 1,650 total route-km compare
  5. 66 Sri Lanka 1,562 total route-km compare
  6. 67 Uruguay 1,498 total route-km compare

See the full ranking of 104 places →

More infrastructure data for Malaysia

All data for Malaysia →

Frequently asked questions

What is rail lines in Malaysia?
Rail lines in Malaysia was 1,655 total route-km in 2021, according to Railisa Database, International Union of Railways (UIC).
What is the highest rail lines recorded in Malaysia?
The highest recorded value was 2,773 total route-km in 2017.
What is the lowest rail lines recorded in Malaysia?
The lowest recorded value was 1,614 total route-km in 1997.
How does Malaysia rank for rail lines?
Malaysia ranks 64th out of 104 countries with data for 2021.
Is rail lines rising or falling in Malaysia?
Over the last ten years it is down 26.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Malaysia data come from?
The figures come from Railisa Database, International Union of Railways (UIC), published as part of Rail lines (total route-km). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Rail lines in Malaysia. Statizoid, drawing on Railisa Database, International Union of Railways (UIC). Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://infrastructure.statizoid.com/stat/rail-lines-total-route-km/malaysia/

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About this data

Indicator
Rail lines (total route-km)
Unit
total route-km
Source
Railisa Database, International Union of Railways (UIC)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
104 places, 2,110 data points, 1995–2021
Last refreshed

The total length of rail line in the country operated for passenger transport, goods transport, or both.