The North-South Expressway (NSE), or PLUS Expressway, is the longest controlled-access expressway in Malaysia with the total length of about 772 km running from Bukit Kayu Hitam in Kedah near the Malaysian-Thai border to Johor Bahru at the southern portion of Peninsular Malaysia and to Singapore.
The expressway links many major cities and towns in western Peninsular Malaysia, acting as the ‘backbone’ of the west coast of the peninsula.
It is also known as PLUS Expressway, named after the highway’s concessionaire, Projek Lebuhraya Utara Selatan Berhad.
- North-South Expressway Northern route
- North-South Expressway Southern route
- Facilities & services
- PLUS toll systems
- Closed system toll rates
- Open system toll rates
- Technical specifications
- Contact PLUS management
This PLUS Expressway passes through 7 states on the peninsula: Johor, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor, Perak, Penang and Kedah.
It provides a faster alternative to the old Federal Route 1, thus reducing travelling time between various towns & cities.
The PLUS Expressway is part of the Asian Highway Network of route AH2.
Both routes run in parallel with the Federal Route 1 from Johor Bahru to Bukit Kayu Hitam (except the Simpang Ampat-Yong Peng section to provide an access to Malacca City), where both terminus of the FT1 (Johor Bahru and Bukit Kayu Hitam) serve as the Kilometre Zero of the E2 and E1 respectively, while Kuala Lumpur serves as the final kilometre for both routes.
While the E2 ends exactly at the Selangor-Kuala Lumpur border at KM310, the E1 ends at Exit 108 Bukit Lanjan Interchange at KM460 before proceeding to the city via the New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE), which is also gazetted as Expressway E1.
The E1 and E2 expressways are linked together via the North-South Expressway Central Link (ELITE).
Constructed in phases over a period of seven years, the North-South Expressway was officially opened on September 8 1994, signaling the coming of age of Malaysia’s road transportation system.
North-South Expressway Northern Route
The 460km North-South Expressway Northern Route, or the Alor Setar-Penang Bridge-Kuala Lumpur Route, designated as expressway E1 and is part of highway 2 of the Asian Highway Network, is a mostly tolled, interstate controlled-access highway in Peninsular Malaysia.
The expressway begins at the Bukit Kayu Hitam checkpoint in Kedah where the Malaysia-Thailand border lies, and ends at Bukit Lanjan in Selangor where the expressway interchanges with the New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE).
North-South Expressway Southern Route
The 312km North-South Expressway Southern Route, or the Kuala Lumpur-Seremban-Malacca Johor Bahru Route, designated as E2, is the southern part of the North-South Expressway, is one of the longest expressways in Malaysia.
The North-South Expressway Southern Route begins in the southern part of Kuala Lumpur, at Sungai Besi. Its southern terminus (Kilometre Zero) is at Pandan, Johor Bahru.
Facilities along PLUS Expressway
- Rest and service areas located about 60 km from each other
- Layby parking areas are located approximately every two junctions
- Emergency phones every 2 km
- PLUSLINE hotline number
- PLUS Ronda (PLUS patrol) service to assist drivers in the event of vehicle problems on the expressway
- PLUS helicopter patrol unit to monitor PLUS expressways
PLUS Toll Systems
The North-South Expressway is a toll expressway with two toll systems:
Open system – Users only have to pay at certain toll plazas within the open system range for a fixed amount. “Open system” is used in the following stretches of the North-South Expressway.
- Batu Tiga and Sungai Rasau, (Selangor)
- Bukit Kayu Hitam, (Kedah)
- Jitra, (Kedah)
- Penang Bridge
- Kubang Semang (Penang) and Lunas (Kedah)
- Kempas, (Johor)
- Johor-Singapore Causeway
- Lukut and Mambau, (Negeri Sembilan)
- Tanjung Kupang, Taman Perling and Lima Kedai (Johor)
Closed system – Users collect toll tickets or PLUSTransit cards before entering the expressway at respective toll plazas and pay an amount of toll at the exit toll plaza plus the distance from the plaza to the Limit of Maintenance Responsibility (LMR).
Closed System Toll Rates
Open System Toll Rates
| Location | Class 1 |
Class 2 |
Class 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bukit Kayu Hitam | 3.60 | 5.30 | 7.20 |
| Jitra | 1.60 | 2.30 | 3.10 |
| Sg. Rasau | 1.00 | 1.30 | 2.00 |
| Batu Tiga | 1.10 | 1.50 | 2.20 |
| Kempas | 2.10 | 3.20 | 4.10 |
| Johor Bahru Causeway | 2.90 | 4.50 | 6.10 |
| Bangunan Sultan Iskandar | 2.90 | 4.50 | 6.10 |
| Location | Class 4 |
Class 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Bukit Kayu Hitam | 1.70 | 2.60 |
| Jitra | 0.80 | 1.20 |
| Sg. Rasau | 0.40 | 0.80 |
| Batu Tiga | 0.40 | 0.90 |
| Kempas | 1.10 | 1.40 |
| Johor Bahru Causeway | 1.40 | 2.30 |
| Bangunan Sultan Iskandar | 1.40 | 2.30 |
| Location | Class 1 |
Class 2 |
Class 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tanjung Kupang | 7.50 | 17.10 | 34.30 |
| Lima Kedai | 3.90 | 7.80 | 9.80 |
| Perling | 2.30 | 4.60 | 5.70 |
| Location | Class 0 |
Class 4 |
Class 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tanjung Kupang | 1.10 | 5.70 | 9.10 |
| Lima Kedai | – | 2.00 | 3.90 |
| Perling | – | 1.10 | 2.30 |
| Location | Class 1 |
Class 2 |
Class 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mambau | 3.20 | 6.30 | 9.50 |
| Lukut | 0.80 | 1.40 | 2.20 |
| Location | Class 4 |
Class 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Mambau | 3.20 | 6.30 |
| Lukut | 0.80 | 1.40 |
| Location | Class 1 |
Class 2 |
Class 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kubang Semang | 1.60 | 3.20 | 4.80 |
| Lunas | 1.60 | 3.20 | 4.80 |
| Location | Class 4 |
Class 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Kubang Semang | 0.80 | 1.60 |
| Lunas | 0.80 | 1.60 |
Technical Specifications
| North-South Expressway | |
|---|---|
  North-South Expressway |
|
| Length | 772km (480 mi) – Northern Route (460km), Southern Route (312km) |
| Existed | 1981 – present |
| History | Completed in 1994 |
| North End | Bukit Kayu Hitam, Kedah |
   Butterworth-Kulim Expressway |
|
 Penang Bridge |
|
 Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge |
|
 Guthrie Corridor Expressway (GCE) |
|
   New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE) |
|
 North-South Expressway Central Link (ELITE) |
|
 Kajang Dispersal Link Expressway (SILK) |
|
 Seremban-Port Dickson Highway |
|
  Second Link Expressway |
|
 Johor Bahru Eastern Dispersal Link Expressway |
|
| South end | Johor Bahru, Johor |
Contact PLUS Management
| PLUS Malaysia Berhad | |
|---|---|
| Address | Menara Korporat, Persada PLUS, Persimpangan Bertingkat Subang, KM15, Lebuhraya Baru Lembah Klang, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor |
| Contact | +603 7801 6666, +603 7666 4666 |
| Hotline | 1800 88 0000 |
| Website | www.plus.com.my |