HIGH SPEED RAIL LINK - KL to Singapore!

[nazrey]

Malaysia-Singapore

There is a bullet train project at 300 km/h (186 mph) to link Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, proposed by the current Malaysian operator KLIA Express YTL Corporation, which links Kuala Lumpur with the KLIA. Travel time would be 90 minutes, compared with 4 hours of highway drive, 7 hours currently by standard rail, 2 hours of flight including commuting to and from airport, check in and boarding. Plans for the project were shelved due to high government cost. The project also faces opposition from rail operator rivals such as Keretapi Tanah Melayu.

LATEST NEWS:

Govt Drops Plan For High Speed Bullet Train Project, Says EPU Chief
Published: 2008/04/22

PUTRAJAYA, April 22 (Bernama) -- The cost factor was the main reason the government decided not to go ahead with the high-speed bullet train link between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore proposed by YTL Corp Bhd.

"The letters on the decision were sent to parties such as YTL and the relevant agencies in early April," said Economic Planning Unit (EPU) director-general, Datuk Seri Dr Sulaiman Mahbob, told Bernama here Tuesday.

He said the government would have to bear a significant cost based on the financial model that was submitted by YTL.

"Based on the financial model submitted by YTL, the government has decided not to go ahead with the bullet train (project)," he said, without elaborating on the amount the government has to bear.

YTL has proposed the RM8 billion project which would take 90 minutes to travel between the two capitals from about seven-and-a-half hours now.

It was earlier reported that the government has allowed YTL to do a feasibility study and it (YTL) came back to say the project was feasible.

The plan for a high-speed train between the two cities, spanning about 300km, was proposed in late 1990s, but garnered strong interest last year after the government invited companies to come up with ideas for privately-funded projects.

-- BERNAMA

Kereta api laju KL-Singapura batal
Oleh Abdul Halim Yusoff
BeritaHarian

KUALA LUMPUR: Kerajaan memutuskan untuk tidak meneruskan cadangan projek pembangunan sistem kereta api laju yang menghubungkan Kuala Lumpur-Singapura kerana projek itu memerlukan kos yang terlalu tinggi.

Ketua Pengarah Unit Perancang Ekonomi (EPU) di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Sulaiman Mahbob, berkata kerajaan memutuskan untuk tidak menyokong pelaksanaan projek itu selepas meneliti cadangan yang dikemukakan mengenainya.

"Kerajaan tidak akan meneruskan projek kereta api laju itu kerana berdasarkan model kewangan dibentangkan syarikat konsesi, kita perlu menanggung beban kos kewangan yang besar," katanya ketika dihubungi Berita Harian, di sini semalam.

Bagaimanapun, beliau enggan mengulas jumlah kos yang perlu ditanggung kerajaan bagi projek itu yang dikatakan mampu menjimatkan tempoh perjalanan kereta api dari Kuala Lumpur ke Singapura kepada 90 minit, berbanding lebih enam jam ketika ini.

Sulaiman berkata, pihaknya juga sudah memaklumkan keputusan kerajaan itu kepada kementerian, jabatan dan syarikat berkaitan tetapi enggan mengulas lanjut.

Projek kereta api laju yang dianggar memerlukan pelaburan berjumlah kira-kira RM8 bilion itu dicadangkan syarikat prasarana dan pembinaan YTL Corporation Bhd (YTL Corp).

YTL Hopes For Bullet Train Project To Materialise
June 30, 2009 23:00 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, June 30 (Bernama) -- Conglomerate YTL Corporation Bhd hopes that the government will pursue the proposed RM8 billion bullet train project between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore given its potential economic spin-offs.

Managing director Tan Sri Francis Yeoh Sock Ping said he wanted to see the project taking shape even if YTL is not involved.

"As a Malaysian citizen, I would like to see this project between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore done even if YTL does not build it," Yeoh said at a media briefing at the Invest Malaysia conference here Tuesday.

"It does not matter if the government can build it and anybody can bid for it, but I think this is a project that must be done," he said.

The project proposal came from YTL but it was cancelled due to significant costs to be borne by the government.

It is expected to cut travel time between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to 90 minutes.

"It is a relevant project. There is a lot of economic value to the high-speed train," Yeoh said.

He said that high-speed trains in other countries like Taiwan (between Taipei and Kaohsiung) and Britain have been successful in connecting people and helping to generate business activities.

"Japan also, how would that country be powerful as an industrial force if not because of the communication. They connected the people in such a powerful way, the high-speed trains," Yeoh said.

"So, I hope this kind of project can materialise soon," he said.

Yeoh said YTL would continue to support the government, adding that the announcement of the liberalisation of foreign ownership will help to boost economic growth.

-- BERNAMA