Kuala Lumpur–Singapore High Speed Rail

Kuala Lumpur–Singapore High Speed Rail
Kereta Api Berkelajuan Tinggi Kuala Lumpur-Singapura
马新高速铁路
கோலாலம்பூர்-சிங்கப்பூர் அதிவேக ரயில்

Map of proposed stations for the railway
Overview
Type High-speed rail
System Kuala Lumpur–Singapore High Speed Rail
Status Under Planning
Locale Malaysia Malaysia
Singapore Singapore
Termini Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Singapore, Singapore
Stations 8 (Planned)
Services 1
Operation
Opening 2020 (Estimated)
Owner YTL & Prasarana (Malaysia)
LTA (Singapore)
Technical
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification Third rail

The Kuala Lumpur - Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) project was announced by the Malaysian Prime Minister Najib in September 2010 and is proposed to connect Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru with Singapore.[1] On February 19, 2013, Singapore and Malaysia had officially agreed to build a high-speed rail link between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore by 2020 at a meeting between Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak in Singapore. [2]

The construction of the railway is expected to start in the third quarter of 2015.[3]

History

In 2006 YTL Corporation, operator of the KLIA Ekspres in Malaysia proposed a multi-billion ringgit high-speed rail project linking Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, with a projected speed of 300 km/h (186 mph). This was expected to trim travel time between the two cities to 90 minutes, compared with 5 hours by road, 7 hours by conventional rail services,[4] or 4 hours by air (including travel to and from the airports, check-in, boarding and other airport procedures). In 2008 the Malaysian government halted the project citing high-costs of over RM8 billion.[5]

The project was highlighted in 2010 as a high impact project in the Malaysian government's Economic Transformation Programme Roadmap in a bid to increase economic activities concurrently greater economic synergies. Studies into the feasibility and conceptual details of the proposal were to be carried out in December 2010 and January 2011.[6]

It was believed that the Malaysian government was going to sign a high-speed rail deal with China upon the visit of Premier Hu Jintao of China to Kuala Lumpur in June 2011.

The Prime Ministers of Malaysia and Singapore agreed to go ahead with the project at a meeting on 19 February 2013.[4] A committee was tasked with looking into 'the details and modalities' of the project.[4]

Singapore and Malaysia have announced that the high speed rail proposal will be finalized by end of 2014 with a targeted completion date at 2020.[7]

The proposal for Singapore's link will have to be considered by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in Budget 2014. According to the Leaders' Retreat which was held on April 7, 2014, a possible location for the high-speed rail will be Tuas West, Jurong East or the Downtown Core.[8][9] On February 6, 2015, the Malaysia-Singapore Joint Ministerial Committee for Iskandar Malaysia (JMCIM) released in a press statement stating that Singapore will be announcing the location of the terminus for the railway at the Leaders' Retreat in 2015.[10] Construction of the railway is expected to start by 2016.[11]

Plan details

The KL - Singapore section will be about 400 km and the travel time will be 90 minutes.[12] The construction cost will be MYR 40 billion.[13][12] The project will request the construction of a brand-new line with dedicated tracks, which will allow trains to travel at least 250 km/h.[2] YTL and SPNB will co-ordinate the project for the essential construction within the Malaysia corridor, whereas LTA will be in charge for Singapore corridor.

Stops in Malaysia

Malaysia's Land Public Transport Commission chairman, Syed Hamid Albar, announced the stops in Malaysia on October 22 2014. [14]

Stops in Singapore

The Singapore government is still considering three options to site the Singapore station. [15]

References

  1. ↑ "Greater Kuala Lumpur - EPP 3: Connecting to Singapore via a high speed rail system".
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "KL-Singapore high-speed link to kick off". Investvine.com. 2013-02-20. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
  3. ↑ "KL-Singapore high speed rail project to start in 2016". The Malaysian Insider. 27 December 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Kuala Lumpur - Singapore high speed railway agreement". Railway Gazette International. 19 February 2013.
  5. ↑ Lew, Alexander (24 April 2008). "Malaysia Halts Kuala Lumpur-Singapore Bullet Train". Wired.
  6. ↑ "Meticulous Study On KL-Singapore High-speed Train Before Year-end".
  7. ↑ "Proposed Singapore-KL Rail Link To Be Finalised Next Year: Najib".
  8. ↑ "LTA calls tender for high-speed rail feasibility study". The Straits Times. 11 April 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  9. ↑ "KL-S'pore rail link: Tender called for S'pore leg feasibility study". Channel News Asia. 11 April 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  10. ↑ . Channel Newsasia. 6 February 2015 http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/location-of-high-speed/1641406.html. Retrieved 28 February 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ↑ "Singapore-Kuala Lumpur Bullet Train May Miss 2020 Deadline". Bloomberg. October 29, 2014.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Senator Datuk Abdul Rahim Rahman (25 June 2011). "High-speed rail will spur growth in hub cities". The Star Online.
  13. ↑
  14. ↑ "Singapore-Kuala Lumpur High Speed Rail have Seven Stops Malaysia 2014".
  15. ↑ "Three sites being considered spore kl high speed rail station".

See also

Media related to High-speed rail at Wikimedia Commons