Sorry, Singapore And Malaysia Are Not In Agreement Yet For KL-SG High Speed Rail Project
The Singapore-KL HSR Project was announced in 2013. However, even after 2 years, there hasn't been any concrete developments so far.
By Tang Ruxyn — 05 Jan 2016, 04:05 PM — Updated almost 9 years ago
There seem to be new developments for the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) project as the Malaysian and Singaporean governments have reached a consensus, according to an exclusive report by The Edge Financial Daily.
Both governments have agreed that two services will be available on the 330km high-speed rail (HSR) with direct service linking Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, and another with transit stops in between.
“We are envisioning to start with two services — one that will go directly to Singapore, and another that will stop with transit services in Bandar Malaysia, Seremban, Melaka, Muar, Batu Pahat and Nusajaya, and then [across the causeway to] Singapore ... even with the stops in between, we will have express services that do not stop,” MyHSR Corp Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Mohd Nur Ismal Mohamed Kamal told The Edge Financial Daily in an exclusive interview.
MyHSR Corp, which is wholly owned by the finance ministry, was given the mandate to develop and promote the HSR project, and is the project delivery vehicle accountable for the definition of the technical and commercial aspects of the project.
However, a turn of events sees the Ministry of Transportation spokesman from Singapore disputing claims that Malaysia and Singapore have come to an agreement as he said that several aspects of the joint project are "still under discussion"
The Ministry spokesman said the possibility of having two services for the HSR linking Singapore and Kuala Lumpur - one a non-stop express service, and the other a transit service calling at stations in between - was still being discussed.
The MOT spokesman said: "The alignment is also under discussion; the exact alignment can be finalised only after completion of detailed engineering studies."
“After the recently-concluded Request for Information (RFI) exercise in December 2015, both countries are studying the feedback thoroughly and will use this feedback to improve the project’s commercial and operating models and procurement approach,” said the ministry.
The Singapore-KL HSR project was first announced by Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2013 and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, with the project due to be completed by 2020
Although there have been ongoing talks between the two governments, little information has been disclosed.
Here's what we know so far:
1. It was reported that China Railway has estimated the cost to build the high-speed rail to be RM70 billion, almost 10 times more than the initial estimated amount of RM8 billion by YTL and Siemens AG in 2007. However, MyHSR Corp CEO Mohd Nur Ismal Mohamed said that the amount remains as a "speculation".
In a presentation by China Railway in December last year, the price tag of the Kuala Lumpur to Singapore HSR was pegged at RM70 billion, up from RM65 billion a few months ago, and up from a price tag of RM40 billion in May.
Questions over the supposedly high price tag have been raised lately, as about nine years ago, in 2007, conglomerate YTL and its technical partner, Germany’s Siemens AG, put in a proposal to build the HSR or bullet train linking Kuala Lumpur to Singapore at a cost of only RM8 billion. How the price of the HSR has escalated to the current level of RM70 billion is not clear.
2. About 150 companies have expressed their interest but China Railway will have an advantage in bidding for this project after buying stakes in Bandar Malaysia last week
Due to the high contract values, there has also been much lobbying by the Japanese and Chinese HSR players, both angling for the potentially large lucrative job. In the background, the South Koreans are also jostling for the large-scale job, while a clutch of European companies are understood to be setting up a consortium, also eyeing the job.
The high-speed rail will be between Bandar Malaysia township project owned by 1MDB in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
1MDB agreed to sell 60 percent stakes of the project to China Railway Engineering Corporation (M) Sdn Bhd and Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Bhd last week.
malaysiakini.com
3. The HSR is expected to shorten the time spent on travelling, taking only 1.5 hours to reach Singapore from Kuala Lumpur
While the dedicated direct train is slated to take 90 minutes linking the two cities, the other with six transit stops in Malaysia should take about two hours, depending on the customs and immigration processes.
The transit service will stop at Seremban, Malacca, Muar, Batu Pahat and Nusajaya, before Singapore and will take about two hours.
MyHSR say that high-speed rail will be 2.5 hours door-to-door, while flying to Singapore from Kuala Lumpur would take about four hours door-to-door, including time spent travelling to the airport.
malaysiakini.com
4. In May last year, Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) chairman Mohd Nur Ismal Mohamed Kamal said that a return ticket would cost less than RM400
“We foresee a much lower average price to make the HSR project feasible. It would cost less than RM200 for a single trip. Although the return on investment will take a longer time, the operator will have several options to recoup its investment in the project.
themalaymailonline.com