You Need To Know About The Kuala Lumpur high-speed rail All These

A high-speed rail line connecting Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was part of the abandoned Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail project. Najib Razak, the former prime minister of Malaysia, made the initial proposal in September 2010. The Singapore Kuala Lumpur collaborative project was officially approved in February 2013 by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, with the HSR’s original completion date set for 2026. Following Najib Razak’s defeat in the 2018 Malaysian general election, his successor Mahathir Mohamad initially declared that the project would shelved. However, on June 12, 2018, while visiting Japan, Mahathir stated that the project would only delayed because of the hefty price. 

Background

In the late 1990s, a high-speed rail connection between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore propose but cancelled due to costs. The idea was reintroduced in 2006 by YTL Corporation, owner of Kuala Lumpur’s Express Rail Link, with a projected top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph). It anticipated to reduce the distance between the two cities’ journey times from 4-5 hours on the road to 7 hours on standard rail services or 3 hours by air, down to 99 minutes (including travel to and from the airports, check-in, boarding and other airport procedures). The Singapore Kuala Lumpur project put on hold the Malaysian government in 2008 due to high expenses totaling more than RM8 billion.

Planning and announcements

Following a meeting on February 19, 2013, the prime ministers of Malaysia and Singapore decided to move forward with the HSR project. The duty of researching “the intricacies and modalities” of the project given to a committee. Singapore and Malaysia announced at the meeting that the high-speed rail proposal would finished by the end of 2014, with a 2020 completion date as the aim. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) considered the link proposal for Singapore in Budget 2014. The Leaders’ Retreat, held on April 7, 2014, reportedly reduced the list of potential sites for the high-speed rail terminus to Tuas West, Jurong East, or the Downtown Core. 

Developments

The site provides the “most suitable location” to run the HSR tracks after the bridge crossing and place the tunnel portal leading to the tunnels.

It would take the HSR to the Jurong East terminus government of Singapore forced Raffles Country Club to give up its plot to make the second significant land acquisition for the project. 

The area will be utilised for HSR crossover tracks and a siding facility to temporarily house a train close to the border for operational or safety reasons anticipated will be cleared by July 31, 2018.  The Integrated Train Testing; now residing on the property (ITTC).

Groundwork

On May 24, 2010, at a Leaders’ Retreat attended by the leaders of both countries, Singapore and Malaysia jointly committed to building a Rapid Transit System Link between Johor Bahru and Singapore, enhancing connectivity between the two countries. The rapid transit system link will integrate services in both Singapore and Johor Bahru, with facilities for Customs, Inspection, and Quarantine situated on the Singapore side. The RTS Link’s terminus will be in Woodlands North, where the future Thomson Line, which Singapore officially announced in June 2011. While there was concurrent discussion about many stations in Johor Bahru in Malaysia, no formal plans developed.