“Once the bilateral agreement is signed, the joint project team will work on the preparation of tender for the HSR project which is expected to be issued next year”.
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Asian nations are modernizing their transport infrastructure while China has set up the world’s biggest high-speed rail network.
The equivalent journey takes about five hours by vehicle on the highway, and 11 hours across existing train services, estimates Channel News Asia. That “will help to provide greater resilience to, or less reliance on other developed economies and also, should provide a more stable geopolitical environment with increasing inter-connectivity”, he said.
Najib and Lee earlier witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on the HSR project, which signified Malaysia’s and Singapore’s commitment towards the landmark project.
It was signed by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan and Singapore’s Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Khaw Boon Wan.
The line will consist of eight stations, seven of which will be in Malaysia.
“Beyond that we think the future of Malaysia and Singapore that is going to be visualised by 2026, we see a very exciting future and that future will be a reality once the project is operational”, he said.
Najib on his blog on Monday wrote that the high-speed rail will enhance people-to-people ties and improve business linkages between the two neighbouring countries.
The 350km line will shoot travellers at a top speed of 300km/h, allowing someone to go from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur in just 90 minutes. It will also challenge budget carriers such as AirAsia Bhd. and Singapore Airlines Ltd.’s Tiger Airways, which fly passengers from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur in about an hour.
This will be undertaken by MyHSR Corporation in Malaysia and the Land Transport Authority in Singapore.
The rail proposal already has sparked interest among major Chinese, Japanese, and Korean rail firms, who have sought to tout their credentials.
Two companies will be appointed to run the HSR service, which is expected to run 10 car-long trains, with the capacity for up to 100 passengers per vehicle. China, home to the world’s biggest high-speed rail network, has identified the sector as one of 10 focus industries in a blueprint for economic development.
What both leaders were in complete agreement on was the fact that the HSR would give a significant boost to their two economies come 2026, when the link is operational.
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Malaysia and Singapore received close to 250 submissions after calling for a Request for Information for the project, and 98 were shortlisted, the New Straits Times reported in December.
