Yesterday was the MRT link coming into Johor.

Today it will be the Bullet Train link going to Kuala Lumpur.

Finally, a surprise official announcement to the international media. :applause:


Singapore, Malaysia agree to high-speed rail link
Reuters | By Kevin Lim SINGAPORE | Tue Feb 19, 2013 2:28am EST
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/19/...E91I05720130219
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/sin...1255068/1/.html
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysi...speed-rail-link

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore and Malaysia moved to strengthen growing economic ties on Tuesday with plans to build a high-speed rail link by 2020 that will cut travel time between the wealthy city-state and Kuala Lumpur to 90 minutes.

The neighboring Southeast Asian countries also said they would look for ways to intensify cooperation in developing the Iskandar Malaysia economic zone that's across a narrow strip of water from Singapore.

The rail link announcement, after a meeting between the prime ministers of the two nations, reflects improved relations in recent years. Singapore was once part of Malaysia but they separated acrimoniously in 1965, clouding diplomatic and economic dealings for decades.

The high-speed train "is a strategic development that will dramatically improve the connectivity between Malaysia and Singapore," the two governments said in a joint statement.

"It will facilitate seamless travel between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, enhance business linkages and bring the people of Malaysia and Singapore closer together," they said. "Ultimately, this project will give both countries greater stake in each other's prosperity and success," it added.

No cost estimate was given for the rail link, which will be built by private companies with strong support from the two governments. The official statement said a committee of ministers from both countries will look into the details.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak conceded the 2020 target was ambitious but said it was one both countries were working towards.

It now takes around four hours to drive from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, which are about 300 km (186 miles) apart. A flight takes around 50 minutes but travelers must spend time checking in and out of airports, as well as taking a one-hour bus ride from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to the city centre.


Wikipedia file picture of a China high-speed train. The Singapore-Malaysia high-speed rail link is expected to be completed by 2020.


TECHNOLOGICALLY POSSIBLE

The rail agreement was a "major breakthrough," said Chua Hak Bin, Southeast Asian economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

But he noted the potential for bureaucratic delays when such mega-projects are undertaken.

"It's technologically possible. We've seen how fast China builds these things," Chua said. "It makes a lot of sense. There is a huge amount of business, trade and investment between the countries. There are also a large number of Malaysians working in Singapore."

A new customs, immigration and quarantine facilities at Puteri Harbour in Malaysia's Iskandar zone will likely be set up this year, the two governments said.

Iskandar, three times the size of Singapore, has seen a surge in investment from the city-state after the two governments signed a broad agreement in 2010 to address longstanding issues.

In October, Singapore government-linked firm Ascendas, whose projects include the Singapore Science Park and the International Tech Park in Bangalore, said it will help build a $1.2 billion industrial park in Iskandar.

Also on Tuesday, Najib and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong were officiating at joint venture projects involving their sovereign investors Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Temasek Holdings in Singapore and Iskandar.

The two leaders will also be at the unveiling of a project by Singapore's CapitaLand Ltd in Iskandar, the first in the zone by Southeast Asia's biggest developer.


The southern Malaysian city of Johor Baru, part of the Iskandar Malaysia economic zone. Johor Baru is the 3rd largest conurbation in Malaysia. http://property-in-singapore.biz/new-homes...-johor-malaysia

($1 = 3.0940 Malaysian ringgit) (Editing by John O'Callaghan and Richard Borsuk)



BIG DAY ::: Today, Malaysia and Singapore open a new chapter in bilateral relationship.

- The largest gathering of any ASEAN nations Cabinet ministers/secretaries (Malaysia and Singapore will bring both their ministers)
- Malaysia and Singapore will get an urban rail link,
- a ferry system across the Causeway,
- the Johor airport/Senai will tie up with Singapore's Changi,
- Singapore-Malaysia will invest in Johor,
- Malaysia-Singapore will invest in Marina Bay,
- Malaysia-Singapore will bring foreign investments into the region



Johor-Singapore rapid transit system gets green light
By Nelson Benjamin | The Star/Asia News Network | Tuesday, Feb 19, 2013
http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/...219-402913.html

SINGAPORE - Malaysia and Singa**pore have agreed to go ahead with the Rapid Transit System (RTS) linking Johor Baru with the republic.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said both countries had a year to draft the plans on the preferred option for the RTS.


Woodlands MRT station will serve as an interchange and allow travellers to take the proposed Rapid Transit System Link between Singapore and Johor Baru.

He added that under phase one, the alignment and station scheme options would be identified.

"Once this is decided, we can move to phase two," Anifah said during a briefing on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's two-day working visit to Singapore which began yesterday.

It is learnt that among the options being considered is a bridge or an underground tunnel link.

Singapore had earlier announced that its Thomson mass rapid transit (MRT) line would be opened in stages from 2019.

The 30km line will run through the north-south corridor of the island republic, starting in Wood*lands, the area closest to Johor Baru via the Causeway, and passing through industrial, residential and shopping districts before ending at Marina Bay.

The S$18bil (RM44bil) line will be completely underground and is expected to serve 400,000 commuters daily.

Anifah said leaders from both countries were expected to discuss the progress and implementation of the Points of Agreement.

"Both leaders will also travel to Iskandar Malaysia in Johor to launch the ground-breaking ceremony of the Urban and Resort Wellness project.

He added that it involved a 2ha "Urban Wellness" project in Medini North and a 84ha "Resort Wellness" in Medini Central.

Other issues to be discussed include cooperation in aviation and airport services between Senai and Changi airports as well as the establishment of ferry and water taxi services between Puteri Har**-bour in Iskandar and Tuas in Singapore.

Anifah added that there was steady progress in the implementation of initiatives under the Joint Ministerial Committee for Iskandar Malaysia including in transport, immigration, tourism, environment and industrial cooperation.


Singapore's Temasek and Capitaland to announce Iskandar deal today
The StarBiz | Tuesday February 19, 2013
PETALING JAYA: Singapore's Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd and its unit CapitaLand Malaysia Pte Ltd will enter into an agreement with Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Bhd (IWH) today to buy a man-made island measuring about 28.33ha at Danga Bay for about RM800mil.

The total cost of the land and the integrated development was likely to cost RM8bil, they said. A joint venture has been formed for this deal between CapitaLand Malaysia, IWSB and Temasek, with the Singaporeans taking the bigger share.

This is the second largest tract of land that is being sold by IWH in less than two months after China's Country Garden bought 22.26ha for RM900mil in December.

Read More >>> http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?f...9&if_height=674

This post has been edited by accetera: Feb 19 2013, 06:18 PM

My opinion:

The HSR project is meant to connect "heart of city" to "heart of another city".

The HSR project means we would welcome more Singaporeans. A RM150 ticket is too cheap for them, mana boleh?

The HSR project means more WORKING FOREIGNER in Singapore can opt to stay in KL. More business will also flow to KL as we directly created a "tunnel" link between our two cities. More business particularly means the support work especially for financials, i.e. KL is already doing tonnes of work that the 5,000-Citigroup workforce in Raffles Place/Shenton Way cannot do.

It will also narrow the gap between trends in Singapore and trends in KL, as we in KL suddenly become a "neighboring/suburb" metropolis to Singapore.

Based on the Taiwan HSR and considering our exchange and construction cost is within RM8 billion, I expect ticket to be around RM250-RM300.

Due to the heavy lobby, I believe there'll definitely be a STATION in Melaka/Malacca and perhaps many more.



This post has been edited by accetera: Feb 19 2013, 11:43 PM

Five tycoon-related have expressed interest in this project. (Cost most likely overblown from previous YTL plan as this time is different)

I think we can save some money if we can align with KTM route as we don't need much land acquisition.

As for AirAsia, their bigger worry should be Malindo Air, and not this HSR. Malaysia Airlines? Well they better focus on Oneworld alliance by bringing more better quality foreigners into the country (they will begin code-sharing with American Airlines on 1 March - a chance to increase American tourists)


(feel that this thread should encourage technical discussions here as well for those in the know how such as @Kampung)

I agree on the RM300 ticket.... but you need to factor in the expected volume as well. Volume factor changes the fee structure.

The fact is KL-Singapore vice versa has a huge traffic flow. Then we need to narrow down to the sampled volume that is expected to use this HSR service.

Kuala Lumpur - Singapore High Speed Rail Project (2014-2020)

Kuala Lumpur - Seremban - Ayer Keroh (Melaka) - Muar - Batu Pahat - Johor Baru (Iskandar) - Singapore (most likely confirmed)

Where do you want it to start and ends?

* A site near KL Sentral/Pasar Seni MRT - A site near Republic Polytechnic?Woodlands MRT (most likely)

1. KL Sentral (Hub) - Dhoby Ghaut (Hub)

2. KL Sentral (Hub) - Bayfront (instead of Marina Bay)

3. Bukit Bintang (MRT) - Orchard (MRT)

4. KLCC (LRT) - Harbourfront (MRT - Resorts World Sentosa)

5. KLCC (Centre) - Raffles Place (Centre)

6. Pasar Seni (MRT) - Outram Park (MRT)

7. Pasar Seni (MRT) - Jurong East (MRT)

8. Cochrane (MRT) - Tanjong Pagar (MRT)

9. Tun Razak Exchange/Pasar Rakyat (MRT) - Raffles Place (MRT)

10. Bandar Utama (MRT) - Queenstown (MRT) ---- this journey is for me



In the meantime:

Malaysia's Opposition counters Putrajaya’s plan, offers High-Speed Interstate Rail
The Malaysian Insider| UPDATED @ 05:29:17 PM 20-02-2013 By Zurairi AR February 20, 2013

PETALING JAYA, Feb 20 – Pakatan Rakyat (PR) announced today that a high-speed interstate railway system will be part of their Election 2013 manifesto, which it says is much more needed than a Kuala Lumpur-Singapore link.

This comes amid a joint-venture between the Malaysian and Singaporean governments to complete a high-speed rail link between the two cities by 2020, which is predicted to cost up to RM13 billion.

“Although the manifesto for PR will only be launched this Monday ... I can give an early preview that it will give a specific commitment to build an interstate high-speed rail system,” PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli (picture) told reporters here.

“It will be a long-term development, done over several phases.”

The system will connect major cities along a route from Perlis (border state with Thailand) down to Johor Baru, and connect the east coast of Malaysia to the west coast, Rafizi offered.

“This project puts the people’s priority first even more so, and it will be the main difference between Barisan Nasional (BN) and PR,” he added.

Rafizi questioned the decision to only have two stops after laying out the necessary railway infrastructure along the route, which he said will already take up around 70 per cent of the total construction cost.

“We’re not against the project, the country needs a backbone, an efficient and fast railway system, but the urgency is to connect cities to cities,” stressed Rafizi.

Read More:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysi...nterstate-rail/




Japan's Shinkansen has earlier said that it wants to be involved in the KL-Singapore high speed rail project, preferably using its "bullet-speed" technology.



This post has been edited by accetera: Feb 20 2013, 07:18 PM

政府、新幹線の採用打診　マレーシア・シンガポール高速鉄道
2012/5/24 1:36 情報元 日本経済新聞　電子版 記事保存

有料会員の方のみご利用になれます。保存した記事はスマホやタブレットでもご覧いただけます。

＞ 新規会員登録

＞ ログイン

小サイズに変更javascript:void(0)中サイズに変更javascript:void(0)大サイズに変更javascript:void(0)保存javascript:void(0)リプリント/async/async.do/?ae=P_CM_REPRINT&sv=NX
　政府はマレーシアとシンガポールが進める高速鉄道の構想について、日本の新幹線技術を採用するよう両国政府に打診した。車両から運行管理まで含むパッケージでの事業計画も検討する。政府は日本企業を後押しするために今年度中に採算の見通しなどを独自に調べる方針。アジア経済の発展を日本の成長に取り込んでいく政府の戦略に沿って官民が連携する。

　野田内閣の意向を踏まえて民主党の仙谷由人政調会長代行が５月上旬に両国を…

Japanese government markets Shinkansen for Malaysia – Singapore HSR
http://www.nikkei.com/news/category/...3E2E2E2;av=ALL

This is for the proposed 400 km route that would link Kuala Lumpur and Singapore in about 1.5 hrs. The Japanese government will perform its own independent feasibility analysis of the project this fiscal year to assist Japanese firms looking to participate, and will consider the possibility of providing financing through the Japan Bank for International Cooperation should JR Central or JR East win orders for the project.

This was revealed before in Koptiam thread...


(Wikipedia, courtesy ETP Plan Raodmap)

Forget about 90 minutes... we shall make it 55 minutes now!


UEM Group-ARA Group has proposed to use MAGLEV technology for the non-stop service of KL-SINGAPORE high speed rail train. Travelling at an operational speed of 430kmph, the passenger travelling time will be further shortened to 55 minutes (less than the proposed 95 minutes). The consortium together with Siemens AG, ThyssenKrupp, MAX BÖGL and Shanghai Maglev Transportation Co. planned to use the alignment of North-South Expressway to save land acquisition costs. If suceeded, Malaysia could be the centre of Maglev manufacturing and research centre exporting the technology to the rest of the world.


Kuala Lumpur in talks to use Maglev technology for High Speed Rail; KL-Singapore takes 55 minutes :applause:
New Straits Times | Malaysian Digest | Friday, 22 February 2013 13:30
http://www.malaysiandigest.com/news/36-loc...technology.html

KUALA LUMPUR: A consortium, led by UEM Group Bhd and ARA Group, is proposing a high-speed train technology that can travel up to 500kph, which is expected to be one of the world's fastest in terms of revenue service.

The UEM-Ara Consortium, which is vying for the high-speed rail (HSR) project linking Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, hopes that its proposal to use the magnetic levitation (Maglev) technology will be considered.

A spokesman for the ARA Group, a forerunner in the rail industry here, said that with the Maglev technology, the high-speed train could run, operationally, at between 430kph and 500kph.

The consortium is considering offering two types of services -- express and transit.

At 430kph, the express service would take 55 minutes, running non-stop from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

If between six and seven station stops are required for the 400km line in areas like Seremban, Malacca, Muar, Johor Baru and Tuas, the journey would then take 80 to 90 minutes.

Maglev is a system of transportation that suspends, guides and propels vehicles, predominantly trains.

It uses large numbers of electromagnets, mounted on a flange protruding inboard from the lower part of the train car, for lift and propulsion.

The technology was developed by Transrapid-International (TRI), an erstwhile cooperation between German conglomerates Siemens AG, ThyssenKrupp and MAX BÖGL.

Maglev's high-speed trains are currently operational only in Shanghai, China, since 2003, by Shanghai Maglev Transportation Co (SMTDC).



The daily operational speed is 430kph and has reached a record speed of 501kph, with punctuality registering at more than 99.7 per cent.

Its spokesman said Malaysia, with its prime geographical location and potential, could be the first in the world to breakthrough with Maglev and manufacture and operate the technology here.

Subsequently, it would be possible to market the product globally.

He said Maglev technology had substantial advantages and was well-tailored for Malaysia's roadmap towards 2020.

The spokesman added that a centre of excellence (COE) could be set up here if the technology was implemented, especially for the HSR project, which is set to catapult Malaysia as a global transportation leader.

The COE will facilitate technology transfer between the German conglomerates, with support from SMTDC.

"Malaysia could be the region's aggregation and development hub by adopting the technology.

"The breaking point will be the development of the HSR line.

"This revolutionary avant-garde system has substantial advantages and is well-tailored for Malaysia's roadmap towards 2020."

The spokesman said Ara Group had concluded two studies on the use of the technology, with the help of ThyssenKrupp and SMTDC respectively.

"The outcome of both concept papers looks promising.

"Some of the highlights include a much reduced travel time.

"It will only take 55 minutes to get from Kuala Lumpur to downtown Singapore.

"By utilising the North-South Plus Expressway corridor, the consortium will require minimal land acquisition."

Maglev technology eliminates noise and vibration below 200kph and is suited for urban areas and inner cities.

Train derailments would also be a thing of the past, even with the train running at 500kph, he said.

There is also relatively low maintenance for trains running on Maglev as compared with the conventional high-speed rail, which will minimise long-term operational cost.

This post has been edited by accetera: Feb 22 2013, 11:45 PM

check out MLX01, Japanese superconducting Maglev HSR. So freaking cool!



Just can't wait for this as this would be the first Maglev inter-connecting between two countries. These 2 countries already have one of the busiest air route in the world.

Read Centre for Aviation (CAPA)'s comment about the KL-Singapore High Speed Rail project on the impact of Asian airlines: http://centreforaviation.com/analysis/hsr-...la-lumpur-98233

There are more than 660 flight frequencies between direct carriers between KL and Singapore, excluding those with transits in KL or Sg

This post has been edited by accetera: Feb 23 2013, 12:17 AM

Singapore and KL properties will be equalise in terms of price just because of a High Speed Rail???

KL stop is most likely in Sg Besi or TRX or Bandar Tasik Selatan. *subject to bid winner, i.e. YTL would love to put it in Sentul.

It is expected to have 2 kinds of service - "HSR Express" - a non-stop service, and "HSR Transit" - which will make stop in several places. Refer to our ERL.

Some aviation people also recommend the "HSR Transit" make a stop in KLIA so that it can get some feed traffic otherwise its traffic will drop as Tourists and Biz people (those on premium) would bypass the Airport and opt for Changi (imagine the travel distance from Office to KLIA is like the same as KL-Singapore via public transport).

This post has been edited by accetera: Aug 4 2013, 05:39 PM

This project is moving very fast. Lotsa people are ready to view the report. Stay tuned.

This is how i see it...

If we don't build, our brightest also will go South. If we build, our brightest will go South and probably more will go (especially Chinese).

However,

If we don't build, the foreign expats will not entertain us as they normally bypass us. If we build, we have high chance in getting the foreigners who used to be based in Sg to come to us or we go to attract them as our cost is cheaper and we got better potential in terms of young workforce, land and raw materials.

KL or Iskandar or Malaysia in general probably will steal a portion of money centralising in Sg that would probably would have gone to Bangkok, Jakarta or Manila.

Example,

It is expected that HSR will boost our foreign buyer participation in property sector from our current 3% to about 10% after few years of HSR in operation (assuming good economy and other factors are constant).

HSR is expected to benefit Iskandar Region as it would have a stop there and more importantly, more KL-based investors will go to Iskandar (the other way round).

This post has been edited by accetera: Aug 5 2013, 12:36 AM