KL-SG HSR to be revived? Cabinet to decide by Jan, followed by discussions with S’pore if ‘Yes’ – Loke

On, off, maybe? It’s shocking that the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) project – first agreed upon by Malaysia and Singapore more than a decade ago (2013) is still in the news. Can’t we just make a decision and stick with it?

According to transport minister Anthony Loke, the cabinet is set to make a decision on the revival of the HSR project by the end of December or early January. However, he said that the upcoming policy paper on the project will not be the final verdict on whether the HSR will be reinstated.

The Seremban MP said that the cabinet decision will not conclude the matter but will instead set the direction for future discussions with Singapore.

“Approval from the cabinet is not the final word on the project. This is a cross-border initiative, and it can only move forward after we engage in discussions with the Singapore government,” Loke told NST in an interview that was published yesterday.

Here’s a recap and timeline of the KL-SG HSR – you might want to grab a coffee. The project was first agreed upon by Malaysia and Singapore in February 2013, and in December 2016, the two countries signed a bilateral agreement to facilitate the project, which was supposed to have begun construction in 2018 and completed in 2025, with operations slated to begin in 2026. This was during Datk Seri Najib Razak’s time as PM.

In September 2018, at the request of Malaysia (now with PH’s Tun Mahathir Mohamad as PM), both governments agreed to postpone the project until May 31, 2020 to allow for the identification of cost reduction options, including reviewing and optimising the alignment, station locations and the business model. The deferment resulted in Malaysia paying S$15 million (around RM45.1 million at the time) as compensation for the abortive costs incurred by Singapore. The payment was made at the end of January 2019.

In May 2020, the deferment was again extended to December 31. The decision to cancel the project will incur cost for the country. Previously, it was reported that Malaysia would have to reimburse Singapore for the project implementation costs incurred by the latter up to the point of suspension.

The HSR project was called off on January 1, 2021, after Singapore could not agree to Malaysia’s proposed changes.

“Both governments had conducted several discussions with regard to these changes and had not been able to reach an agreement. Therefore, the HSR agreement had lapsed on December 31, 2020. Both countries will abide by their respective obligations, and will now proceed with the necessary actions, resulting from this termination of the HSR agreement,” read a joint statement by then Malaysian PM Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and former Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong.

In March 2021, Malaysia announced that it had paid S$102.8 million (RM318 million) to Singapore for costs incurred for the development of the HSR project and in relation to the extension of its suspension.

A year later, Malaysia found itself a new PM in Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, and during this time, Malaysia initiated HSR revival talks with its southern neighbour. Fast forward to the current ‘Madani’ administration led by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim – in July 2023, it was reported that the government was looking at a public-private partnership model that would see the HSR built without using public funds.

The HSR was originally planned as a 350 km-long double-track route (335 km of which was supposed to be in Malaysia, and 15 km in Singapore) with eight stops in total – Singapore, Iskandar Puteri, Batu Pahat, Muar, Ayer Keroh, Seremban, Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur. A bridge over the Straits of Johor – with a height clearance of 25 metres – would have linked the line between both countries.

The service was projected to run 10 car-long trains – with the capacity for up to 100 passengers per car – at average speeds of 300 km/h, which would bring the rail travel time between KL and Singapore down to 90 minutes, excluding clearance at customs, immigration and quarantine.

In 2018, a much cheaper alternative to the HSR was mooted, and this proposed an upgrade to existing rail infrastructure instead of the HSR’s approach of building a new line from scratch. This more affordable alternative – with a much longer 130-minute travel time – was then estimated to cost the Malaysian government RM20 billion, a far lower sum than the HSR’s estimated cost of between RM60 billion to RM70 billion.

We’ve had four PMs after Najib and HSR is still making headlines. The next general election must be called before February 17, 2028. Who knows?

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