KUALA LUMPUR: The Kuala Lumpur (KL)-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) passengers will only need to undergo customs, immigration and quarantine (CIQ) clearance once, which is at the point of departure. To facilitate swift and seamless travel, the Malaysian and Singaporean governments had agreed to co-locate the CIQ facilities at three locations –- Singapore, Iskandar Puteri and Kuala Lumpur. The entire customs clearance process for passengers is expected to be shorter than if they were to take flights. The HSR project, targeted for commercial operations in 2026, will have eight stations – the terminal in Bandar Malaysia and Singapore and six intermediate stations in Putrajaya, Seremban, Ayer Keroh, Muar, Batu Pahat and Iskandar Puteri.
All stations will be designed to integrate with the local public transport systems to ensure seamless connectivity. The 350km rail would reduce travel time between the two countries to just 90 minutes, with speed of over 300km/hour. Both governments will call for open international tenders in August 2016 to appoint a joint development partner, and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had both stressed their commitments to a fair and transparent tender process. Each government would take responsibility for developing, constructing and maintaining the civil infrastructure and stations within their own countries, and this will be undertaken by MyHSR Corp in Malaysia and Land Transport Authority in Singapore as the InfraCos.
As for the cost of the project, MyHSR Corp’s Chief Executive Officer, Mohd Nur Ismal Mohamed Kamal, revealed in a briefing that although MyHSR has its own estimate, there were no official figures given to the public. “We want them (tender) to come as low as possible,” he said, adding that the cost is to be borne by InfraCos of both sides, according to borders. The KL-Singapore HSR would offer three services – the 90-minute express service between Bandar Malaysia-Singapore; domestic shuttle service which will make stops at transit stations within Malaysia; and shuttle service that would run between Iskandar Puteri and Singapore. Fares are yet to be determined, as it will be set by the operator. “It would be market driven and cheaper than airfares. Possibly the operators will adopt dynamic pricing,” Mohd Nur said. He said Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR would not interrupt other modes of transportation as there are different types of travellers and market. As for competition with KTM, he said it catered to different routes, period and industries.
