Will SE Asia’s Bullet Train be a ghost train?
KUALA LUMPUR: The proposed bullet train between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur may be a damp squib.
In further evidence of the sometimes testy relationship between Malaysia and Singapore, Malaysia’s transport minister Chan Kong Choy has denied a report that the South East Asian neighbours have approved construction of a super speed rail line linking the two countries.
Chan said the plan for the train, which would whisk passengers between Singapore and KL in 90 minutes, was still being evaluated.
“The government has still not made a final decision, it is still looking at the proposal,” Chan was quoted as saying by the state Bernama news agency.
Earlier reports said the two nations had approved the US$2.3 billion high-speed train service proposed last year by Malaysian conglomerate YTL Corporation, working with Germany’s Siemens AG.
Currently, there are bus services and a seven-hour rail service from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore. Air ticket prices have been kept artificially high because of restrictions on budget airlines flying between the two countries.
BACKTRACK: Since Japan’s original bullet train, T?kaid? Shinkansen, opened in 1964, the network has expanded to link most major cities on the islands of Honsh? and Ky?sh? with running speeds of up to 300 km/h (186 mph).
Ian Jarrett
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