Analyst: A high-speed rail connecting KL-Bangkok more feasible than KL-Singapore [BTTV]
By Asila Jalil
January 11, 2024 @ 8:11am
A northern line for the high-speed rail (HSR) connecting Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok, via Padang Besar, is more "interesting" and feasible than one to Singapore, according to a transport analyst.
The potential KL-Bangkok line will likely have more positive ripple effects on Malaysia's economy while reducing the country's dependence on Singapore in freight distribution, he added.
The transport analyst, Dr Rosli Azad Khan, told Business Times that the KL-Padang Besar line is a more interesting proposal versus the potential KL-Singapore HSR due to the wider connection the northern line entails.
Via Bangkok, Rosli said the train will be able to travel further up north to Vientiane in Laos, connecting to an existing bullet train line between Vientiane and Kunming, China.
The transport analyst, Dr Rosli Azad Khan, told Business Times that the KL-Padang Besar line is a more interesting proposal versus the potential KL-Singapore HSR due to the wider connection the northern line entails.
Via Bangkok, Rosli said the train will be able to travel further up north to Vientiane in Laos, connecting to an existing bullet train line between Vientiane and Kunming, China.
By developing such line, Malaysia will be well positioned to play a greater role in freight distribution for the whole of the peninsula, making it less dependent on Singapore for cargo transhipment.
"At the moment, Malaysia's trades (freight) and passenger travel are overly dependent on Singapore port and Changi airport as a transshipment hub (containers) and aviation hub (passengers).
"The proposed KL-Singapore HSR will make these two dependents a lot worse," he added.
Business Times previously reported that the KL-Bangkok line might be possible once the KL-Singapore HSR is developed first.
MyHSR Corporation Sdn Bhd Datuk Seri Fauzi Abdul Rahman recently told Business Times that there might be a possibility that the bullet train will be extended to Malaysia's northern sector, with a final stop at Padang Besar in Perlis, but the immediate priority is on the KL-Singapore HSR to be developed.
"Thailand intends to construct a high-speed rail system that will connect Bangkok and Padang Besar. The three airport lines and the northeast are being constructed. They will begin the southern line after they have finished that.
"We would simply synchronise with that if we were to construct a line connecting Kuala Lumpur and Padang Besar," he said.
To date there is an existing rail line between KL to Padang Besar via electric train service (ETS), run by Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB).
The distance between the two destinations is roughly 450km from KL. Via the ETS, it takes about five hours for passengers to get to Padang Besar.
