Malaysia will determine in the coming months whether to proceed with a high-speed rail (HSR) line connecting Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Transport Minister Anthony Loke stated that the government aims to make a decision by the end of the fourth quarter of 2024.
Once a policy decision is made to move forward with the project, negotiations with Singapore will commence. Currently, Malaysia’s government has shortlisted three out of seven consortiums that submitted proposals for the multibillion-dollar project. The shortlisted proposals include those led by YTL Corp., Berjaya Land Bhd., and China Railway Construction Corporation.
Malaysia’s policy requires that the high-speed rail project be awarded to a consortium with at least 51% Malaysian ownership. The Sultan of Johor, Ibrahim Iskandar, who became Malaysia’s king in January, has expressed support for the project and suggested routing the rail line via Forest City, a development in which he has an interest.
Initially approved in 2013, the rail line project was cancelled in 2020 due to disagreements over costs. The estimated cost of the rail line, which aims to reduce travel time between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to 90 minutes, was around RM100 billion (US$21.4 billion) when government-funded.
However, Loke indicated that the final cost may vary depending on the selected proposal and stated that the government prefers not to provide a guarantee for the project to avoid increasing Malaysia’s debt burden.
Additionally, Loke mentioned Malaysia’s ongoing China-built rail project, expected to link the east and west coasts of Peninsular Malaysia by the end of 2026, and a potential future connection to Thailand’s rail network. This would contribute to a broader plan to link Southeast Asia with China by rail.