Singapore, Malaysia sign historic high-speed rail deal

PUTRAJAYA — The Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) bilateral agreement was signed in Putrajaya on Tuesday (Dec 13), setting the stage for the project’s design and construction before service begins by 2026.

Billed as a game changer, a marquee project and a momentous agreement by leaders of both countries, the HSR will take travellers from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur in 90 minutes, with operations targeted to begin by Dec 31, 2026.  

The agreement — which came about five months after a memorandum of understanding was inked — was signed by Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan and Malaysian Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan. The signing was witnessed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak.

Next year, both countries will call a joint tender for a privately financed assets company to design, build, finance and maintain the rolling stock and rail assets, such as the track work, power, and signalling and telecommunications systems.

They will also jointly award a tender for a joint development partner early next year to provide advice on operational, technical and procurement matters. 

Both countries have agreed to design, build, finance and maintain the civil infrastructure and operate the HSR stations in their respective territories. The appointed infrastructure entities for Singapore and Malaysia are the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and MyHSR Corporation respectively. 

Discussions on the HSR were started in 2013. The bilateral agreement was to have been signed earlier this month but Mr Najib told Malaysian media that Mr Lee had asked for more time to brief Singapore’s President, Dr Tony Tan, on a guarantee related to the HSR project. 

Explaining the guarantee, a Ministry of Transport spokesperson told TODAY that the LTA and MyHSR will have various financial obligations and liabilities, as they will be responsible for civil engineering works including the tracks and stations. The bilateral agreement commits both governments to guarantee specific financial obligations and liabilities of the LTA and MyHSR. 

“While it is unlikely to be called upon, the guarantee will provide added confidence to investors interested in bidding (to be the assets company or operator). As part of due process, the president’s concurrence is required before any guarantee can be given by the Government,” the spokesperson said.

A new double-track line will be constructed to accommodate all types of conventional HSR trains and technology available in the market with a design speed of 350kmh.

The assets company will, in turn, lease the trains to an international operator to run the HSR and shuttle service that will ply between Singapore (Jurong East Station) and Malaysia. It will also lease trains to a Malaysian domestic operator, which will ply the seven stations along the Malaysian stretch of the HSR route. The stations in Malaysia are Bandar Malaysia in KL, Putrajaya, Seremban (Negeri Sembilan), Ayer Keroh (Malacca), Muar, Batu Pahat and Iskandar Puteri in Johor.

A bridge 25m above sea level will link the HSR line between both countries. The stretch of the HSR on the Singapore side is likely to be mostly underground.

The agreement formalises, among other things, the technical, safety and security requirements, procurement and regulatory frameworks, as well as customs, immigration and quarantine arrangements for the HSR.

Asked about balancing security concerns with the greater ease of movement of people that the HSR will provide, Mr Lee said at a joint press conference that the Singapore-Malaysia border is already the busiest international border in the world. 

“We cannot close our borders because of security problems,” he said. “I think we have to manage the problem with good processes on both sides and close cooperation between the border agencies of both the countries.”

He added: “This was in fact one of the major issues to be discussed and resolved, and clear understanding reached before we proceeded with the HSR project because you want to make quite sure that it is safe, it is secure and at the same time that it is convenient for passengers (to) clear customs and immigrations once.”

The co-location of Customs, Immigration and Quarantine facilities at Singapore, Bandar Malaysia and Iskandar Puteri will allow for seamless travel. Passengers will undergo both Singapore and Malaysia clearance only at the point of departure. 

Mr Lee said: “There must be trust and understanding and clear mutual agreement as to what the powers are, what the arrangements are, what you can do, what the fail-safe responsibilities are in case somebody tries to break through. We have thought long and hard about this ... and we will make it work.”

At the press conference, Mr Najib was asked by Malaysian media if the HSR could be extended beyond Kuala Lumpur. He said he did not think more complexity and greater magnitude should be added to the project, and would rather ensure parties deliver on time schedule and within budget.

The signing of the bilateral agreement was part of the annual Malaysia-Singapore leaders’ retreat held in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday. Other topics discussed during the meeting between the two leaders included water supply from Malaysia to Singapore, tourism collaboration, as well as environmental issues, including regional cooperation on the transboundary haze pollution problem. They also discussed defence cooperation between the two countries in light of growing security challenges and threats. 

Citing developments including the outcome of the United States Presidential Election and the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom, Mr Lee said: “We also looked at the state of the world and the uncertainties and anxieties which are currently prevalent internationally ... tensions and preoccupations in various parts of the region ... and we agreed that in such a circumstance, all the more our bilateral relationship must be strong.”

He added: “We should work together within Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) to strengthen (regional) cohesion to deal with the issues so that we can share each other’s burden and prosper together.”