Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Upgraded KTM system

If Malaysia decides to change from a High Speed Rail to an upgraded KTM system, Singapore has the following options:

a) Reject the change as it is a fundamental change from the original agreement and insists that Malaysia pays compensation under the agreement.

b) Accept the change and let it terminate at Jurong East station.

c) Agree to drop the original project, as it does not make economic sense to Singapore. As this is a mutual agreement, no compensation is payable.

Option (a) will lead to another dispute in the International Court, similar to the dispute over Pedra Blanca.

Option (b) does not make sense to Singapore. Why invest $5 billion (my estimate) to develop the link to Jurong East, when the revamped KTM service is not likely to generate the traffic expected from HSR.

Option (c) seems to be the best solution. It will be neater for both countries. Let Malaysia decide what to do with its railway system. It could be the start to build a relationship of trust and friendship with Malaysia.

I hope that a phone call will be made, initiated either by Malaysia or Singapore.

Tan Kin Lian




1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Bullet train will be too expensive to justify. Without heavily subsidised tickets like in China, very few people will take it -- the full fare will be more expensive than budget air. Don't forget that bullet train system in China is also heavily subsidised by taxpayer money for maintenance. It won't be like Japan which has plenty of high income people willing to pay & even then the Japanese govt still has to chip in for maintenance costs.

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