High speed rail plans inch closer

Vast reach: In January this year, China’s high speed rail link reached the 19,000km mark.

The much-awaited Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR project is expected to be inked very soon. And China, the world’s biggest newcomer in the field, is not settling for second best.

UNDER the hot Hainanese sun, a bullet train speeds down the east side of China’s southernmost province. Leaving Haikou in the north, it passes coconut trees and building projects, skirting the South China Sea coast.