Malaysia, Singapore ink landmark high-speed rail deal

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the signing ceremony of the High-Speed Rail (HSR) bilateral agreement on Tuesday.

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia and Singapore have signed the High-Speed Rail (HSR) bilateral agreement that will cut travel time between both countries to just 90 minutes. 

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong witnessed the signing of the landmark deal during the 7th Malaysia-Singapore Leaders’ Retreat here on Tuesday.  

The agreement was signed at 5.15pm between Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan and Singapore’s Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan. 

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi also witnessed the signing ceremony. 

The document is a follow-up to the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by both countries on July 19, and outlines further plans and details for the development of the expansive rail project.  

The HSR service is targeted to be up and running by 2026 and will cut travel time between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to just 90 minutes, with trains designed to reach maximum speeds of 300km per hour.

The rail line will stretch 350km, with 335km in Malaysia starting from Bandar Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur and 15km in Singapore, ending at Jurong East.

It will have six transit stations in Putrajaya, Seremban, Ayer Keroh, Muar, Batu Pahat and Iskandar Puteri.

The project will be administered by MyHSR Corp Sdn Bhd, which has been incorporated as a company wholly-owned by Malaysia’s Finance Ministry.

Earlier in the afternoon, Najib and Lee held a four-eyed meeting followed by a delegation meeting as part of the leaders’ retreat, an annual event hosted rotationally by both countries.

Also present were Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa as well as other ministers and senior government officials from both countries.