Talks On Stops Along High-Speed Rail Still On-Going

PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia), April 15 (Bernama) -- Talks to finalise the number of intermediate stops for the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail is still on-going, said MyHSR Corp Sdn Bhd Chairman Dr Ali Hamsa. He said the consideration for the intermediate stops would take into account the main feature of the project itself -- rail express services linking Kuala Lumpur and Singapore in 90 minutes. "It is still in the final stage of discussion," said Ali, who is also Malaysian Chief Secretary to the Government, when asked if the project would involve five to six cities along the route as reported. Ali said this to reporters after the prize-giving ceremony of MyHSR Corporate Logo Design Competition here Thursday It was reported that the project would connect five intermediate stops in Malaysia to Singapore namely, Seremban, Ayer Keroh, Muar, Batu Pahat and Nusa Jaya. Ali said the conclusion on the alignment of the project would be known in July. This follows Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announcement that the memorandum of understanding between Malaysia and Singapore on the project would be signed by the middle of this year, he said. On the Request for Information (FRI) exercise for the project, Ali said, to-date they had received 189 entries, and the FRI inputs would be used in their negotiation with Singapore. He said the basis for the inputs would be on major contributions towards commercial and technical aspects. MyHSR Corp is a wholly-owned special-purpose vehicle under the Ministry of Finance that was set up to ensure the successful delivery of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail project. -- BERNAMA