International Rail Network
The sole mainline railway line providing direct international connections is operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu or Malayan Railway, with services formerly commencing from the Tanjong Pagar railway station in southern Singapore. The present single track line is 1 (formerly 36.8) km long, with a gauge of 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) (metre gauge), and had proceeded north through Bukit Timah, before crossing the 1.2 km causeway to Johor Bahru on the Malay Peninsula, where it then runs along the peninsula's west coast through Kuala Lumpur and onwards to Thailand and beyond.
A railway system dating back to the British colonial era, it is now generally considered inadequate in meeting contemporary transport requirements. Both goods and passengers would have originally arrived by ship and hence the railway terminates at Tanjong Pagar, where port operations are still concentrated. There was similarly a branch line which leads to the Jurong industrial area, but which has since been expunged. The development of an efficient transport network in Singapore, and the containerisation of maritime trade globally meant that the existing rail system no longer played a significant part in the ferrying of goods, and is now catered primarily for passenger transport.
Over time, however, the rail service was once again unable to compete effectively with modernising modes of alternative transport. The high frequency of air shuttle services between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur presented a much faster and more comfortable means of transport despite the high prices. From February 2008, partial deregulation of air travel between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur was introduced, and with full deregulation from December 2008 air fares are currently (April 2009) relatively low. However, the convenience of air travel should not be overestimated; typical time from Kuala Lumpur Sentral Station to City Centre of Singapore (via the low cost terminals at each airport) is around five hours. Moreover, the opening of the North-South Expressway in Malaysia from the late 1980s drastically cut travel time by private car or coaches to around five to five-and-a-half hours from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur.
In the light of this, the Malaysian government is currently undertaking plans to upgrade the railway system to an electrified, double-tracked, express line, although it is unclear if the upgrading works will eventually be extended into Singapore.
As a result of the agreements leading up to the independence of Singapore, the land on which the railway ran on was owned by KTM, and would remain so as long as the rail system was in operation. This arrangement had erupted into several spates of diplomatic disputes between the two countries. Land-scarce Singapore was keen to move the railway station to either Woodlands or Kranji, thus freeing up large tracts of land for redevelopment. In return, the Singaporean government was willing to offer a plot of prime land in the Marina Bay area for development by the Malaysians, although this concession was not required according to the original agreements. The negotiations were stalled, however, when the Malaysians were unimpressed with the compensation amount, and expressed concern over accessibility should the railway station be moved further from the city centre. Resolution was reached in May 2010 with the agreements endorsed on June 2011. From July 1, 2011, the only KTM railway terminal and station in Singapore is the Woodlands Train Checkpoint.
Plans to build a high-speed rail link between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur have been mooted in recent years, in particular Penang–Singapore High Speed Rail of YTL Corporation Berhad, with the possibility of cutting travel time between the two cities from seven hours currently on existing rail lines, to about 90 minutes. The Singapore government expressed its willingness to discuss the idea.
Read more about this topic: Rail Transport In Singapore
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