KUALA LUMPUR: Can the potential high-speed rail connection between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore (KL-Singapore HSR) be a component of a larger scheme extending as far north as Bangkok in Thailand or even further?
According to industry insiders, a route connecting KL and Bangkok will make it possible to link it to other regional HSR lines to form larger networks that will reach Laos and China.
With advancements connected to China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the expected standard gauge could facilitate direct freight services to China and other destinations in addition to passenger traffic.
"It would make sense if Thailand initiated the feasibility study and Malaysia could bring in China to provide the funding, construction, operations and larger volume of passengers from their region into KL and Bangkok," the insiders said.
According to an insider, China seems to be the most likely option to act as an external supplier, tying the project into the Singapore-Kunming rail link, a bigger project that will connect China with a number of Asean members.
"In the long run, Malaysia may benefit from the plan for a KL-Bangkok HSR, although some may argue that it may not be economically feasible given that the distance between the two links is greater than that of KL to Singapore," said the insider.
The capitals of Malaysia and Thailand are separated by about 1,400-1,500 kilometres, but Padang Besar in Perlis is only roughly 450 km from Kuala Lumpur.
In comparison, the HSR from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore is between 330 km and 350 km long.
The insider told Business Times that Malaysia and Thailand stand to benefit greatly from the KL-Bangkok HSR.
They said the rapid growth of bilateral economic integration, which includes cross-border production chains, has increased demand for travel between the two countries.
"As the Asean region has rapidly developed into one of the most dynamic and attractive areas for investment opportunities, there is a huge opportunity for Malaysia to turn the economic tide to ensure the continual growth of the country with a much-needed impetus on the scale of a large infrastructure project such as the KL-Singapore HSR.
"The KL-Singapore HSR represents a key driver to harness economic integration opportunities with the Asean region and China, along with the grand and ambitious vision for the country's future development and connectivity to the Belt and Road Initiative," the insider said.
He said the development of the HSR in Malaysia has the capacity to fundamentally accelerate the country's economic recovery and raise the bar for the country's transport system, which would lead to a multitude of economic, social, and environmental benefits.
Catching up with regional peers
Due to the positive correlation and interdependence between infrastructure investments and economic multipliers, large infrastructure projects are widely acknowledged as being essential to a country's economic growth.
Indonesia, Malaysia's immediate neighbour, began offering Jakarta-Bandung HSR services in October 2023 with the goal of using them as a tool for long-term economic transformation.
With a travel time of 40 minutes, this link between Indonesia's first and third largest metropolitan areas, which together have a population of 42 million, has greatly benefited the country's citizens' freedom of movement as the first HSR in Southeast Asia.
"The implementation of the Jakarta-Bandung HSR and the expansion of the plan to connect to Surabaya could potentially increase the income of the surrounding areas along the corridor.
"This is because businesses and individuals will have improved market access to the cities, industrial clusters, food processing and textile industries, and many other sectors," said the insider.
Included in the long-term plan is the investment in the Java corridor, which is expected to generate an additional 2.2 per cent gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the area.
With the HSR serving as a major catalyst, Thailand has also developed the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), which is expected to generate more than one million job opportunities and an additional RM 2.5 trillion in GDP by 2037.
According to him, the Shinkansen was crucial to Japan's economic reform during the Income Doubling Plan initiative in the 1960s, as evidenced by the country's yearly growth average of over 10 per cent, which exceeded the initial goal of 7.2 per cent.
"The size of the Japanese economy also doubled in less than seven years. This is the outcome of the Japanese government's initiative to move the focus of economic development from densely populated cities further into undeveloped areas through the Shinkansen, with a focus on connectivity and mobility as the primary drivers to spur regional development through the Pacific Belt Zone," he said.
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