KUALA LUMPUR: Rail industry growth via the KL- Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) and the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) will complement the bus and trucking sectors in Malaysia.
Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi said the two mega projects would not diminish the two well-established industries.
“The future of transport is rail. But people cannot use it to get to their destination directly; they still need other modes of transport for the last mile connectivity. Trucks are also needed to transport goods to them,” he said after opening the Malaysia Commercial Vehicle Expo here today.
Aziz said Malaysia was looking to make the bus and trucking industry sustainable to meet growing demands, especially with the upcoming China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
He said the initiative will result in the commercial vehicle industry’s future becoming brighter as Malaysia is a strategic beneficiary of the superpower’s initiative.
Aziz said Malaysia will seize the opportunity and establish more infrastructure and move up the economic ladder.
“Malaysia also hopes to be a livelier economic centre in the region, among others in becoming the main logistic centre in the region,” he said.
He however foresees the rail industry making inroads into the aviation industry’s market share.
Aziz said once the HSR is in place there would likely to be less flights being taken from Kuala Lumpur to Johor Baru and Singapore or vice-versa, just as how travellers now prefer taking the train from Kuala Lumpur to Penang and back.