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HSR and RTS Discussion

lol, those developments must have screwed you over big time. There's like 10+ developments in Zone A but you manager to single out only 3. Yikes.

I see Marina Wave coming up nicely. If the surrounding areas also are spruced up, especially the traffic congestion at peak hours, it would be great.
 
I see Marina Wave coming up nicely. If the surrounding areas also are spruced up, especially the traffic congestion at peak hours, it would be great.

I saw that development over the weekend, looks decent but the Permas bridge/bakar batu traffic light area is a bit*h, one of the dumbest traffic system. I guess you can take small escape route through taman iskandar but no everyone knows this way.
 
I saw that development over the weekend, looks decent but the Permas bridge/bakar batu traffic light area is a bit*h, one of the dumbest traffic system. I guess you can take small escape route through taman iskandar but no everyone knows this way.

LOL! Yes the traffic lights under the PJ bridge is crazy, causing a lot of jams during peak hours. They should think of ways to widen those 2 lane roads and tweak the traffic lights.
 
Speed bumps ahead for ambitious Singapore-KL high-speed rail link
Nyshka Chandran
Tuesday, Jul 26, 2016

A planned high-speed rail (HSR) connecting two major Southeast Asian commercial hubs, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, is a feather in the cap for regional economic integration but profitability and political manoeuvring may overshadow the ambitious project.

Officials last week signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), the precursor to a legally-binding bilateral agreement at year-end, and an international tender will be called in August to appoint a joint development partner. So far, Japan has expressed interest in bidding, pointing to the spotless safety record and famed reliability of its Shinkasen bullet train, local media reported.

The HSR, due to start operations in 2026, is a big win for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which has been pushing for deeper regional integration.

The 10-member bloc launched the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) initiative last year in a bid to unite Southeast Asia into a single market and production base, with a focus on free trade in goods and services, free flow of skilled labour and liberalized investment. But so far, progress has been tepid due to domestic political concerns.

Now, a recent report from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), has warned that the HSR could struggle to provide the hoped-for boost to ASEAN cohesion. HSR projects typically struggle for years before turning a profit, research fellow Wu Shang-su and associate professor Alan Chong noted in the report. For example, it took more than two decades for the Eurotunnel linking Britain and France to turn a profit, according to the NTU report.

"With operating deficits common among most HSR operators around the world, the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur HSR may not be an exception," the report said. "Despite the possibility of bilateral commuting services theoretically becoming profitable, construction and maintenance costs would surely rely on overall income."

Moreover, with commercial aviation as the railway's primary competitor, redirecting large numbers of aerial passengers to the HSR may not be feasible.

There are about 45 daily flights between the two capitals, with average capacity of each flight at about 200 people, which meant 9,000 daily passengers could be carried in both directions at maximum, the report said. But one HSR train could seat a maximum of 1,000 passengers, according to news reports, so it would take 10 to 15 uninterrupted train services per day, assuming the HSR performs at peak capacity every time, to match the number of passengers flights could carry, the report continued.

Ticket pricing would also be a key issue, particularly if the HSR was meant to compete with cars, buses and conventional trains.

"If the HSR charges too much, passenger traffic would not significantly contribute to its finances, the NTU report said. "If the HSR tickets are priced too low for recouping its sunk costs, increased passenger volume may not adequately compensate but contribute to overall financial deterioration."

Navigating through government bureaucracy could also derail progress.

The report explained that HSR projects tended to be lucrative when supported by urban development such as airports, restaurants, cinemas and shopping outlets, near the new rail stations. But in Malaysia, undertaking such land development projects would require backing from both federal and state governments, which can be a complicated process, the report noted.

"Therefore, building HSR lines could require political bargains that may result in detours, or even impasse, in striking an agreement amongst various political forces."

- See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singap...-kl-high-speed-rail-link#sthash.FMzO9u6y.dpuf
 
Second phase of study on MRT extension to Johor

A project to extend the Thomson- East Coast Line north into Johor Baru is gaining traction, with the second phase of an advanced engineering study under way.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, Singapore's Ministry of Transport said the study will take up to the second quarter of 2018 to complete. But it could be completed by the third quarter of next year, it said.

Both Singapore and Johor launched the joint study in April.

"Phase 2 is intended to develop the detailed engineering design for the rapid transit system project," a ministry spokesman said.

The Straits Times understands that this stage of the study will include a detailed look at the feasibility, merits and cost-effectiveness of various alignments, number of stops and whether the straits crossing will be made under the sea or via a bridge.

The project was first announced in 2010 by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said then that the cross-border rapid transit project would be an extension of the Thomson-East Coast Line, and would be completed by 2018.

This was pushed to 2019 when Singapore decided to lengthen the Thomson-East Coast Line.

Since then, there had been little progress reported on the 4-5km extension, with Singapore saying it was waiting for Johor to decide on the location of its terminal station.
But last August, Malaysia confirmed that the station terminus would be in Bukit Chagar, just north of JB Sentral. The Bukit Chagar terminus will have its own customs and immigration facilities, according to the New Straits Times.
Separately, the LTA said it embarked on a ridership study of the Singapore-Johor Baru extension last month.

It said the study is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Construction industry watchers said the line is unlikely to be completed before 2020.

hope they speed it up!
 
When will 3rd phase of study start ?

What 3rd Phase?
2nd Phase scheduled to complete by mid 2018.
During this Phase, both sides will have a "detailed look at the feasibility, merits and cost-effectiveness of various alignments, number of stops and whether the straits crossing will be made under the sea or via a bridge".

If 2nd Phase is positive then both sides will probably again sign a MOU to proceed with the project.
If 2nd Phase study shows negativities, then nothing.
So, RTS or no RTS, wait till at least 3rd Qtr 2018 for the answer.............which is another 2 more years from now.
 
Speed bumps ahead for ambitious Singapore-KL high-speed rail link
Nyshka Chandran
Tuesday, Jul 26, 2016

Now, a recent report from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), has warned that the HSR could struggle to provide the hoped-for boost to ASEAN cohesion. HSR projects typically struggle for years before turning a profit, research fellow Wu Shang-su and associate professor Alan Chong noted in the report. For example, it took more than two decades for the Eurotunnel linking Britain and France to turn a profit, according to the NTU report.

Navigating through government bureaucracy could also derail progress.

The report explained that HSR projects tended to be lucrative when supported by urban development such as airports, restaurants, cinemas and shopping outlets, near the new rail stations. But in Malaysia, undertaking such land development projects would require backing from both federal and state governments, which can be a complicated process, the report noted.

"Therefore, building HSR lines could require political bargains that may result in detours, or even impasse, in striking an agreement amongst various political forces."

Academia writing like this really say chim chim but in fact tells nothing. Same thing will happen to what sg gov will do to the jurong country club land, u think small timer got power to develop meh. KL side got bandar malaysia, master developer is IWH-CREC. Iskandar puteri side got gerbang nusajaya, mulpha, sunway and sunrise will build a new town there. So call "complicated process" not complex at all lah... just malaysia side lack of executing power only....no money as well.

Cant earn money from HSR, but gov can earn from real estate, ticket sale is just the side dish, not main course.
 
[FONT=&quot]KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 12 — Malaysia and Singapore will build their respective portions of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) link’s track, the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) has said.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]SPAD chief executive officer Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah told a forum yesterday that the two countries will appoint one company each to build the tracks for the bullet train link.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]“Malaysia’s tracks will be covered by Malaysia.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]“While, on Singapore’s side, they are going to do (build) it on their own,” he was reported as saying by The Star daily today.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Azharuddin said the Malaysian government would appoint an asset management company for the HSR, with its job scope to include the construction and maintenance of the HSR’s signalling and communications network.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]He also said a company will be appointed to operate the HSR, with this operator to pay the required fees to the railway construction companies and the asset-management company.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]“These are the three main ‘structures’ for the HSR. We will sign a binding agreement with Singapore by the end of this year,” he said.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of the Economic Planning Unit, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, had, on July 19, said that Malaysia is committed to completing the HSR by 2026.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]He also said the financing for the rail project would be shared between both countries based on an “equitable fair percentage”, while the local funding of the project would be divided between Putrajaya and the private sector.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/m...own-portion-of-hsr-track#sthash.yQWNkPXx.dpuf[/FONT]
 
Malaysia should emulate Singapore in public transportation- comment by Malaysian MP

Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming, in making unflattering comparisons with Singapore, cautioned that public transportation in Malaysia was more expensive for a number of reasons.
“An MRT ride from the Pasir Ris MRT station in the east to the Pioneer MRT station in the west, for example, costs approximately SG2,” he said in a statement.
“An LRT ride from Gombak station (KJ1) to Putra Heights (KJ37), in comparison, costs RM6.10.”
He wants to know, on a dollar for dollar basis, why the ride in Malaysia costs three times more compared with that in Singapore.
The MP attributed the reason to five factors:

1) Prasarana, wholly owned by the Finance Ministry, was unprofitable and has accumulated massive losses over time;
2) it has very high financing costs because of its high debts;
3) it has relatively low non-fare revenue;
4) SPAD has done a very poor job of fare regulation in Malaysia; and
5) The Malaysian Government does not want to directly fund public transportation infrastructure.

“We have a long way to go before we can achieve Singapore’s affordable public transport pricing,” said Ong.
“One key to getting there is to know where we are now.”
Firstly, he warned, if there are no improvements in the manner in which the LRT and Rapid buses are financed and regulated, “we should expect more increases in fare charges in the near future”.
Secondly, he said, the government needs to examine the business relationship between MRT Co, the owner of the new Sungai Buloh-Kajang (SBK) MRT Line 1, and the operator of the line, which will be Prasarana, to see its impact on the profitability of Prasarana as well as of MRT Co.
MRT is not directly bearing the costs of constructing the SBK line.
A separate special purpose vehicle (SPV) called Dana Infra has been issuing government backed bonds to pay for construction costs.
MRT recently signed a 10-year lease agreement with Rapid Rail, a Prasarana subsidiary, for it to run the operations of the first MRT line.
All fares will go to Rapid Rail while MRT will receive revenue from advertising and rental.
“If Prasarana performs well, the MRT contract can help reduce its losses and perhaps reduce pressure to increase fares,” noted Ong.
 
Paiseh, my Chinese quite limited! May I know briefly what the article below is trying to say? Thanks.

Is it that the Johor side is not considering building the RTS for now due to limited population?

RTS%20News%20Not%20Building_zpsunrcturq.jpg
 
Paiseh, my Chinese quite limited! May I know briefly what the article below is trying to say? Thanks.

Is it that the Johor side is not considering building the RTS for now due to limited population?

RTS%20News%20Not%20Building_zpsunrcturq.jpg

You must also quote where and when was this article published to see if this is current news.
But anyway, the headings simply said : "WORRIED THAT THE LOW POPULATION AFFECTING INVESTMENT RETURNS, STATE OF JOHORE WILL FOR NOW STOP CONSIDERING THE RTS".
It also revealed that only about 8% of population take public transport in Johore..........that explains.

Well, no need to spend millions to do feasibility study, even a layman can see very clearly that there is not enough commuters / ridership to support the system.
Those hundreds of officers who parked their cars all over in Bukit Chagar must be extremely relieved to hear this.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the translation.

It was an attachment I got from a friend only yesterday. But I'm not sure of the date of publication.

Yes, I think the Johor transport authorities are afraid of the profitability of the whole RTS thing.

Based on the article posted above with the headline "Malaysia should emulate Singapore in public transportation", we can tell that they have yet to find a cost-effective formula that works.

People in Singapore sometimes complain too much how expensive our public transport fares are. I've traveled to several countries and I can safely say SG's MRT offers the cheapest fares for the high technology and conveniences that it brings. In other countries, I will not be surprised if to travel from say Jurong to Pasir Ris, it would cost more than $5 per trip.

It is not surprising that very few take public transport in Johor. But I thought the RTS is more for JB-SG travel rather than internally?
 
Thanks for the translation.

It was an attachment I got from a friend only yesterday. But I'm not sure of the date of publication.

Yes, I think the Johor transport authorities are afraid of the profitability of the whole RTS thing.

Based on the article posted above with the headline "Malaysia should emulate Singapore in public transportation", we can tell that they have yet to find a cost-effective formula that works.

People in Singapore sometimes complain too much how expensive our public transport fares are. I've traveled to several countries and I can safely say SG's MRT offers the cheapest fares for the high technology and conveniences that it brings. In other countries, I will not be surprised if to travel from say Jurong to Pasir Ris, it would cost more than $5 per trip.

It is not surprising that very few take public transport in Johor. But I thought the RTS is more for JB-SG travel rather than internally?

Finally, they found out from their studies that only about 8% of the population actually takes public transport.
I don't need any expensive studies , I can also figure that out.
Way back last year, I wrote something here to suggest who will not take the RTS, maybe the authorities read it.
You can recap with the following link.

http://sammyboy.com/showthread.php?...and-Singapore-(MASTEEL)&p=2188808#post2188808

I quite sure many people, especially that famous Princess Cove promoter, will be very disappointed.
But I am also quite sure he will keep very quiet as long as possible about it and will still tell his potential Princess Cove customer that the proposed RTS is "only walking distance away".
 
Finally, they found out from their studies that only about 8% of the population actually takes public transport.
I don't need any expensive studies , I can also figure that out.
Way back last year, I wrote something here to suggest who will not take the RTS, maybe the authorities read it.
You can recap with the following link.

http://sammyboy.com/showthread.php?...and-Singapore-(MASTEEL)&p=2188808#post2188808

I quite sure many people, especially that famous Princess Cove promoter, will be very disappointed.
But I am also quite sure he will keep very quiet as long as possible about it and will still tell his potential Princess Cove customer that the proposed RTS is "only walking distance away".

Looks like you hit the nail even a year ago.

I think RTS just looks nice on paper. But it's a big ? on its feasibility. I think it mainly benefits leisure Singaporeans who want to cross over for a day trip of makan or shopping.

No wonder the Johor side has been so quiet about the RTS all along.
 
Looks like you hit the nail even a year ago.

I think RTS just looks nice on paper. But it's a big ? on its feasibility. I think it mainly benefits leisure Singaporeans who want to cross over for a day trip of makan or shopping.

No wonder the Johor side has been so quiet about the RTS all along.

JB will do this RTS at its own terms and time. It will not be pushed.
Priority is still HSR and BTS, lastly RTS. JB need to sort out its own inter zone transportation first. More so it is all about fund allocations. Noticed there's no mention of RTS in last few 4 eye meetings between 2 leaders.
 
JB will do this RTS at its own terms and time. It will not be pushed.
Priority is still HSR and BTS, lastly RTS. JB need to sort out its own inter zone transportation first. More so it is all about fund allocations. Noticed there's no mention of RTS in last few 4 eye meetings between 2 leaders.

The RTS is still listed as an upcoming project, so maybe it is still on...but in an indefinite timeline?

http://www.spad16.primuscore.com/la...s/malaysia-singapore-rapid-transit-system-rts
 
If cost and return of investment is an issue, they should just do an upgrade of the existing railway track. And make the frequency every 20mins. I think a lot of people will be contented with this already. Forget about ambitious project like underground or bash through princess cove.
 
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