While the move to reactivate the KL-Singapore high-speed rail (HSR) continues, another such project might overtake its development and become the first HSR route in the country, Sin Chew Daily reports.
Plans are apparently underway to implement an Ipoh-Kuala Lumpur HSR, with the project awaiting federal government finalisation, according to Perak infrastructure, energy, water and public transportation committee chairman Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin.
He told the news publication that the state government had received a proposal from a conglomerate in China about the rail project, which would cut down travelling time between the two cities to around 40 minutes instead of the two-and-a-half to three hours presently by road travel.
Trains on the HSR route will be capable of running up to 280 km/h, double that of the present KTM electric train service (ETS), which runs trains at speeds of up to 140 km/h and takes two hours and 38 minutes to get from Ipoh to KL.
However, the project – which will be privately funded – will need to secure approval from the transport ministry and consent from the Selangor government before a feasibility study can be conducted, given that the rail line will have to travel through Selangor to KL. Nizar said he is hopeful that the project can start within the tenure of the unity government, with completion slated for 2028.
In recent times, rail service has become the major mode of public transport in Perak, with the Ipoh train station having emerged as the second busiest in the country after KL Sentral. According to the news report, more than 2.14 million passengers travelled by rail to Perak last year.
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