MoU for KL-Singapore High Speed Rail to be signed mid-2016: Najib

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the High Speed Rail linking Kuala Lumpur and Singapore will be signed in the middle of this year, Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak announced on Tuesday (Apr 12).

He was speaking at the Invest Malaysia Kuala Lumpur conference, held at the Shangri-La Hotel in KL on Tuesday and Wednesday.

When completed, commuters on the High Speed Rail are expected to complete their journey between Singapore and KL in 90 minutes. Currently, it takes up to eight hours by train and about five hours by express bus to travel between the two cities. The 315km journey by road takes close to four hours, while flights take 45 minutes, excluding airport check-in and transfers to the city.

In May last year, it was announced that the terminus for the Singapore side of the project will be built on the site occupied by Jurong Country Club. Work is expected to start in 2017 and completed by 2022, according to the Malay Mail Online. 

The project was first announced in a joint statement by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Mr Najib during the Singapore-Malaysia Leaders' Retreat in 2013.