Land acquisition for the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high speed rail (HSR) project will most likely take place by the third quarter of coming year and alignment plan by the middle of the year.

MyHSR Corp is the agency tasked with overseeing the bilateral project that aims to bridge Kuala Lumpur (at Bandar Malaysia) with Singapore’s Jurong East via a pair of rail tracks across 350km, with 335km of the tracks within Malaysian territory.

With the high speed rail coupled with the cross-border MRT link between Singapore and Johor Baru, it will ease traffic congestion at both countries’ borders.

The HSR line will also bring growth on economic benefits.

Businessman and Developers can take advantage of the improved accessibility and acquisition of lands around the high speed rail stations, which in turn generate profits to themselves.

There will be an express service between the two terminal stations – Jurong East in Singapore and the upcoming Bandar Malaysia development in Kuala Lumpur; a shorter shuttle service will also connect Singapore and Iskandar Puteri in Johor. Both Singapore and Malaysia will call a joint tender for an international operator to run the continuously shuttle services.

Malaysia will also call a tender for an operator to run a separate domestic service from Kuala Lumpur to Iskandar Puteri that will make stops at five other stations along the way: Putrajaya, Seremban, Ayer Keroh, Muar and Batu Pahat.

A target date Dec 31, 2026, has been set for the non-stop service between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.

Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/competitive-bids-expected-for-high-speed-rail-project-pm