In a joint statement on Friday (Jan 1) morning, Malaysia Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong have announced the cancellation of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) project, following the failure of the two countries to come to an agreement on the changes proposed by Malaysia by December 31, 2020.

The announcement was made just after a deadline of Dec 31 for the second and last extension of the project suspension. The first extension was proposed ten years ago and was approved in 2013. In June 2020, Malaysia and Singapore had agreed to put development, which has already suffered multiple suspensions, again in abeyance in the midst of a discussion regarding the costs.

It is said in the statement that the Government of Malaysia had proposed a number of changes to the HSR project in view of the effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on the Malaysian economy. The governments of the two countries have discussed these changes several times and failed to reach an agreement. Therefore, the high speed rail agreement had been terminated on December 31.

Malaysia had proposed several changes in the project alignment, structure and station designs. It also suggested starting the construction work by two years to promote the economy hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Malaysia also wanted to provide more flexible funding options, such as public-private partnerships and deferred payments.

Malaysia and Singapore will meet their respective obligations and will now take the necessary steps as a result of the cancellation of the HSR agreement.

As per the separate statement by the Ministry of Transport in Singapore, Malaysia had agreed to the cancellation of the bilateral HSR agreement and must compensate Singapore for the expenses incurred under the agreement.

The 350 km long High Speed Rail (HSR) project was aimed to reduce travel time between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore from the current 11 hours on existing train services to around 1 hour and 30 minutes by HSR line. Although air travel between the two nations takes only around an hour, but it takes much longer once airport security and check-in is taken into consideration. The HRS services were scheduled to begin by 2026.

Malaysia and Singapore are still committed to continuing a strong bilateral relation and working closely in various fields, including strengthening ties between the two nations.