SINGAPORE, May 5 — Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said a 2020 timeline to build a high-speed rail link between the city-state and Malaysia was unrealistic, adding that the two countries hoped to reach an agreement by year-end on when the trains would start running.

Singapore and Malaysia said in February, 2013, that they planned to build a high-speed rail link by 2020 that would cut travel time between the city-state and Kuala Lumpur to 90 minutes, without giving a cost estimate.

The project has been coveted by the Chinese and Japanese railway companies, which have been ramping up efforts to win contracts overseas. — Reuters