KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 — The proposal to add a high-speed rail (HSR) station at the Forest City property development in Johor is still being studied, the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) has said.
SPAD chief executive officer Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah said that the federal government would make the decision if there is such a proposal for a new stop along the bullet train route connecting Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
“The addition of a station at Forest City has not been finalised yet. SPAD is still carrying out a detailed study on its necessity.
“If there is a need, we will propose and the government will decide,” he was quoted saying by local daily Sinar Harian.
Last week, Singapore daily Straits Times (ST) reported that the multi-billion Forest City project’s developers are lobbying Putrajaya to build a HSR station in the area to boost development.
ST said that if the developer’s request is fulfilled, this will become a short branch line or a spur line for HSR’s transit service in Malaysia, but without affecting the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur route.
The report said that while all proposals relating to the HSR development must be agreed by Malaysia and Singapore, the cost to extend the track’s spur line to Forest City must be borne by Malaysia.
ST also quoted a spokesperson from Singapore’s Transport Ministry saying that it has not received any request from Putrajaya to revise the HSR track alignment.
Singapore and Malaysia signed a bilateral agreement to build the HSR last December and it is expected to be fully operational by 2026.
The bullet train will cut travel time between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to 90 minutes.
