KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 14 — Japan has sent two teams of railway officials and experts to Malaysia following a request by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for Japanese assistance in order to increase the usage of the existing railway network in the country.
Since Dr Mahathir made the request when he met his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe in June last year, the Japanese teams have been engaging with officials from Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) while Malaysia has sent a study mission to Japan, said a senior Japanese official.
Koji Shikama, Chief of International Cooperation in the Ministry of Infrastructure, Land, Transport and Tourism, said initially specific experts were sent to Malaysia to provide the necessary support to KTMB followed by a second team recently.
They examined the local railway infrastructure and based on KTMB’s requirements, the experts were dispatched specifically for those sectors where support was most needed, he told Bernama here recently.
“For each of the sectors that we have extended support, we have shared the experience of Japan in that areas as well as proposals which would result in greater usage of public transport in Malaysia,” he said.
These areas included train operation, carriage and track maintenance as well as human resource development, signals communication and electrical power.
“And because we felt that it was important for these people to also see first-hand the situation in Japan, we invited officials from Malaysia’s Transport Ministry and KTMB and conducted training programmes.
“And this year in January about 20 officials visited Japan and not only having ridden the experience of the Japanese railway themselves, they also had the opportunity to visit the various railways facilities to deepen their understanding of the Japanese railways sector,” Shikama added.
Japan also plans to invite another group next month as a follow-up to the information that the earlier group had learned so as to further advance their knowledge.
Shikama said KTMB had established a staff training facility where much effort had been put into developing talent and in this regard, Japan was prepared to continue providing assistance to enhance further the skills level at KTMB.
“We believe that by making use of the experience Japan has garnered over the years, we would see increased usage of public transport here in Malaysia and the alleviation of congestion on the streets so much so that the stations in Malaysia would be filled with its citizens as well as with tourists from abroad,” he said.
On the teams’ observation in Malaysia, Shikama pointed out that as Malaysia continued to develop rapidly, more and more people would become mobile and the need for public transport would likewise increase to move away from the existing mode of over-dependence on cars for morning and evening commuting.
Speaking of Japan, he said in Tokyo plus the surrounding prefectures with a combined population of 36 million, some 60 per cent of the population are using public transport compared with 20 per cent in cities like London and New York.
“Due to the existence of a very dense railway network and trains being operated on time, people are able to reach their destinations on time.
“For this reason, many Japanese opt to use the railways as a form of transport and this has been made possible because of the optimal maintenance and management of the Japanese railway infrastructure and due to the high skill level of the people working at the railway companies. As a result, we believe that improving the skills level of railway staff is particularly important. We will offer continuous support to KTMB in order to utilise public transport sufficiently,” he said. — Bernama
