UK rail firms eye jobs in Malaysia
Railway Industry Association offers to bring in technology and innovation
ENGINEERING consultants from the United Kingdom are hopeful of clinching highly-skilled and specialised rail job packages in Malaysia.
Nearly 20 of its members were keen to bid for niche jobs in the light rail transit (LRT), mass rapid transit (MRT), East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) and Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail (HSR) projects, said Railway Industry Association (RIA) exports director Neil Walker in an interview, here, recently.
“We see good prospects in Malaysia for UK companies in rail technology and innovation.
“The 20 UK delegates who joined our trade mission to Malaysia are keen to bid for packages in LRT, MRT, ECRL and Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR projects,” he said.
“UK engineering companies, including RIA members, can bring in technology and innovation, such as lightweight composites and more energy-efficient techniques in railway engineering,” he added.
The UK had set up new HSR colleges and national skills academies for railway engineering, he said, adding that there was also a newly-established Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy.
Also present at the interview were the UK Department for International Trade business specialist Dr Andrew Hinton, Balfour Beatty technology solutions manager Kevin Fry and SNCLavalin (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd associate director of Southeast Asia, Brian Blackwell.
Hinton said the agency had recently arranged a study tour for senior executives of MyHSR Bhd, Land Public Transport Commission and Prasarana Malaysia Bhd to the recently-upgraded Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex at the St Pancras rail station in London.
“The Malaysian delegation wanted to understand the operations of UK’s HSR Link 2 and look at what we have done at St Pancras as the interchange for the Eurostar terminus,” he said.
St Pancras International Station is one of the biggest landmarks in London and serves as a gateway to Europe. It is used by 45 million passengers annually and is the UK home of Eurostar.
Hinton said the seven HSR stations in Malaysia offered great opportunities for UK engineering companies.
“We can find ways to collaborate with Maric (Malaysia Rail Industry Corporation) on delivering the railway projects here.”
Maric is led by the Prime Minister’s Department’s Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology.
Its members include Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB), MyHSR Corp Sdn Bhd, Prasarana Malaysia Bhd, Scomi Engineering Bhd, Mass Rapid Transit Corp and MMC-Gamuda Bhd.
“In the area of transit-oriented development, we can share our experiences regarding the economic multiplier effects on the communities residing along the Jubilee Line. We’re seeing the benefits of Cross Rail going into the redevelopment of Canary Wharf,” said Hinton.
SNC-Lavalin’s Blackwell said the company had previously offered consulting engineering services for the construction of the LRT 2. It is well positioned to bid for LRT 3, MRT 2 and the ECRL job packages.
Last week, the governments of Malaysia and Singapore called for a joint tender for an assets company (AssetsCo) for the bilateral HSR.
AssetsCo is responsible for designing, building, financing and maintaining all rolling stock such as track work, power, signalling and telecommunications for the HSR project.
Blackwell said British firms were interested to support the consortia that were in the progress of submitting their tenders for AssetsCo in the HSR project.
Balfour Beatty, which had previously worked on KTMB’s double-tracking project a few years ago, is looking to bid for railway construction job packages.
“Railway asset owners can save up to 20 per cent of their usual maintenance costs when they incorporate our system from the beginning,” said Fry.