Riding on the railway revival
RAIL transport is not new in Malaysia. In the 60s, travelling by train from Kota Baru to Kuala Lumpur was slow, noisy and tiring.
For the trip from KB to Kuala Kangsar, the journey would start at 10am from Palekbang, the station which served the town.
We would reach Gemas around 10pm. There the train would be split, going on separate onward journeys to Kuala Lumpur (KL) and Singapore. We would arrive in KL around dawn.
The recent announcement by the Government to construct the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) should be applauded by all Malaysians, especially those from the east coast states. It will reduce travel time to four hours!
Things have certainly changed. With advancements in technology, trains are now faster and quieter. In Europe, high-speed rail travel has long existed.
The proposed high-speed train between KL and Singapore is welcome news. It is further testimony of the Government’s commitment to push the envelope on socio-economic transformation.
As the nation struggles to move into the league of high-income countries, an efficient mass transport system is undeniably a key enabler.
And in this era of growing world concern over the environment and climate change, highspeed mass transport is definitely the right way to go to support the low carbon agenda.
I travel to Germany every year to visit the Fraunhofer Institutes. The 67 institutes have gained recognition as among the top applied research centres in the world and have, over the years, made substantial contributions to Germany’s strong leadership in many ground-breaking technologies, including research in transport and automotive technology.
The MP3 technology, which revolutionised the music industry, came from one of the Fraunhofer Institutes.
Fraunhofer now has a collaborative agreement with our own Sirim which promises better times ahead for us as a nation.
Germany is known for many things, not the least of which is for being football World Cup champions many times over.
Their secret recipe is the currywurst, which is their most popular fast food! Germany also boasts efficient public transport systems. In Munich, like most German cit- ies, travelling with the train and tram system is truly convenient.
The ticketing system is also innovative. They have dispensed with the usual screening at boarding. You just need to buy a ticket and jump onto the train. Checking is done at random. Those who risk travelling without tickets face the prospect of very stiff fines if caught by one of the inspectors, so most passengers buy tickets.
Their high-speed trains make it possible for people to live in a city and commute comfortably to work in a location 200km away. Their regional train services are also reliable. No wonder then that train travel is popular in Germany.
Much has been written on how the proposed high-speed train from KL to Singapore will impact positively on the region’s economy. So will the ECRL, which will inject new vigour into the economy of the east coast states. In fact, the Government should introduce more such rail networks in the country’s other regions.
With the growing global interest in rail, it may be time for Malaysia to start investing in the technology development capacity for rail, and perhaps establish a National Centre for Rail Research.
Moving forward, we should position the nation to tap the business opportunities offered by the revival of the rail business worldwide.