This bid for the Singapore-Malaysia HSR line looks promising
This bid for the Singapore-Malaysia HSR line looks promising
In virtual reality at least
No firm has won the tender for the high-speed rail (HSR) project between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore yet. However, a Chinese consortium has greatly boosted its chances by treating Malaysians to a virtual sampling of their works.
The consortium, led by the state-run China Railway Corporation (CRC), is currently exhibiting the “Cube,” a simulation booth for its proposed HSR line, at the KL Sentral shopping mall in the Malaysian capital.
“The public can get a feel of the HSR in the Cube which will be open for three months,” CRC chairman Yang Zhongmin said at the simulator’s launch event.
The Cube comes complete with a mock cockpit from which users can “drive” the high-speed train, complete with electronic screens. Prospective passengers can also use virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) headgear to simulate rides.
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Malaysia’s Land Public Transport Commission chairman Syed Hamid Albar has not disclosed the probability of CRC winning the tender but was publicly receptive of the company’s efforts. Malaysia and Singapore, whose governments signed a bilateral agreement on the project last month, hopes to build and complete the HSR line by 2026.
“The areas that stand to benefit when the project is completed are tourism, real estate and manufacturing as the construction of the HSR will create new job opportunities,” said Syed Hamid.
Yang highlighted China’s track record in building and operating HSR lines. “In 2016, the HSR mileage in China had exceeded 22,000km, thus ranking it first in the world,” he said. “At present, more than 4,500 trains are running, moving 4.5 million passengers daily.”
The HSR would link Bandar Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur and the Jurong Lake District in Singapore and traverse such stops as Negeri Sembilan, Malacca, and Johor.
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Source: Property Report