Palm | Kelapa Sawit

Straits Times 25 Feb 13;

NORTHERN Singapore is unlikely to host the station for the proposed high-speed railway between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, said National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan.

He pointed to two factors: a large number of developments in the north and current plans for another transport connection, the Rapid Transit System (RTS), between Woodlands and Johor Baru.

Speaking at an event to announce preliminary plans for the new Woodlands Regional Centre yesterday, he noted that while plans are still being discussed, the landing point here is unlikely to be in the north because "in the north with our developments, as you can see, it will be quite congested".

"With the rapid transit between JB and Singapore there, it is actually quite good for connectivity. So for the high-speed train, maybe we want it to be elsewhere, which means either the eastern side or the western side."

The highly anticipated RTS - linking a station near Republic Polytechnic in Woodlands and JB Sentral in Johor Baru - is scheduled to be completed by 2018.

The high-speed rail project, announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak last Tuesday, will slash travel time between KL and Singapore to 90 minutes by 2020 when it is slated to be completed.

The journey between the two cities now takes about four hours by car.

Other transport links will also help fuel the growth of the Woodlands Regional Centre.

They include the new Thomson MRT Line that will be opened in stages from 2019 to 2021.

The future North-South Expressway will connect Woodlands, Sembawang, Yishun, Ang Mo Kio, Bishan and Toa Payoh with the city centre.

JESSICA LIM