PUTRAJAYA: With the 2026 target set for the High Speed Rail service to be up and running, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong witnessed a key milestone for the project with the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) here.

The MoU for the project which will cut travel time between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to just 90 minutes, was inked yesterday by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan and Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan for Singapore.

This MoU will be followed by the signing of a binding bilateral agreement, to be cemented at the end of the year when the two leaders meet for their annual consultation.

The HSR line will run 350km with 335km in Malaysia and 15km in Singapore. Najib shared his vision of what travelling on it would be like – breakfast in Kuala Lumpur before travelling to have lunch in Singapore and back in time for dinner in Kuala Lumpur.

“This is the shape of things to come. It goes to show how much we can achieve by working together in the spirit of good neighbourliness and partnership.

“When you can share a plate of durian, then you know that true partnership can develop between the two countries,” said Najib.

Lee said Malaysia and Singapore wanted to cooperate and prosper together and be “dealing with each other as equals and focus on the larger strategic picture and on win-win benefits”.

He said 2026 was an ambitious time table for the HSR project, adding that the MRT lines in Singapore, which he described as a much less ambitious project took around 12 to 15 years from inception to service.

“We will have to get this right because the HSR will bring our two countries together and change the way each of us think of the other.

“It will physically link our two capitals, each will be just a short train ride away,” he said, adding in the not too distant future, people could relate to Singapore and KL the same way they think of cities popular for its high speed rail service namely London-Paris, Taipeh-Kaohsiung and Tokyo-Osaka.

“Coming down from Kuala Lumpur for lunch in Singapore, or zipping to Kuala Lumpur to catch a show or do some business will not seem like going overseas at all,” said Lee.

Among the Cabinet ministers present at the signing ceremony were Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohd Khaled Nordin and Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Seri Idris Haron.

The MoU captures key points of the agreements between the countries on the project that includes details on technical parameters, commercial model, Custom-Immigration-quarantine clearance, safety and security matters, regulatory framework and project management.

A bilateral committee will be set up by both governments, comprising relevant agencies from both Malaysia and Singapore to regulate the cross border services operated by the operating company and other joint aspects of the project.

The HSR service will comprise eight stops; Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Seremban, Ayer Keroh, Muar, Batu Pahat, Iskandar Puteri and Jurong East in Singapore.