What next for the high-speed rail from KL to Singapore?

When KTM finally unveiled its Kuala Lumpur to Johor Bahru electric train service (ETS) on Dec 12 - after around seven years of construction one thing was greeted with a collective sigh: the long journey time of nearly 4.5 hours.

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Invited guests taking photos with a train of the Kuala Lumpur to Johor Bahru electric train service on Dec 11, ahead of its launch the next day. The new service cuts travel time between Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru to around 4.5 hours, from five to seven hours by car or bus.

(ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR)

On paper, it is possible for a train running nonstop from KL Sentral to reach JB Sentral, a rail distance of 330km, in three hours, given the design speed of the alignment, which is 160kmh. In practice, however, Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) is running the ETS sets at 140kmh to maintain a decent safety margin on the metre-gauge network, as well as to keep the lid on maintenance costs.

A significant limitation is the relatively dated metre-gauge alignment that was inherited from the colonial days, which sees KTMB’s southern alignment snaking through the interiors of Negeri Sembilan, Melaka and Johor back in the days when moving freight was considered far more important than passengers.

The new southern ETS makes 15 stops from Kuala Lumpur to Johor Bahru including at Pulau Sebang (Tampin), Batang Melaka, Gemas, Segamat, Labis, Bekok, Paloh, Kluang, Rengam, Layang-Layang, Kulai, and Kempas Baru before arriving at JB Sentral. This means a journey time of at least four hours and 20 minutes. This is a disappointment for those who are time-strapped, especially as the ETS is actually averaging only 76kmh.

Some explain away this unsatisfactory travel duration by pointing to the Klang Valley Double Track rehabilitation work, which currently stretches from parts of Klang Valley to Seremban.

This situation is expected to last until 2029 (or later), thus locking in the “slow” journey time to JB Sentral for the next few years.