Asia needs to see high-speed rail as more than a megaproject

Rail projects must be approached simultaneously as a product that people choose to use and as a system that nations can sustain for 50 to 100 years.

- Tai Cheong Chew

Indonesia's Jakarta-Bandung rail has put full-speed services on the map, with conversations already under way about extending the corridor to Surabaya.

(ST PHOTO: ARLINA ARSHAD)

High-speed rail (HSR) is having a moment across Asia. Vietnam is moving from debate to decisions. Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor is positioning HSR as the backbone for investment. Indonesia’s Jakarta-Bandung line has put full-speed services on the map, with conversations already under way about extending the corridor to Surabaya. The China-Laos railway is reshaping regional freight and tourism flows - and could someday connect further south.

Closer to home, Malaysia and Singapore are revisiting their HSR proposal. The original Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR deal was terminated in 2021, but the project remains a possibility with Malaysia taking a private sector-led, no government funding approach. Singapore remains open to a commercially viable proposal, focusing on broader connectivity.

But if Asia wants these projects to deliver their full economic and social value, the region must shift its mindset. HSR cannot be viewed as a single megaproject that starts with an alignment and ends with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Nor can it be treated as a purely technical system to engineer and maintain.

Instead, HSR must be approached simultaneously as a product that people choose to use and as a system that nations can sustain for 50 to 100 years.

The engineering is rarely the binding constraint. What stalls projects are the surrounding choices: who pays for glossy terminals, which stations can sustain jobs, how the economics of the rail corridors stack up, and whether the deal structure makes sense to both lenders and local communities.

Treat the railway as a deliverable product, not a single sunk-cost event. Sequence it. Simplify it. Finance it with the long-term economic gains in mind.