The Malaysian Insight

PAKATAN Harapan should have no problem with funding the state government’s plan to build a high-speed train system from Kota Kinabalu to Kudat, as even the administrative capital of Putrajaya is spending billions of ringgit on building one, said Sabah Infrastructure Development Minister Peter Anthony.

Anthony said Sabahans have been waiting for decades to have a better railway system and the state is confident that it is able to raise funds to build a railway service from Kota Kinabalu to Kudat.

“The federal government has no problem spending hundreds of billions to develop the railway system in the peninsula.

“We only want a small amount. Around RM5.2 billion to connect Kudat and Kota Kinabalu,” he said during the question-and-answer session in the legislative assembly sitting today.

The project is expected to be completed in three years and that the railway line expanded to the interior divisions after the Kudat line is completed, Anthony said.

He was responding to a Sungai Sibuga assemblyman cum opposition chief Musa Aman, who asked whether Sabah’s plan to build the train service in three years could actually be a reality.

 “I am confident the present government under Chief Minister Shafie Apdal could achieve this dream,” he said.

Sabah plans to source for the funds via its own state coffers or through federal grants, soft loans and participation of the private sector.

Anthony said the Sabah Railway Department is preparing the term of reference (ToR) for the 175km railway project and the process, including preliminary survey of the route and preparation of tender documents, is expected to complete by year-end.

He said the government is hoping the current railway service will be upgraded and the new route will provide similar railway service as in the peninsula.

“The new system is expected to cater for up to 300 passengers and up to 1,200 tonnes of cargo one way using an electric diesel train which could reach up to 160kph.”

Sabah’s existing rail transport system consists of a single 134km line from Tanjung Aru in the west coast to the town of Tenom in the interior division.

Efforts to lengthen and expand its tracks often meet roadblocks because of the state’s hilly terrain.

A report in The Star online yesterday said the abandoned Putrajaya-Kajang link may be revived with an LRT line.

Works had begun on a monorail line connecting Putrajaya to Kajang but construction was abandoned in 2004 over its cost. – April 16, 2019.