The briefing was staged by Malaysia’s MyHSR and Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) which have been appointed by the two governments as infrastructure companies (InfraCos) to design, build, finance and maintain the civil infrastructure and operate the eight stations within their respective territories.
The new double-track railway will be designed to accommodate all types of conventional high-speed trains and technology available in the market with a design speed of 350km/h.
The privately-financed AssetsCo will be responsible for designing, building, financing and maintaining rolling stock, as well as designing, building, financing, operating and maintaining all rail assets including track, power supply, signalling and telecommunications. The AssetsCo will also develop and implement a network code, to coordinate the system’s network capacity for operations and maintenance needs.
The AssetsCo tender will prioritise safety and security, availability and reliability, proven technology, operations flexibility, customer-centric design, value for money, and collaborative project implementation as procurement objectives. The AssetsCo will also coordinate network capacity for operational and maintenance needs.
The InfraCos will pay the AssetsCo an availability payment covering capital expenditure, and operating, maintenance and renewal costs, excluding rolling stock and depot equipment and stabling facilities. In return, the AssetsCo will make the assets available to the operating companies (OpCos) to run express, domestic and shuttle services.
The OpCos will pay the AssetsCo train leasing fees covering the AssetsCo’s train-related costs, as well as the operations, maintenance and renewal costs of the depot equipment and train stabling facilities.
MyHSR and LTA say the AssetsCo will be jointly procured by both InfraCos, in an “open, fair and transparent manner,” and the tender is expected to be called by the fourth quarter of this year. The 350km line is due to open in 2026.
“We are pleased with the strong interest from companies all over the world for the industry briefing,” says LTA’s CEO Mr Ngien Hoon Ping. “We would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm both governments’ strong commitment to make this project a success. Following the industry briefing, we will be calling the AssetsCo tender by the end of this year.”
“The project will be implemented in phases and this current phase focuses on the AssetsCo tender,” says MyHSR CEO Mr Mohd Nur Ismal Mohamed Kamal. “Other tenders such as the civil and OpCo tenders will be developed according to the project timeline and announcements will be made in due course.”
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