7 November 2012
Express Rail Link Sdn Bhd (ERLSB), which yesterday expressed its interest to participate in the construction of the high-speed rail project linking Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, may seek to raise funds for the project through a listing if chosen, said its CEO Noormah Mohd Noor.
The Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) had in July said tenders for the construction of the high-speed rail project will be called by end of next year.
"We are interested to bid for the project. If we get the high-speed rail project, maybe we can go for listing but it is still a long way to decide on that," Noormah told reporters after a site visit by SPAD chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Syed Jaafar Albar to the ERL line extension project at klia2 here yesterday.
She said a feasibility study on the high-speed rail project is currently being undertaken by SPAD, which is expected to be completed soon.
Noormah said ERLSB has an interest in the project given its experience and expertise in the maintenance and operation of fast trains locally.
"Our track record speaks for itself. We are now running at 99.7% in terms of performance, which is comparable to world class.
"We are highly recognised all over the world," she added.
Meanwhile, Noormah said the fare from KL Sentral to klia2 will be the same as that to the existing Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Main Terminal Building of RM35 one-way currently. Inter-terminal fares will be RM2.
With that fare, the express rail operator is confident of achieving its ridership growth target of 40% from 5.3 million passengers now for both the KLIA Ekspres and KLIA Transit services once construction of the ERL extension line is completed.
The 2.14km ERL line extension project, which costs about RM100 million, is scheduled for completion by end-March 2013, with commercial operations expected to commence on May 1 to coincide with opening of klia2.
As of Oct 31 2012, 73.33% of construction work has been completed.
The new ERL extension line ends at the new station located within the Integrated Complex, the transportation hub which houses all transport providers serving klia2, including the buses, taxis, private cars and the ERL trains and about 2km from KLIA.
"When low-cost carriers (such as AirAsia) moved from KLIA to the present LCCT, we lost about 20% of our ridership in 2005.
"With the extension of ERL service to klia2, we are confident of recovering the loss in passengers," she said.
ERLSB is 50% owned by YTL Corp with Lembaga Tabung Haji and Trisilco Equity Sdn Bhd holding 40% and 10% respectively. It was awarded the concession on August 25 1997 to operate the KLIA Ekspres and KLIA Transit services for 30 years.
Source: www.thesundaily.my
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