KL-SINGAPORE HIGH SPEED TRAIN: HOW IT WILL AFFECT MALAYSIANS

With the news announced on Tuesday, February 19, of the opening of a new high speed rail link between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, much noise has been made about how it could affect the two cities.
The journey is to be slashed to a mere 90 minutes to travel from KL to Singapore, making it the fastest and most convenient way to travel between the two countries. It's timetabled to open in 2020, although the plans are far from set in stone yet.

However, what could this new high speed rail link mean for the tourism industry in 2020? We imagine the future in 7 years' time...

1) Less flying

The first, most obvious, consequence of a 90 minutes high-speed train is that flying between the two cities would become less common. Having to drive an hour or so to the airport, get stuck in traffic, wait 90 minutes at the airport, fly for 55 minutes, wait for 30 minutes to clear immigration, then drive around 30 minutes or so to your destination, really adds up: four and a half hours wasted! If you lived in the centre, it would probably be shaved down to around three hours (including immigration, getting to the stations) and would be a lot less stressful. 

Of course, the real factor in this will be the cost of taking the train - if it prices itself out of the average person's salary, then those four and a half hours taking the plane are still going to look pretty reasonable versus an extortionate amount of money. And you can bet that the airlines will slash their fares to tempt passengers to the skies in desperation.

High speed train lines are nothing new; the Eurostar, linking Paris and London will celebrate its 19th anniversary of opening this year and now takes 81% of the total air and rail traffic between the two cities. Potentially, many of the low cost carriers flying between KL and Singapore could cut their routes, no longer being so lucrative.

2) Food & shopping tourism

For Londoners and Parisians, a day trip from one city to the other is the norm: visiting Paris for lunch and some shopping is quite common. With the price disparity between KL and Singapore, I am sure that the high speed rail link will work the same. Singaporeans can hop on a train over the weekend, indulge in some serious shopping and eat delicious cuisine in cheaper KL, then head back to Singapore in the same day.  

A knock-on effect of that could be restaurants in central locations raising their prices, as more demand and a greater budget could mean that they feel justified in doing so. But that could restrict the number of weekday customers able to afford the menus.

Will it work the other way, with KL-ites heading to Singapore and returning the same day? Perhaps, with day trips avoiding the hefty hotel bill that comes with staying in Singapore. But I'd guess they aren't going to find things quite as cheap as their neighbours do.

3) Using both cities as an air hub

Another effect of the high speed train line might be that there is an increased choice for air passengers as to where they want to fly from.

See Singapore Airlines has a great deal to Europe and that flying direct, rather than via KL, could save you a thousand ringgit or so? Nothing to stop you from booking that flight and getting to the airport in Singapore via the train, saving you money. And the same could easily work the other way. 

This flexibility could force Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines to carefully rethink their promotions, each trying to price themselves cheaper than the other to encourage passengers to fly with them and through their national air hub.

Of course, Malaysia Airlines is at a disadvantage as it stands now when it comes to international destinations outside of Asean: with less European and American routes, travellers may simply decide to take the train direct to Singapore, then a direct flight on to their destination, if the price is right. So MAS joining oneworld might be one of their smartest moves, meaning code shares with partners such as British Airways and American Airlines.

4) Decreased opportunity cost for business travel

As we all know, time is money, and no more so for business travellers, who bemoan hours wasted in airports and on planes, unable to make those crucial calls. If they are residents in KL, Singapore or even visiting from abroad, the high speed rail will speed up business for them, meaning that they can travel between the two cities quickly to make those critical meetings and catch up on emails and phone calls on the way there. 

So will the new high speed rail between KL and Singapore benefit everyone? Only if you are living in or near the two cities (and possibly JB, if the train stops there) - for people living in Ipoh, Penang, Alor Setar and elsewhere, it won't make much difference at all to the way you'll travel.