Okay, when it comes to implementation, not many country in this world could beat Singapore. Whatever the government aspires to achieve, it would most probably be able to achieve it. Just look at their cooling measures. The government is still holding it tightly because they want property prices to be under their control. So, what does their action of acquiring the The Raffles Country Club site in Tuas tells us? They are SERIOUS with the Kuala Lumpur – Singapore high-speed rail (HSR). In brief, it’s very certain, from the Singapore’s side. The club said in its website that it will be required to hand over the 143 ha site to the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) by July 31, 2018. (This is just 1.5 years away.) It currently has 2,650 members whom I think would need to find some other clubs to go to or perhaps even join the golf courses in Johor Bahru. 🙂
Full article in Singapore TodayOnline here. According to the Singapore’s Land Transport Authority and SLA in a joint statement on Wednesday, the country club site was the most suitable location to run at-grade tracks immediately after the bridge. The site would also hold the tunnel portal leading to the underground tunnels that will take the high-speed rail to the Jurong East terminus, as well as crossover tracks and a siding facility to temporarily house trains near the border. Mr Chua Chong Kheng, Deputy Chief Executive, Infrastructure & Development, LTA, said: “This, we feel, is the optimum site in terms of location, the size, and orientation. There are not a lot of options where we can actually site, without having to make a lot of land acquisition.” The Singapore government would be acquiring the land based on market value as at acquisition date which was 5th January 2017. Raffles Country Club is the second country club to be acquired by the Singapore Government for the 350km-long HSR project. Jurong Country Club in Jurong East has also been acquired as it will become the Singapore terminus for the HSR.
Of course, for the HSR to proceed, we would also need to see what’s happening in Malaysia right. Not too long ago, the land along the HSR line can no longer be transacted, as per MYHSR. Read here: MYHSR Corp: Freeze! Can’t sell Besides that, there are many join stuffs by both countries too. High Speed Rail KL – Singapore. MOU ended, Agreement signed. 🙂 Of course, the most recent news that has started to gain a bit more attention would be between Bangkok and KL. Yes, another High Speed rail project which will eventually link Bangkok all the way to Singapore. So, are you excited yet? Well, the date when it will actually start is still pretty far away. That’s 2026. For now, just enjoy shopping loh. Shopping can be for anything okay, need not just for clothes or handbags. Haha. Cheers.
written on 6 Jan 2017
Next suggested article: RTS makes more sense, HSR can wait
