Rail link project to get a boost

Rail link project to get a boost

SINGAPORE (AP): A century-old scheme to build a railroad linking Southeast Asia with China - and eventually Europe - will receive a strong boost at a meeting of regional leaders here, a top official said on Thursday.

"The summit will adopt a route," Malaysia's Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said. "Then we will move forward from that."

The railroad, first proposed by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in 1995, would snake through five of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' 10 member states and would have branches connecting it to two more.

The scheme, which would cost at least US$2 billion and take a decade to complete, also has received strong backing from China.

Malaysia, which was given a coordinating role in the massive undertaking, has financed a feasibility study that was tentatively approved by ASEAN transport ministers at their meeting in Hanoi in September.

ASEAN officials say they expect the project to help promote economic development, trade and tourism throughout Southeast Asia.

The network would also help promote a sense of kinship among the peoples of the region, who have historically been isolated from each other due to poor transportation links.

"There is a desire to create an ASEAN identity," Syed Hamid told reporters.

The proposals envisage a railway linking Singapore and the resort city of Kunming in southern China. It would be between 4,500 and 5,500 kilometers long (2,800 to 3,400 miles), depending on the routing adopted.

The works would include upgrades to existing tracks and signaling equipment, as well as construction of new sections on the line leading from Singapore and passing through Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, and the Mekong basin.

At Kunming, the line would link up with China's state rail network, eventually connecting to the Trans-Siberian Railroad.