Thailand-S'pore train

Thailand-S'pore train

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysia's Pilgrims Management and Fund
Board, Tabung Haji, plans to operate an electric train network
between Thailand and Singapore with technology from Germany's
Siemens, the Bernama news agency reported Saturday.

The organization dedicated to sending thousands of Malaysian
Moslems yearly to the haj in Mecca, is finalizing a study with
Siemens on operating high-speed trains, Bernama quoted Abang Abu
Bakar, a cabinet minister for Moslem affairs here, as saying.

"The project is expected to be very viable," Abang said,
adding that if approved, the rail network would run from Haadyai
in Thailand to Singapore through some 900 kilometers (562.5
miles) of peninsular Malaysia.

Tabung Haji, an enterprising religious organization, is also
involved in plantation, housing, manufacturing and construction
activities.

Abang said the pilgrims board intended to invest heavily in
the new venture to reflect its confidence in the locomotive
business.