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.