Brunei firm has yet to inform Sabah, Sarawak of proposed high-speed rail

The Sabah government has not been officially informed regarding a Brunei company’s proposed project to implement the first high-speed train network in Borneo that will involve the territory, said Deputy Chief Minister III Shahelmey Yahya.

The state government only knew about it based on media reports, the Sabah public works minister said.

"Only for the Trans Borneo train, as informed by the Transport Ministry, a feasibility study will be carried out first this year," Shahelmey told reporters in Kota Kinabalu today.

Earlier, it was reported that Brunei-based Brunergy Utama Sdn Bhd announced the Trans-Borneo Railways project - Borneo’s first high-speed bullet train network connecting Brunei, Sabah, Sarawak and Kalimantan.

The company said the US$70 billion (RM330 billion) project would be implemented in two phases involving routes of over 1,600km that would be served by high-speed trains that could reach up to 350km/h.

Shahelmey said there have been a few proposals from various parties, including China and India, to implement the railway network in the state, but they are still at an early stage.

“The Sabah State Railway Department is now more focused on the feasibility study to re-establish the route from Tanjung Aru-Sembulan to Sepanggar Port,” he added.

Sarawak Premier Abang Johari Openg similarly said the firm has yet to approach his government about the project and he only learned of it from media reports.

“It’s probably a private sector proposal that doesn’t involve the government because if we were to build the Kalimantan-Borneo railway, there must be an agreement between Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei,” he said.

Met by reporters after attending an event in Kuching today, he said the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) is still conducting feasibility studies on creating a railway network to link Sarawak with the other regions in Borneo.

“They will engage in government-to-government discussions with Indonesia and also Brunei so that there is consensus in developing the Borneo railway,” he added.

Meanwhile, Brunei Transport and Information Communications Minister Shamhary Mustapha said that there had been no official discussion at the government level with regard to the Trans-Borneo railway proposal.

However, Shamhary, as reported by Brunei-based newspaper Borneo Bulletin, said his ministry was aware of the aspirations of the company to provide train services within Borneo but it still requires further study. 

“Even though there has been no official discussion at the government level about it, at the Asean level, there is an Asean Railway SubWorking Group which discusses matters related to railway connectivity within Asean so this matter may be raised in the future,” he said, quoted by the newspaper.

- Bernama