Rail System in Malaysia

Transcription

1 Rail System in Malaysia Final Report From: Donavan M. Lowtan To: Professor Joe Sussman Date: 14 Jan 2004 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1 1 This report is an internal memorandum to the Malaysian Group at MIT. It does not meet the bibliographic requirements (in terms of precisely referencing sources) for a journal publication. 1

2 1. Introduction This report investigates specifically one component of the Malaysian transportation system: the rail system. It aims to provide data and information to the team that may prove valuable for their future work. The Malaysian railways are indeed a dynamic, diverse corporatized entity that has the potential to play an important role in the development of a sustainable transportation system in the country. The seamless landbridge connections with neighboring states are a key characteristic that may define the rail aspect of the system. Malaysian railways are facing the challenge to improve their reliability and speed in order to offer competitive services and enhance their importance as a road alternative. Malaysia is a middle-income, multi-sector economic country located in Southeastern Asia including a portion of the island of Borneo with a total area of 329,750 square kilometers (of which 328,550 square km are land and 1200 square km are water). It shares 381 km of border with Brunei, 1782 km with Indonesia, and 506 km with Thailand. The CIA lists Malaysia s major natural resources as tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas and bauxite. Malaysia s estimated population in July 2003 was 23,092,940 while its 2002 estimated GDP is US$198.4 Billion ($8800 per capita). The major industries are listed as rubber and oil palm processing and manufacturing, light manufacturing industry, electronics, tin mining and smelting, logging and processing timber (on the Peninsula) and logging, petroleum production (in Sabah); and agriculture processing, petroleum production and refining, and logging (in Sarawak). Malaysia s primary export partners are: the US 21%, Singapore 17.4%, Japan 10.9%, China 6.5%, Hong Kong 5%, Thailand 4% (2002) while its primary import partners are Japan 16.9%, Singapore 15.9%, US 15.5%, China 7.3%, South Korea 5%, Taiwan 4.7% (2002) General Information on the Railroad System in Malaysia As of December 2003, Malaysia has 2418KM of total track of which 57KM use Standard (1.435 M) gauge and 2361KM use Narrow (1.000M) gauge. Approximately 150 KM of rail in Malaysia is electrified. Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad is the largest railroad in the country. (Keretapi is a Malay word that translates to fire wagon ). KTMB owns 2262 km out of the total 2418 km of tracks in Malaysia and employs 5024 employees. Of the remaining 156 KM, the Sabah State Railway has 134 KM. (The remaining mileage remains unaccounted). KTMB is the major and most important railroad in Malaysia. It is government-owned but managed by a private entity. The remainder of this essay will be dedicated to the affairs of KTMB and any discussion about Sabah State Railway will be limited. 3 KTMB utilizes 1.000M track gauge with 40% (903KM) tied with Concrete Sleepers and 60% (1359 KM) using Wooden Sleepers. Throughout the country, there are 943 bridges, 2 All the information from the introduction paragraph were compiled from the CIA World Factbook found at 3 The information for the KTMB has been found on 2

3 144 grade crossings, 55 Overhead Pedestrian crossings, 11 Motorcycle overhead bridge crossings, and 22 tunnels, 2112 KM of single track and 150 KM of double track. The following figure provides a map of the KTMB railway network. 3

4 3. KTMB Ownership In December 2003, KTMB was still wholly-owned by the Government of Malaysia through a vehicle called the Ministry of Finance Incorporated. In an attempt to privatize the railroad in 1997, the Government handed over the management of KTMB to a consortium (which created a vehicle named Marak Unggul) that was majority controlled by a conglomerate called Renong Berhad. The original plan had the consortium taking over the management of KTMB and purchasing the equity from the Ministry of Finance incorporated. However, the privatization attempt failed (Renong experienced major financial difficulties as a result of the Asian currency crisis) and the Government ended the arrangement, taking control of KTMB from Marak Unggul in early Subsidiary Operations KTMB owns a subsidiary company known as Multimodal Freight Sdn. Bhd. Multimodal Freight operates container depots throughout the country and also hauls containers by truck. This is part of KTMB s goal to provide Door-to-Door/intermodal service for its customers. Multimodal Freight manages KTMB s container depots at Padang Besar, Butterworth, Port Klang and Pasir Gudang. According to a UNESCAP report 5 based on a country profile report of 1996, Property SBU, a KTMB subsidiary, is responsible for land development, which has become a significant aspect of the railway business in Malaysia. This branch accounted for 21% of KTMB operating revenues at that time and it was growing faster than all other sources of income and according to the report was expected to surpass the transportation business. According to later sources these activities were discontinued in 1997 and land development contributes an insignificant amount of revenue to KTMB operations. Also other KTMB activities, such as their road haulage company (for multimodal transportation from rail to customer premises) and their road courier service are insignificant in terms of generating KTMB revenue. Albeit their importance is strategic since KTMB vision is to provide high quality door-to-door service. As a result these services play a crucial role in the development of the company as a competitive transportation provider. 4. KTMB History Historical texts regarding the railroads in Malaysia are limited. One book, called Sejarah Keretapi Di Malaysia(Malay) by M.A. Fawzi Basri that has been referred to as the best book on railways in Malaysia. 6 However, a search on the popular internet search engines and internet book vendors did not produce any reference to this publication. The Malayan Railway by J.A.Stanistreet, was published by the Oakwood Press in A search of the Oakwood Press webpage (Oakwood Press is a publishing company dedicated to railway issues) also did not produce anything. Some electronic sources have provided clues to the history of railroading in Malaysia. 4 Information compiled from a source at ASEAN. 5 pg

5 The first railway track in Malaysia was built in This was a 12.8KM length of road from the tin mining town of Taiping to Port Weld (known today as Kuala Sepetang) also saw the introduction of steam locomotive service. The early 20 th century involved the completion of several connections including Padang Besar (in Perlis) to Singapore (in 1913), Gemas to Tumpat to Hatyai (Thailand) (in 1930) and the North- South link from Singapore to Thailand border (in 1931). (Please see stylized map on the next page). The early 20 th century gains were somewhat negated by the events of WWII. Japanese occupation (circa 1940) and the construction of the Burmese Death Railway saw widespread destruction of the Malayan railway system; bridges, tracks and coach-stock were sent abroad after being dismantled. At the end of WWII, England started rebuilding the rail system. Until 1948, each state in Malaysia managed its own rail services. The British implemented the Malayan Railway Ordinance in 1948 which streamlined rail administration. As a result, the Federated Malay State Railways became the Malayan 5

6 Railway Administration (MRA). Some of the previous State-run railways included the Perak Government Railway, the Selangor Government Railway, the Malacca Government Railway, the Sungei Ujong Raailway, the Johore State Railway and the Singapore Johore Railway. In 1957/1958, diesel engines were introduced. Delivery of 26 Class-20 English Electric diesel locomotives marked the end of British-led World War II restoration program in Malaysia. Now consider the 1990s, when Malaysian railroad history changes. In 1992, MRA became KTM Berhad (Railways Act 1991). KTM Berhad began operations as a private sector organization (revenues and operations) but is still owned by the government. Malaysia s first electrified commuter system was introduced in marks the bid by the government to attempt to privatize KTMB. As outlined in the ownership section of this essay, that privatization attempt was not successfully completed. 5. KTMB Regulation Issues Freight railways in Malaysia experience very little in terms of regulation from the government. The freight side of the operation is free to set its own rates for shipping goods. However, the government, through the Ministry of Transport, does mandate what prices are charged for KTMB passenger service. As a result, the government does provide some subsidies for passenger rates (but not for freight rates). No exact formula has been established for determining the subsidies. Government subsidies change from year to year for no apparent reason. The absence of a well-developed formula for passenger subsidies means that government payments are hard to predict from year to year. 6. KTMB Operations 6.1 Intercity Freight KTMB can transport a wide variety of products including hazardous material. There are currently 5 different types of freight cars available; however KTM is endeavouring to replace their fleet with containerized cars that can be mounted and dismounted from the train and then delivered to the customer. They are striving for what they call, Door-to- Door Delivery. The fleet of currently available freight cars includes; Bogie Covered Goods (BCG), which are covered wagons for all cargo (for protection from weather elements) with two sliding doors on each side of the car; Bogie Flat Low Sides (BFL), which are open wagons that transports bulk materials such as iron, granite, etc; these cars have drop-down doors on the side; Bogie Container Flat (BCF), which are flatbeds that can facilitate intermodal transfer from ocean ships onto the trains; Bogie Log Wagons (BLW), which are flatbeds used for carrying logs; 7 and finally, Domestic Containers, which is a KTMB owned container that is permanently mounted onto a flatbed; these are promoted as ideal for carrying food and pallet cargo. 7 Note: Logs are considered a seasonal item. In the off season, the log flatbeds are used for carrying containers. 6

7 KTMB (and Malaysian railroads in general) does not carry a significant proportion of the overall freight traffic in Malaysia. It has been estimated at approximately 5% of the total available tonnage. There are a few reasons for such a low percentage, including the lower level of volume and distance compared with North America; the average Malaysian freight railway trip is less than 300 km and truck is very competitive at this distance range. There is a lack of bulk commodities (such as minerals) shipped. As a result, much of the freight moved on KTMB is general cargo. Malaysia is interested in developing an intermodal system of freight movement. There are five main ports, Port Klang and one each in the North, South, East and the West of the country. The three major ports on the western coast are all connected by rail and recently the port on the eastern side of Malaysia was also connected by rail. Most rail movement is done with containers (using both International and Domestic containers) and the rail cars proceed directly to the port. KTMB has a total fleet capacity of 3500 TEUs (Twenty Foot Equivalent Units) of cargo. 8 KTMB carries ISO standard containers; ISO standard containers hold a capacity of 60.3 cubic metres and is 40 feet long, 8 feet wide, and 9 feet 6 inches high. KTMB carries containers between four rail-connected ports Butterworth, Port Klang, Pasir Gudang, and Tanjung Pelepas and inland stations/clearance depots. Service is provided between Butterworth and Port Klang to Ipoh (which is Malaysia s first inland/dry port). In June 1999, KTMB started its Land-Bridge service from Sri Setia, Selangor, to Bangsue, Thailand. The Land-Bridge is a partnership between KTMB, road transportation operators, freight forwarders, and vessel operators that provides 28 weekly services between Port Klang Bangkok Port Klang, Singapore Bangkok Singapore, Singapore Surat Thani Singapore, and Port Klang Hatvai Port Klang. Land- Bridge moves 54 TEUs of cargo (steel, chemical, electronics, consumer goods, etc) per trip and 1500 TEUs per week. The advantages include shorter travel time: 60 hours by Land-Bridge versus 5 7 days by sea or 3 to 4 days by truck. The seamless border; cheaper freight rates; and guaranteed security is making Malaysia s Land-Bridge an attractive option. In this service the containers are sealed once for the entire trip and cargo clears both Malaysian and Thai customs at the point of origin. Table that shows average speed trains in Malaysia Average Daily Freight Trains 38 Container 16 Cement 10 Others 12 Average Freight Train Speed 16.7 KPH Container 15.1 KPH Cement 8.3 KPH Others 17.5 KPH 8 Note: TEU is used to express the relative number of containers based on the equivalent length of a 20 ft container. For example, 100 containers of 20 ft are considered to be 100 TEUs, while 100 containers of 40 ft are considered to be 200 TEUs. 7

8 Average Wagons per Train 18 Container 25 Others KTMB Intercity Passenger Rail and Intercity Commuter Rail KTMB operates four Daytime express trains (Ekspres Sinaran, Ekspres Rakyat, Ekspres Kenali and Ekspres Tebrau) and Four Nighttime (or evening) express trains (Senandung Malam, Senandung Langkawi, Ekspres Wau and Ekspres Timuran). The following figure shows a map of the passenger services of KTMB 8

9 KTMB operates a mixed network. The proportion of freight and passenger service on that network is approximately equally split. Due to the ubiquity of single line tracks throughout the network, there is some competition between freight and passenger rail for line time. Efforts to make a double track network are underway (in 2003) in the hopes of alleviating some of these problems. Currently, approximately 60% of KTMB s revenue is generated from freight traffic while the remaining balance comes from intercity passenger service operations. KTMB has posted losses over the last few years (expected) million ringit, ringitt. Commuter Rail and LRT Commuter Rail and Light Rail Transit (LRT) are available for travelers in the Kuala Lumpur region of Malaysia. There are a handful of interconnection points between LRT and Commuter Rail including the Bank Negara and Banda Taski Selatan stations as well as Sentral Kuala Lumpur. There are connections to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport at Nilai and Sentral Kuala Lumpur stations as well. Commuter Rail (in 2003) reportedly handles approximately 70,000 passengers per day; with Sentral Kuala Lumpur station handling 10,000 passengers per day. KTM Komuter serves 40 stations with 213 daily runs Monday through Friday, 218 runs on Saturdays (Note: Malaysian Saturdays are considered workdays), and 177 runs on Sundays and Holidays. A map of the commuter rail 9

10 Interval Peak (15 MIN Intervals) Peak (20 MIN Intervals) Off Peak (30 MIN Intervals) Monday to Friday 5:30 AM 10:00 AM 4:00PM 8:00 PM 10:00AM 4:00PM 8:00PM 12:00AM Saturdays 5:30 AM 10:00 AM 10:00AM 10:00 PM 10:00PM 12:00 AM Sundays/Holidays 10:00AM 10:00PM 1000 PM 12:00 AM 6:00 AM 10:00 AM Kuala Lumpur LRT Map 10

11 7. Malaysian Rail and International Issues Malaysia is committed to international trade and to sound relations with its neighbors. It cooperates with Thailand in several ventures including the coordinated with the State Railway of Thailand operation of a daily express passenger train between Butterworth and Bangkok called the International Express. Both freight and passenger trains can move seamlessly between the countries; and there is no need to transfer cargo at the border. There are two borders where traffic crosses into Thailand: Padang Besar, Perlis and Ranau Panjang, Kelantan. Although there are streamlined customs procedures, customer forwarding agents are still required at the border. Malaysia is also involved in a project called the Trans-Asian Railroad; a 5600 km freight line that originates/terminates in Singapore and Kungming (China). The countries involved in this project are Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar (Burma), Laos, and China. The objectives for this project are several including: building railroads for countries with no rail; completing missing links between countries and regions; and repairing the railroad network in countries where infrastructure was damaged from war (specifically Vietnam and Cambodia). There are several railway gaps on the Trans-Asian Railroad, including Cambodia (Poipet and Sisophon / 48km) and Vietnam (Locninh to Ho Chi Minh City / 192 km). The Trans-Asian Railroad, although an international venture, is locally funded. Specifically, each country is expected to fund its own portion of the rail network. For some of the poorer counties (such as Vietnam, Cambodia, and Burma), this goal involves long term horizon planning (and the hopes of international funding); while for the richer countries (such as Malaysia), this project can be completed faster and with no outside assistance. Some of the borders included in this project are already well developed. For example, the Malaysian Thailand border and the Malaysian Singapore border are essentially seamless. Other borders, such as the Vietnam Cambodia border are in their early stages and have had some trial runs. The goal for the borders between the two terminuses is that once the physical links are completed on the railroad, the institutional pieces will develop to the point where all the countries on the network would emulate the seamlessness of the Malaysian/Singapore/Thailand borders. The Trans-Asian Railroad (the Singapore/Kungming rail network) is part of a larger undertaking called the Pan-ASEAN transport network. The pan-asean transport network plan encompasses 28 major highways totaling 37,000 kilometers, 46 designated seaports, 51 designated airports and six identified railways lines. Preparations for the ASEAN highway network s route numbering system and the road inventory of the 28 designated regional routes are nearing completion. ASEAN member countries have adopted a harmonized highway route numbering scheme consisting of three numeric designations. 9 9 Quoted from ASEAN website 11

12 While all the countries from the Singapore to Kungming network have 1M gauge rails, there are some parts in China and other areas that do not. There is a move to standardize the gauge throughout this greater Pan-ASEAN transport network. Although all the relevant countries are supportive of this vision, there is not enough funding. Many of the poorer countries are hoping for the involvement of international agencies to provide capital. Furthermore, even when money is available, there is not necessarily a consensus regarding funding priorities. For example, countries such as Malaysia already have a well-developed network of roads and ports; and can now provide rail funding at a higher priority. Other countries that are less well-developed, such as Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, may not place rail as their highest priority. Often, these countries prefer to funnel money towards other projects in the hopes of achieving more lucrative returns. 8. Concluding Remarks and Other Issues Malaysia s KTMB railroad is working towards continual improvement. In October 2003, it received its first shipment (5 of 20) of High Powered Blue Tiger locomotives from Germany, (manufactured by G.E. Transportation Systems, Kassel, Germany). The value of the contract was $64.45 million (US) and was repaid with counter trade of 194,935 tons of palm oil products. The remainder of the 15 locomotives will be delivered by December While the current fleet hauling capacity is 1500 horsepower, the Blue Tiger hauling capacity is 3300 horsepower. Blue Tiger can carry KPH, pull 30 wagons (instead of the current 16), haul 8,400 tons per day versus 4,400 tons per day, and can pull 80 TEUs versus 40 TEUs. While the new locomotives are a very positive step for the KTMB, there have been some negatives in other areas (more so a government problem than a problem with KTMB itself). There was a brief contract dispute regarding some of the projects to double certain tracks. Originally the contract was awarded to firms in China and India. However, the government later rescinded those contracts and awarded them to a Malaysian firm. Eventually, the government decided not to proceed with the project. How much this double rail controversy has hurt international relations for Malaysia is not yet clear. However, Malaysia has awarded other contracts to Chinese firms. For example, KTMB is planning to contract with China for the delivery of 20 units of high powered locomotives for 220 million ringit. The needs to expand the infrastructure and modernize operations loom large but significant positive steps have been taken up to now. The KTMB can and should provide a sustainable transportation alternative and to do so it needs to identify and stick to its strategy: becoming a transportation provider that offer door-to-door services but most of all providing a reliable and fast service with special focus on the international land-bridge service where freight rail has to offer advantages over both competing modes: truck and ship. On the passenger side, it remains a mode of choice that will increase in significance if mobility levels should increase in the rapidly growing KL area. 12

13 Appendix Railroad Statistics in ASEAN 13

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