Goh Bok Yen said there was currently a lack of information on the projects, all three of which are being reviewed.
This made it difficult to determine their feasibility and whether they had been properly planned, he added.
Speaking to FMT, he zeroed in on the issues with each rail project.
KL-Singapore HSR
Goh said some elements of this project had been influenced by political factors, noting that Selangor had been bypassed, with no stations despite being the most developed state in the country.
“They should consider a more balanced line. But the justification still boils down to demand.
“What is the projected ridership? Is it financially feasible? How much will the tickets cost?”
Goh said such projections, cost details and proposed ticket charges should be made public so that experts like economists, transport consultants and consumer groups could give their views.
“Only then can we get a clear picture on whether the HSR is worthwhile and feasible. Only then can you evaluate the project against other modes of transport like airplanes and buses.
“Perhaps it might even be more feasible to upgrade the KTMB, but we won’t know without the relevant information,” he added.
MRT3
Goh said the issue with the MRT3 line was its size and alignment as it was a circular line, which is supposed to serve as a link to other modes of transportation like the LRT, existing MRT lines, buses, KTMB trains and the monorail.
“For a circular line to function optimally, it must be large enough to provide effective transit. If it is small, then those living in suburban areas will still need to travel close to the city centre to access the MRT3 line.”
He said if this was the case, there would still be congestion leading up to the city centre.
He also said the alignment needed to be reviewed to avoid the mistakes of the MRT1 and MRT2 lines where some alignments and stations were not strategically located.
“So what happens is that even though there are areas which need the line to pass through, the service doesn’t.
“It’s not optimised,” he said, giving the example of how the alignment of the MRT2 had changed from following the Pandan-Balakong-Seri Kembangan route to Bandar Malaysia-Kuchai Lama-Seri Kembangan.
Noting that the former route covered more densely populated areas, he urged the government to make public the studies which went into deciding the MRT3 alignment.
ECRL
Goh said the ECRL, estimated to cost RM55 billion, had a comparatively high price tag, but there was still a need to know the actual costs and what they included.
“For passenger transport, the demand needs to be justified. But where freight movement is concerned, in connecting Kuantan to Port Klang, there are benefits, more so if you set up industries along the line.”
Goh said for passenger transport, there weren’t as many buses, cars or taxis which plied the ECRL route, the same way traffic between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore was heavy, with flights and buses every hour.
“The question is whether we have enough freight traffic to justify the ECRL. The numbers need to be made public to see if the project is really financially and commercially viable.
“We don’t want to have rail lines where operating costs are more than revenue, not to mention capital payment and loan interest. If we are unable to recover the costs within 15 years, there’s no way we can repay the loans due to the accumulation of interest.”
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