RAC CEO Azhar Ahmad said the infrastructure will be developed along the 1,600km-long railway lines as part of developing the telecommunications infrastructure along its railway corridors.

Azhar added that this was a strategic step to support the government’s agenda of digital transformation.

“This step aims to open up access to licensed telecommunications industry players through the request for proposal process, thus optimising the use of national rail assets for the development of high-speed fibre optic networks,” he said during RAC’s open day here today.

The request for proposal for the project was held in 2023.

The letter of acceptance was presented by Azhar to YTL Communications CEO Wing K Lee.

The handover ceremony was witnessed by transport minister Loke Siew Fook, communications minister Fahmi Fadzil, Azhar and other YTL Group members.

Separately, Loke said he would meet his Thai counterpart on May 2 to discuss the customs clearance procedures for Malaysian trains travelling through Thailand as part of a proposed pan-Asian network that goes all the way to China.

He said, currently, each country had its own clearance procedures, which was the main obstacle for Malaysian trains to cross into different countries.

“We do not want the railway network only to be used for domestic purposes.

“At present, we are focussing solely on passenger services but we want to utilise it for more Asean trade and increased movement from Malaysia all the way to China.

“Once the cargo reaches China, their network allows access to any part of the country and even connects to Eurasia and Europe,” he said at a press conference after the ceremony.