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Transport and urban development in Southeast Asia. Dispatches from my travels in the region, and news about future city development, transport, and infrastructure.

News: 28 June 2023

Trans-Borneo Railway, Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway reaches 350 km per hour , Penang South Islands reclamation work starts July 1, Pattaya monorail system

James Clark

Jun 28, 2023

Hello from Ho Chi Minh City! I arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport and I could see for the first time that construction of Terminal 3 is underway. I also did a walk around to see how the metro construction is going, and there has been progress since I was last here as well.

This week I put together a fact sheet for the Trans-Borneo Railway. There was a new proposal for this railway last month, which got me thinking about all the other times I have read such announcements. It can be quite depressing when you see how much talk there is and how little action is the result. The earliest announcement I found was from 2000, which said that a 3,940-kilometre Trans-Borneo railway line linking all major towns in Sabah, Brunei, Sarawak and Kalimantan would be finished by the year 2010.

Latest posts at Future Southeast Asia

• Trans-Borneo Railway: A train connecting Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia

News

🇰🇭 Cambodia

• Former ‘Nomads Land’ island amongst 2 islands to undergo $37 million investment

• AirAsia Cambodia on track to start flights in Q4 2023

🇮🇩 Indonesia

• Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway reaches 350 km per hour during joint commissioning, testing

• Jakarta-Bandung fast train to be launched in August as scheduled: Gov’t

“The inauguration ceremony will take place a day after the Independence Day commemoration according to the planned time.”

• Indonesia to conduct study on Bandung-Surabaya high-speed rail link: Coordinating Minister

• Indonesia will chart a circular economy path with its new capital

“Nusantara aims to be a futuristic green city with zero waste.”

🇱🇦 Laos

• Bokeo Airport completes 90% construction, operations to start this year

🇲🇾 Malaysia

• Penang South Islands reclamation work starts July 1

• New report shows what’s become of this $100 billion ‘city of the future’: ‘I didn’t see [any] signs of life’

• No decision yet on KL-Singapore High-Speed Rail project

• RM50mil to finance construction of pedestrian skybridge linking Coronation Square to JB Sentral station

• ECRL in Kelantan expected to be completed six months ahead of schedule

• No plans to revive the suspended monorail project

“The government has no plans to complete the construction of the Putrajaya monorail project to reduce traffic congestion in the area, the Dewan Negara heard today.”

“Historic shophouses at the centre of the backlash against Democracy Monument Station.”

• Bangkok’s AI detection system targets illegal pavement driving

• Last week I posted this article about the dual-track railway in the South. This is a double-tracking of the old line and not a new line. There are plans for two new lines at either end, so there will be some new lines. There is a planned Surat Thani - Donsak line (for ferries to Koh Samui), and there is a planned line from Hat Yai to Songkhla. This post shows what the Songkhla station could look like (click translate to read the rest of the article).