Astley Pung, Regional Business Development Manager at Engineers Australia, shares his views on the future of rail in Malaysia.
With the rapid development of the rail sector in Malaysia, there is no doubt it’s the talk of the town. Every other week, there are news and updates within the rail sector. Does this only limit to the rail or transportation industry? What about the other segments of the economy? How are they benefiting from these mega projects developing modern and fast transportation systems?
On a bigger picture, the developments go beyond just rail, but rather, on the socio-economic development along the rail tracks, especially around the stations.
Take for example, Bandar Malaysia, which will be a mixed development township in an area of 486 acres. Bandar Malaysia is the main station for the High Speed Rail (HSR) that will make travelling time between Kuala Lumpur (Bandar Malaysia) and Singapore (Jurong East) to be only 90 minutes. The HSR will have an operational speed of 320 kilometres per hour over a track length of 350 kilometres, with 8 stations along the track. The other stations will be serviced by the Domestic service.
The same concept is also adopted by the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), which will provide connectivity between Integrated Transport Terminal (ITT) Gombak and Kota Bharu, spanning 532 kilometres in alignment. This will bring economic development to the Eastern Corridor in line with the Malaysia Plan, which is an economic development plan implemented by the government of Malaysia to promote the welfare of all citizens, and improve the living conditions in rural areas, particularly among low-income groups.
Not only will it bring development and economic benefit to the country, but it will also create job opportunities. As part of the broader contract, Malaysia Rail Link (MRL) together with China Communication Construction Company (CCCC) and University Malaysia Pahang (UMP) will be training graduates in rail-specific programs to prepare them for employment into the rail sector.
Based on the media report of New Straits Times in November 2017, it is estimated that there is a requirement of over 2,000 jobs at ECRL and other rail projects, like the Mass Rapid Transit 3 (MRT3), Light Rail Transit Line 3 (LRT3) and HSR. There is a shortage of rail talent in the country and efforts are being made to start getting local institutions of higher learning to start programs in rail.
With the recent announcement by the Prime Minister of Malaysia in his 2018 Budget speech, a Rail Centre of Excellence will be set up to address the gap of rail talents. From that announcement, major universities across the country are actively seeking collaboration opportunities to offer courses in the space of Rail Learning and Technical Training programs. This will be the next area of growth, where we will see learning institutions actively developing and delivering rail training and rail engineering programs in Malaysia. This is echoed in the industry as major players in the rail sector are setting up their own Learning Academies to prepare for their needs in rail talent.
In summary, the momentum of the rail sector will continue to gain speed and the gap in rail talent will continue to get wider. Talent development of new and existing workforce is required as new technology and operational needs arise. The question now is, are you ready for the future?
Engineers Australia has a range of technical training courses that can provide Continuing Professional Development (CPD) learning for your engineering teams. To find out more, please contact any one of our Business Development Managers. If you are located in Asia, please contact Astley Pung, Regional Business Development Manager [email protected].