YTL Corp Bhd developed the Express Rail Link, which operates the KLIA Ekspres and KLIA Transit services from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA and klia2) and the city. (PIC:ERL)
KUALA LUMPUR: YTL Corp Bhd, the biggest Malaysian investor in the United Kingdom, plans to foray into the state's rail industry, said executive chairman Tan Sri Francis Yeoh.
Yeoh said the rail sector in the UK is a growing industry and offers a bright future for companies looking for opportunities.
It was reported that the UK rail system contributes £36 billion to the UK economy annually.
Research from Oxford Economics published by the Railway Industry Association (RIA) last year showed that the sector contributed more to the UK than food and beverage, tobacco manufacturing, and the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.
Yeoh told the New Straits Times in an interview that YTL was keen to tap investment opportunities in the rail sector there.
But the plan would not be immediate as it wanted to focus on constructing new transport infrastructure for its flagship property development project Brabazon, he added.
YTL Developments UK, a wholly-owned subsidiary of YTL group, is developing Brabazon, a
mixed development located at the former Filton airfield in Bristol.
The gross development cost for Brabazon is over £2 billion and will contain 2,675 homes and 25ha employment space, among others.
Yeoh, who recently was awarded the honorary British award of Knight Commander of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE), said YTL Developments would invest over £100 million to develop the infrastructure comprising a new MetroBus, railway station and integrated
cycle routes to connect Brabazon to neighbouring and existing networks.
“It's a small project. We are familiar with railway development but we want to experience developing the connectivity between rail and bus with Brabazon and then open our opportunities to look at regulated assets in the rail side in the UK.
“We plan to build a railway station and some railway facilities for people to get to the development. All the bicycle tracks and rails are improvement for Bristol. This will cut down a lot of cars on the road," said Yeoh.
Construction for the transport infrastructure may start next year, said Yeoh, who was conferred the knighthood in October by Queen Elizabeth II for his contribution in strengthening UK-Malaysia bilateral relations.
"Rail development is one of the toughest businesses but we have the expertise as we developed the Express Rail Link (ERL) in Malaysia. But building a large scale rail project is different. We have not gone into that field but we will experience it with this small project in Bristol," said Yeoh.
The ERL operates the KLIA Ekspres and KLIA Transit services that connect Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA and klia2) and the city.
The services were launched in 2002. The non-stop 57-km journey on KLIA Ekspres between KL Sentral and KLIA takes only 28 minutes.
ERL recorded 50 million passengers in 2014, 60 million in 2015, and 75 million in 2016.
It received 95 million passengers last year and welcomed its 100 millionth passenger on July 25 this year.
ERL's on-time performance record is 99.7 per cent with 137 trips daily on non-stop express service, and 100 trips daily on transit service.
"ERL has more than 100 million passengers, currently. It is now attracting around 10 million passengers a year and taking five million cars/bikes of carbon dioxide off the road. It's a great milestone for YTL and this is something we may want to replicate in the UK," said
Yeoh.
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Yeoh said the rail sector in the UK is a growing industry and offers a bright future for companies looking for opportunities.
It was reported that the UK rail system contributes £36 billion to the UK economy annually.
Research from Oxford Economics published by the Railway Industry Association (RIA) last year showed that the sector contributed more to the UK than food and beverage, tobacco manufacturing, and the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.
Yeoh told the New Straits Times in an interview that YTL was keen to tap investment opportunities in the rail sector there.
But the plan would not be immediate as it wanted to focus on constructing new transport infrastructure for its flagship property development project Brabazon, he added.
YTL Developments UK, a wholly-owned subsidiary of YTL group, is developing Brabazon, a
mixed development located at the former Filton airfield in Bristol.
The gross development cost for Brabazon is over £2 billion and will contain 2,675 homes and 25ha employment space, among others.
Yeoh, who recently was awarded the honorary British award of Knight Commander of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE), said YTL Developments would invest over £100 million to develop the infrastructure comprising a new MetroBus, railway station and integrated
cycle routes to connect Brabazon to neighbouring and existing networks.
“It's a small project. We are familiar with railway development but we want to experience developing the connectivity between rail and bus with Brabazon and then open our opportunities to look at regulated assets in the rail side in the UK.
“We plan to build a railway station and some railway facilities for people to get to the development. All the bicycle tracks and rails are improvement for Bristol. This will cut down a lot of cars on the road," said Yeoh.
Construction for the transport infrastructure may start next year, said Yeoh, who was conferred the knighthood in October by Queen Elizabeth II for his contribution in strengthening UK-Malaysia bilateral relations.
"Rail development is one of the toughest businesses but we have the expertise as we developed the Express Rail Link (ERL) in Malaysia. But building a large scale rail project is different. We have not gone into that field but we will experience it with this small project in Bristol," said Yeoh.
The ERL operates the KLIA Ekspres and KLIA Transit services that connect Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA and klia2) and the city.
The services were launched in 2002. The non-stop 57-km journey on KLIA Ekspres between KL Sentral and KLIA takes only 28 minutes.
ERL recorded 50 million passengers in 2014, 60 million in 2015, and 75 million in 2016.
It received 95 million passengers last year and welcomed its 100 millionth passenger on July 25 this year.
ERL's on-time performance record is 99.7 per cent with 137 trips daily on non-stop express service, and 100 trips daily on transit service.
"ERL has more than 100 million passengers, currently. It is now attracting around 10 million passengers a year and taking five million cars/bikes of carbon dioxide off the road. It's a great milestone for YTL and this is something we may want to replicate in the UK," said
Yeoh.
WATCH THE VIDEO
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