KERETAPI SABAH

Introduction

Rail transport in Malaysia comprises heavy rail including high speed rail, light rail transit
(LRT), monorail and funicular railway line. Heavy rail is mostly used for intercity passenger and
freight transport as well as some urban public transport. LRT is used for urban public transport
and some special use such as transporting passengers between airport buildings. There is 1 high
speed railway line with 2 high speed train services linking Kuala Lumpur with the Kuala Lumpur
International Airport. The sole monorail line is used for public transport in Kuala Lumpur while
the funicular railway line is in Penang.

The railway network covers most states in Peninsular Malaysia. In East Malaysia, only
the stare of Sabah has railways. The network is connected to Thailand railway which is 1000m
network in north and Singapore.

There is a 134km railway line linking from Tanjung Aru near to Kota Kinabalu to Tenom
on the interior of Sabah state. The line is the only railway on the island of Borneo. Beside normal
passenger trains operated by the Sabah State Railway (SSR) Department, the tracks are used to
for the North Borneo Railway tourist train. The line has been suffering from lack of maintenance
for many years and in 2006, the Malaysian Government funded rehabilitation works for the line.
A pipe dream is to have a railway line from Kota Kinabalu to Kuching through Brunei though
the cost of this would mean seeking funding from Brunei.

Figure 1: KTMB’s logo

Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) or Malayan Railways Limited is the main rail
operator in Peninsular Malaysia. The railway system dates back to the British colonial era when
it was first built to transport tin. Previously known as the Federated Malay States Railways
(FMSR) and the Malayan Railway Administration (MRA), KTM acquired its current name on
Malaysia’s independence in 1962. The organization was corporatized in 1992 but remains
wholly owned by the Malaysian government.

Figure 2: SSR’s logo

Sabah State Railway (SSR) is a railway system and operator in the state of Sabah in
Malaysia. It is the currently the only rail transport system operating on the island of Borneo. The
railway consists of a single 134km line from Tanjung Aru near Kota Kinabalu to the town of
Tenom in the Interior Division. It was formerly known as North Borneo Railway. It will be a
total of 16 stations between Sembulan and Tenom which is start from Tanjung Aru – Putatan –
Kinarut – Kawang – Papar – Kimanis – Bongawan – Membakut – Beaufort – Saliwangan –
Halogilat – Rayoh – Pangi – Tenom.
 Figure3: Route Map

The current operational railway is used for its entire length to carry both passengers and
freight. The route consists of a single track meter gauge non-electrified line. Passenger services
are run using 2-car Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) sets from 1970. These have a single-class
seating structure and are non-air conditioned.

SSR has standard passenger cars which can be connected to freight trains. These are
singles class non-air conditioned. At present there are 3 passenger-carrying trains operating daily
in each direction running the full length of the route. These units are less powerful than those
used by KTM in Peninsular Malaysia with the various models being rated between 320hp and
580hp.

Operating speeds on the line are low due to the nature of the terrain and the use of
relatively low powered equipment. Passenger services take 4 hours to complete 134km journey
from Tanjung Aru to Tenom, allowing for stops on the way. Recently the federal government
charged KTM to work alongside SSR to undertake short and medium term works on the railway
to enhance its safety. This included rehabilitating the track and signaling and overhaul of the
rolling stock in order to ensure continuation of service. This is both a short term measure to
ensure continued operation and a medium term one to improve operational safety and to
somewhat modernize the system. A possible reinstatement of the Tanjung Aru to Kota Kinabalu
part of the route has been considered although it is not yet known whether or not this will be
given approval.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Important of Case

Case Scope

Case Statement

The payment received is 93% by the contractor but the work on site was less than 60%. The total
amount of this project is RM300 million and should be fined because of the additional time was
expired on October 2009.
The railways can be hazardous with mudslides in rainy whether a real thread which can lead to
the service being disrupted or suspended for brief periods.

The supervisor of KTMB is interested to pay the contractor without doing the inspection and
seeing the progress of the project on site detail.
Code of Ethic

Discussion

Conclusion

Current status of this project is the railway runs again by Sabah State Railway Department (SSR)
which is an arm of the Sabah State administration. This current work is being handled jointly by
SSR along with Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM), the corporatized railway operator for the
railway network in Peninsular Malaysia. However, SSR is still operate and administratively
completely separate from KTM and uses different operational equipment. The coaches will run
at speed of 80km per hour which take 2 hours and 15 minutes for the trip compared to 50km
previously.