He pointed out that companies from many sectors, such as logistics, ports as well as oil and gas, have benefited from government push towards such sectors in the previous times, and the same will be emulated in the rail industry.

“This is the beginning of a new phase in the rail sector. Government now is putting a lot of efforts in developing our railway industries.

“We don’t have a manufacturer for locomotives, coaches and spare parts. To do more than what we can now, we need to acquire expertise from outside such as China,” he said.

“Actually if we acquire the skills, we are able to build all these parts in Malaysia. In order to expand the industry, we need our local players to step up,” he added.

The Minister said he hopes to work with experts and acquire the skills needed to establish a more matured local rail industry, which will also indirectly provide job opportunities for the people.

Local listed players that are involved in the rail industry include Fajarabaru Builder Group Bhd, Ahmad Zaki Resources Bhd, Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd, WCT Holdings Bhd, IJM Corp Bhd, Gamuda Bhd, and Sunway Construction Group Bhd, among others.

Additionally, he said that companies can also look into participating as rail operators, particularly in freight operations, adding that any additional player can increase competitiveness within the sector and ultimately improve pricing and quality of service.

“Rail freight prices are currently more expensive than lorries. We welcome more rail operators, especially in freight rail line — especially in between ports,” he said.

“Currently the assets in KTMB are owned by Railway Assets Corporation (RAC), and all their assets are rented by KTMB. Now we want multiple operators to use these same assets,” said Liow.

“Just pay the rent for the railway tracks,” Liow said, equating it with the relationship between airports and airlines, where a fee is paid by airlines to airport owners in order to operate there.

Malaysia currently has four key rail operators, namely Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd, Prasarana Malaysia Bhd, Express Rail Link Sdn Bhd and Sabah State Railway.

Meanwhile, Liow also called for logistics companies to look into using more railway services as a means of business. He said that presently, freight shipment by train constitutes only 10% of total land freight logistics, while the rest are delivered via lorries.

Railways that are in the pipeline include the Bandar Utama-Klang LRT3 (to be completed by 2020), Gemas-Johor Bahru electrified double-tracking line (by 2021), MRT2 and MRT3 (by 2022 and 2027), East Coast Rail Link (by 2024), and the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (by 2026).

“We are also encouraging the state governments in Sabah and Sarawak to look into rail developments there,” added Liow.