Transport ministry to set up new body to boost rail industry

Minister Wee Ka Siong says members of the Malaysia Rail Development Corporation will be appointed when the details have been worked out.

From Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR: The transport ministry will set up an institution known as the Malaysia Rail Development Corporation (MRDC) in an effort to empower the rail industry.

Its minister Wee Ka Siong said it was timely to have the MRDC as the rail industry was expected to grow rapidly after the completion of the Electric Train Service (ETS) 3 track to Johor and the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) stations by 2026.

“It is time for us to set up a body to assist all stakeholders in developing the rail industry in Malaysia. Right now, we are doing it through the National Rail Centre of Excellence (NRCOE) and we need a company with the status of company limited by guarantee.

“We have obtained approval from the government. It will have its own structure and we already have a way to start injecting funds. We will rebrand the NRCOE to MRDC and expand its function to that of a coordinating body,” he told a press conference here.

Wee said the MRDC would be set up in the near future.

“After the procedures have been completed, we will appoint the members of the organisation according to a planned structure,” he added.

Earlier, Wee officiated the inaugural Rail Technology Expo 2022, an exhibition held in collaboration with NRCOE, the Malaysia Rail Industry Corporation and the Technology Depository Agency, at the Kuala Lumpur Sentral Station.