Raffles Country Club to Become Site for KL-Singapore HSR
The Raffles Country Club (RCC) is the second club in Singapore to make way for the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR). In the future, it will also become a site for the Cross Island Line’s (CRL) western post.
Handing Over
The RCC began in 1988 and is considered to be of the oldest clubs in Singapore. However, the club will now be handed over to the Singapore Land Authority (SLA). The handing over is to take pace by July 31, 2018, which happens to be 10 years before the lease of the site expires.
Construction of HSR
After the handing over, the authorities will start their engineering studies. The site is spread over 143ha and construction will begin after the results have been obtained. RCC is following the lead of the Jurong Country Club. Jurong Country Club had to wrap up its operation last year as it was also handed over to the authorities for the construction of the HSR.
Why HSR?
The HSR is being built in order to facilitate the civilians who travel from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. It is reported that HSR will be able to transport travelers within 90 minutes between the destinations. The operations are set to begin by December 31, 2026.
Why RCC is Feasible?
The RCC is located in Tuas. Further, it is closed off by the Tengah Reservoir and the Ayer Rajah Expressway. The club also happens to be double the size of the Jurong Country Club. Due to its bigger size, it is said that it will be more convenient for the ground level HSR tracks before it proceeds underground towards the Jurong East Terminus. This reason was mentioned by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the SLA.
HSR Facilities to be Built at RCC
The HSR facilities at RCC will be built to include crossover tracks and a siding facility. The siding facility will be useful for housing trains for safety or operational reasons temporarily. The CRL depot will have a stabling and maintenance facilities. The depot may also be used as a train testing facility.
The Deputy Chief Executive of the Infrastructure and Development, LTA, Chua Chong Kheng, said that the RCC is very beneficial for this purpose. He is of the opinion that the site of the club is optimum in terms of location, size and orientation. According to the deputy, they did not have many options when it came to having a site without doing a lot of land acquisition.
According to the property analysts, the trend of using clubs as sites may continue into the future as well. However, such decisions are dependent on the needs of Singapore.
Looking for new launch condo that is near the future High Speed Rail Terminal in Jurong? Have a look at the developments below.
New Launches that are in the city fringe / city
- Highline Residences
- Principal Garden
- Sophia Hills
