Malaysia revives 'ambitious' high-speed rail plan amid hurdles

KUALA LUMPUR/SINGAPORE -- Malaysia is reviving a plan to build the country's first high-speed railway connecting its capital of Kuala Lumpur to neighboring Singapore after the two governments failed to reach an agreement on an earlier version of the project.

The first seven proposals submitted recently by the private sector include bids from consortiums led by state-owned China Railway Construction; South Korea's Hyundai Rotem, a Hyundai Motor unit focused on railways and defense; and local conglomerates such as MMC, Gamuda, YTL, WCT Holdings and Berjaya, according to people familiar with the matter.