Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said today the government had received a private proposal for a high-speed train to Singapore and was open to the idea.

The proposal from Malaysian property and utility firm YTL Corp will reportedly see a rail link from Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, with the journey of 325km taking just 90 minutes.

"We are open to the idea," Abdullah told reporters.

"We are also requesting other companies to submit their proposals. Right now only YTL has submitted the proposal," he added.

Abdullah said construction of a high-speed rail link would be a private initiative.

However, he said the government had a RM5 billion fund to assist private infrastructure projects and would lend a hand in any necessary land acquisition for the rail project.

Unresolved bilateral issues

YTL's managing director Francis Yeoh, who proposed the RM8 billion rail link, has reportedly said the Malaysian and Singapore governments have been informed of the plan.

However the two have yet officially to discuss the link, and with relations periodically strained over a series of unresolved bilateral issues, difficulties may lie ahead.

Currently, there is a rail service to Singapore but it takes about seven hours, while flights between the countries are pricey.

Malaysia and Singapore are also linked by a causeway which is routinely subject to heavy traffic.