The impending signing of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail (HSR) contract is welcome ("Signing of high-speed rail agreement postponed"; Dec 2).

While we have no say over the services from KL northwards, our substantial investment in the KL-Singapore line makes it incumbent on us to ensure that the project does not become a white elephant.

The success of this project over time is highly dependent on end-to-end journeys originating from the two cities.

If KL travellers were to end their journey in Johor Baru, for whatever reason, or if the frequency and capacity of the train service from KL were not up to travellers' expectations, what kind of impact will it have on the financial viability of Singapore's share of the investment?

The competition from even lower airline fares in the future cannot be discounted. We have seen and experienced the results of train services that do not match expectations.

Christopher Tang Wai Leng