Tanjung Pelepas pushes north

MALAYSIA’S Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) has stretched its ‘hinterland’ to southern Thailand through a container train service from the port to Haadyai in Thailand. The first run of the dedicated service operated by Pengangkutan Timur Pantai Landbridge (PLB) began on December 1. PLB is licensed by state rail company KTM to operate freight trains from Singapore-Johor to Thailand. The distance of about 900 km will be covered in 36 hours against a sea journey of more than two days, a PTP spokesman said. The service will be progressively extended to inland depots in other Thai cities with the frequency ultimately increasing to daily runs. “The new container service will provide even more options for shippers and logistics companies operating out of PTP,” the port operator stated.