It's the announcement which nobody wanted to hear, although few were surprised: "The 2020 express train from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur has been delayed. By several years, in fact. We don't know when it'll actually arrive, but we apologise for any inconvenience caused."

Yes, the high-speed track between Singapore and KL is no longer on track, with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong now saying the original plans to have trains running in 2020 were unrealistic.

"We looked at the original timeline of 2020, and think it is not really realistic," Lee admits, adding that the project was a "very challenging" one.

First announced in 2013, and costed at close to A$14 billion, the bullet train would have travelled between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur in just 90 minutes non-stop, reaching peak speeds of 300kph along the specially-built 320km track.

That compares to a 45 minute flight between the each capital city's airport, although passengers must then make their way to the CBD.

Read: When the train beats the plane

Slower trains would also visit six stations at major cities along the route.

A revised timeline is due to be announced by year's end, but Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said construction of the line itself would take five years, following one year each for design stage and tender process – which points to a new date sometime in 2023 at the earliest.

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