The Federated Malay States Railways (FMSR) was a consolidated railway operator in British Malaya (present day Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore) during the first half of the 20th century. Named after the then recently formed Federated Malay States in 1896 and founded five years after the formation of the federation, the company acquired various railways that were developed separately in various parts of Malaya, and oversaw the largest expansion and integration of the colonial rail network encompassing the Federated Malay States, the Unfederated Malay States (except Trengganu) and the Straits Settlements, with lines spanning from Singapore in the south to Padang Besar (near the border with Siam) in the north.
History
Predecessors Until the formation of the FMSR, Malaya's railway systems were fragmented and concentrated in the commercially active west coast of the peninsula; none of the systems were originally intended for interstate travel, and were founded to fulfill specific purposes. By the end of the 19th century, Malaya had at least six separate railway companies: The Perak Government Railway in Perak, which was primarily tasked to serve tin mines within the state and operated two separate lines: The Taiping line between Parit Buntar and Port Weld, and another between Enggor and Teluk Anson. The Muar State Railway, a railway system in the district of Muar, Johore transporting agricultural goods and passengers. The Selangor Government Railway in Selangor, which was originally used to transport goods between Klang and Kuala Lumpur. By 1900, an extension of the line to Port Swettenham was only completed the year before, and a branch line through Kuala Lumpur (stopping at Sultan Street), Pudoh and the mining town of Ampang was operating for use in the transport of tin from Ampang. The Sungei Ujong Railway in Negeri Sembilan, which operated a line between Seremban and Port Dickson. The Singapore Government Railway in Singapore. The operator of the Prai-Bukit Mertajam line in Province Wellesley. A recommendation by Cecil Clementi Smith was also made in 1892 to link the interior of Pahang via a railway line to render the state accessible for economic development. The state favoured railway construction, but it was unable to do so due to the lack of funds.
Frank Swettenham and the founding of the FMSR The formation of the Federated Malay States (FMS) in 1896 led to a centralisation of Residential power and improved co-ordination of development in the new founded federation. In the same year, the newly appointed residents-general of the FMS, Frank Swettenham, proposed a master plan to extend and connect railway networks within the FMS and Province Wellesley.
Swettenham's proposal encompassed three phases: The first was to be the construction of a "development" line towards the north that would connect Perak's railways with those of Selangor's and the Province Wellesley's, while running through valuable but underdeveloped land in between; the second phase consisted of an extension of the line to Kuala Lipis, Pahang's then administrative capital, to promote the development of the state's mineral industry; the third section was to be a southwards extension from the Selangor Railway's southern terminus in Cheras to Seremban, connecting Selangor Railway to Sungei Ujong Railway and providing direct connectivity from Prai to the north to Port Dickson to the south.
Swettenham's proposal was approved by the Colonial Office under the justification wide-ranging transport linkages would allow access to land for use in agriculture and diversify the region's sources of revenue, while improving administrative efficiency by linking the FMS with the Straits Settlements (widening the scope of the plan to include additional linkages to the Straits Settlements of Malacca and Singapore).
Construction of the connections began in 1897 and concluded in 1903 with the Prai-Port Dickson line completed. The FMSR was founded in 1901 in the process, combining assets of Perak Railway and Selangor Railway as the two railway networks were the first to be connected. Management of stations and railways within the two networks were turned over to the FMSR, while locomotives originally operated by the two companies were absorbed into the FMSR and renumbered in July 1901. The amalgamation of other railway companies into the FMSR would follow in the coming years.
Extensions
While the Prai-Port Dickson line was completed in 1903, extensions were still required to connect the network with Malacca and Singapore. The extension southwards led to the formation of two short-lived railway companies largely intended to oversee the construction of lines within their state borders.
The Malacca Government Railway (MGR) was awarded a concession by the state government for the construction a railway line between Tampin and Malacca Town, as well as an extension of the main line between Malacca's state border with Negeri Sembilan that leads to Gemas. Upon completion of the lines, the MGR was absorbed into the FMSR in 1905.
In 1904, the Johore state government signed an agreement with Amalgamation.http://hids.arkib.gov.my/doc/1999/julai/01_07_1909_1999.htm
World War II and the end of the FMSR The outbreak of World War II was marked with the Japanese Empire's invasion of Malaya and Singapore in 1941 and 1942, which saw the entirety of the FMSR network falling under Japanese control. The system suffered minimal damage during the initial invasion and bombing runs, but saw the dismantling and closure of minor branch lines during the occupation for construction materials for the Thailand-Burma Railway. Similarly, several FMSR locomotives were transferred for use at the Thailand-Burma Railway during the period, but were eventually returned after the war.
Following the end of the war, the FMSR continued to operate as an entity for three years under the British Military Administration and Malayan Union, before it is renamed in 1948 as the Malayan Railway Administration (also known simply as the Malayan Railway, or MR) as the Malayan Union is reinstituted as the Federation of Malaya. The Malayan Railway would in turn be formally rebranded with a Malay translation of the name, Keretapi Tanah Melayu, in 1962.
Design
Railway Years before the formation of the FMSR, an agreement was met in which new lines built by state governments are to be laid out in the same metre gauge under the expectation that the separate lines will eventually be connected to each other. Consequentially, the system would further expand exclusively in metre gauge under the FMSR. Much of the FMSR network were single-track lines with passing loops situated near or at stations. Exceptions can be found in and around larger stations and cities, where higher rail traffic necessitates double tracks or more.
Railway signalling was entirely mechanical and manually operated; the entirety of the system utilised semaphore signals and each station with multiple tracks are equipped with a lever frame housed within the station building or a separate shed. While rare and almost exclusively found in portions of the system with larger numbers of tracks, dedicated signal boxes were also built.
In its early year the railway was also essential for communication. In addition to mail transported in baggage cars, telephone wires would typically parallel railway lines, which relayed voice communication and telegraphs between railway stations and nearby post offices.
Crossings and tunnels The predominant number of crossings along the FMSR were almost entirely composed of single-track beam bridges (for shorter crossings) or truss bridges (for longer crossings) composed of cast iron and steel spans laid on brick piers and abutments. While much of the track was laid out along cuttings, several tunnels were also excavated near Seremban, Bukit Berapit, Sungai Mengkuang, Ulu Temiang, Dabong and Kuala Geris.
While rare, road viaducts crossing under or over the railway were similarly built throughout FMSR's history, typically in the form of brick arch or truss bridges in areas with high rail and road traffic. For the rest of the system, level crossings were laid instead.
Engineering facilities
Stations
Railway stations constructed along the FMSR network composed of two forms.
One, which characterised the vast majority of stops, are vernacular timber structures with sizes that varied based on the size of the towns they served based on construction methods of past state railways; larger timber stations are typically exemplified by longer platforms and lengthier station buildings designed to house communications, signalling control, luggage handling and station management, while lesser halts are often identifiable by small timber shelters (if any) and short platforms. Despite their simplistic constructions, many of the stations buildings were typically adorned in traditional fashion with wooden carvings and cast-iron decors. Larger timber stations are also usually equipped with railway quarters and maintenance facilities in their immediate vicinity.
The other form dot larger towns and cities. Originally allocated with similarly constructed timber stations, increased ridership often necessitated the construction of larger, grander stations constructed of sturdier materials and varying architectural styles. Among the stations built in grander styles include the Indo-Saracenic Revival Kuala Lumpur station (1911), the late-Edwardian Baroque Ipoh station (1917), and the Art Deco Johore Baharu station (1932) and Tanjong Pagar station in Singapore (1932). Lesser grand stations (some dating from before the FMSR), including Kelang, Pudoh, Seremban and Alor Setar are architecturally similar to larger timber stations but are distinguishable by more sophisticated station building layouts, masonry construction, additional ornamentation, and larger numbers of platforms.
The FMSR "station" in George Town, Penang (built 1907, later known as the "Malayan Railway Building" and "Wisma Kastam"), which administered railway operations in the north of Malaya, was also cited as a FMSR stop despite lacking a railway connection; the building housed ticketing facilities and railway administrative offices, but train rides from George Town required passengers boarding Railway Ferry Streamers that cross the Penang Strait from Weld Quay to Prai Junction (prior to the completion the Tunku Abdul Rahman Bridge that led to Butterworth supplanting Prai as a railway stop to George Town in 1967).
Workshops, depots and freight management During early consolidation the FMSR would inherit many of former state railways depots, workshops and yards located around major stations and junctions, which were eventually downgraded into minor depots while centralised workshops charged with more important maintenance duties were constructed in specific regions. The largest of the new workshops was the Central Workshops in Sentol, Selangor; completed in 1905, it occupied a large plot close to the town and employed around 5,000 employees in its heyday, building railroad cars, fabricating railway parts, and performing maintenance on traction units. Other major depots were constructed in Prai and Gemas during FMSR's existence.
As the FMSR was an essential shipping channel to and from the interior of Malaya, some stations serving sea ports and commercial and industrial centres doubled as goods stations, managing tin and rubber shipments alongside other essential goods; such stations are typically complemented with godowns and marshalling/goods yards of varying sizes.
Headquarters