Research in Transportation Business & Management xxx (xxxx) xxx

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Research in Transportation Business & Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rtbm

Integration of rail freight with dry ports: A route for seaport regionalisation
Jagan Jeevan a, Theo Notteboom b, Norlinda Rozar a, Nurul Haqimin Mohd Salleh a,
Masha Nur Salsabiela Menhat a, Abdul Hafaz Ngah c, Rudiah Md Hanafiah a,
Izyan Munirah Mohd Zaideen a, *
a
Faculty of Maritime Studies, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia
b
Department of Transport and Regional Economics, University of Antwerp, Prinsstraat 13, 2000 Antwerpen, Belgium
c
Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Development, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Due to economic and geographical causes, the reformation of rail freight transport is now in progress in a number
Railway of countries. Railroads are ideal for moving huge quantities of non-bulk, specialised, and bulk cargo. Malaysia’s
Inland terminals rail network has developed in comparison to other modes. However, its administration and contributions are
Freight
little researched and frequently unclear in the current literature. In this country, rail is mostly used for passenger
Malaysia
transportation, and the amount of rail freight in maritime trade is negligible compared to road freight. This
scenario affects the efficacy of inter-regional and intra-regional freight delivery, diminishes the competitiveness
of seaports, creates a monopoly for road freight transport, and depletes road infrastructure for extensively
facilitated road freight transit. This article focuses on investigating concerns about existing rail freight transport
and its improvement methods, the influence of rail freight transport on seaport competitiveness, and the rela­
tionship between rail freight transport and seaport dwell time. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was con­
ducted to achieve the goals of this work. Approximately forty (40) Malaysian rail operators, their clients, and
multimodal transport operators participated in the online survey. The findings indicate that the primary chal­
lenges with the Malaysian rail system are performance, transit time reliability, and capacity use. Improving the
rail infrastructure will have a good impact on the service dependability, freight distribution, and operation
management of a seaport. By enforcing institutional integration, expanding infrastructure support systems, and
successfully managing infrastructure maintenance, the rail system may be enhanced. By synchronising seaport
operation, efficiency, management, and container rotation, rail freight operations can enhance seaport transit
time. To maintain trade competitiveness and provide a balanced freight distribution network, the role of rail
freight must be increased.

1. Introduction
Railroads provide an essential mode of transport for both freight and
passengers (Assad, 1980). Rail freight refers to cargo transported using
various intermodal waggons designed to carry International Organiza­
tion for Standardisation (ISO) containers or a combination of whole
vehicles, referred to as piggyback transport (Lowe, 2005). Low emis­
sions, capacity utilisation, cost-effectiveness, schedule reliability, and
accurate application of Just in Time (JIT) and Just in Sequence (JIS) are
substantial advantages that can be gained from locomotives (Freightera,
2019). Countries and continents such as China, Russia, the United States,
and parts of Europe, where transit can be time-consuming, frequently
use rail transport. Rail transport is more environmentally friendly owing
to its lower fuel consumption and emissions. Also, many goods can be
sent in a single shipment, and the cost of shipping over long distances
can be kept low by using rail transport. Rail freight transport employs set
timetables that provide reliable quotes for rail freight, making it a well-
structured transport option. Also, poor traffic conditions, such as traffic
jams, do not hinder rail freight transport (Freightera, 2019). Traders can
consider rail freight transport as a cost-effective last-mile transport
option.
In Malaysia, the existing rail network that connects seaports and
inland areas is not being used to its full potential. This is due to the
unequal modal split between land freight transport, which is shown by

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: izyan@umt.edu.my (I.M. Mohd Zaideen).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rtbm.2022.100910
Received 22 February 2021; Received in revised form 4 November 2022; Accepted 7 November 2022
2210-5395/© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article as: Jagan Jeevan, Research in Transportation Business & Management, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rtbm.2022.100910
J. Jeevan et al.
the fact that road freight has 98% modal share (Jeevan, Chen, & Cahoon,
2019). This situation is caused by limited rail transport capacity on
single-track networks, limited intra-region and inter-region connectiv­
ity, limited rail accessibility in some inland terminals, and substandard
waggon and gauging conditions.
2. Malaysian railway network
The railway network was established in Malaysia around 1885 and
became the earliest transport system in the country. In the early days,
the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) railway line was a crucial
mode of transport for goods and passengers moving between Singapore
and its neighbouring country, Malaysia (Chen, Jeevan, & Cahoon,
2016). Transport operations on the network started upon connecting
Taiping to Port Weld to transport tin from the mining area to the seaport.
Besides inter-regional transport, Malaysian rail has been utilised for
intra-region transport as well. For example, a land bridge rail network
connects the northern region of peninsular Malaysia to Thailand’s
southern region. This land bridge rail network cuts travel time between
these two countries by 60 h compared to the road network, moving 54
TEUs of cargo per trip and 1500 TEUs per week, while the original sea
and road transport routes take 168 h and 96 h, respectively (Chen et al.,
2016; Lowtan, 2004).
The delays, inefficiency, low frequency, and limited capacity led to
unused spaces on vessels and blank sailings, disintegrating the port’s
schedule and lengthening the vessel’s turnaround time at the port
(Othman, Jeevan, & Rizal, 2016). Moreover, the Malaysian rail oper­
ator, KTMB, prioritises passenger services over freight transport.
Although comprehensive railway linkages are available throughout the
peninsular, they cover less of Malaysia’s east coast. Economic activities
are still centralised on the west coast of Malaysia, and historical reasons
were the primary causes of this imbalance in railway coverage. A
transport network that integrates with a seaport is formed by combining
multimodal transport, high volume production, and an intermodal ter­
minal. Malaysian seaports are mostly interconnected by the railway
network, giving them an upper hand in services, trade volume, and
environmental aspects (Jeevan et al., 2021, Jeevan, Yeng, & Othman,
2021: 2022). Conversely, minimal accessibility through the railway
network, especially for freight distribution, will affect seaports’
Fig. 1. Regional segregation of Malaysian maritime & logistics clusters.
Source: Authors.
2
Research in Transportation Business & Management xxx (xxxx) xxx
attractiveness in this country. Malaysia’s maritime sector is important
since it relies on seaborne trade (Mohd Zaideen, 2019). Ports and
shipping activity have grown steadily, making Malaysia a prominent
maritime nation. However, the limited railway connection on the
peninsular Malaysia’s east coast discourages shipping lines from
selecting seaports in this region as their destination seaports. Shipping
lines’ preferring seaports on the west coast of peninsular Malaysia led to
an imbalance in regional development and influenced more investors to
choose the west coast over the east as their investment destination (see
Fig. 1).
The Malaysian freight rail network serves industrial areas such as
Ipoh and the Klang Valley. Major container seaports such as Penang
Port, Port Klang, Port of Tanjung Pelepas, and dry ports located in
Padang Besar, Ipoh, Seremban, and Segamat have direct access to the
rail network. Six trips are operated per day by the train service that links
the three major container seaports to other hinterland nodes, with each
train carrying around 64 TEUs per trip (Woodburn, 2011). In fact, the
road congestion in the country could be relieved by rail since it is
underutilised. Congestion can be eased by promoting and improving rail
connectivity. So, the number of accidents on the roads can go down, and
there can be a more even distribution of freight by road and rail in this
country.
From 2004 to 2017, the total rail freight TEUs were approximately
4,215,857, representing approximately 1.6% of the total TEUs recorded
in Malaysian seaports over these fourteen (14) years.Meanwhile, the
TEUs recorded from the landbridge freight transactions between
Malaysia and Thailand were less than one (1) per cent of the total
throughput (see Table 1).
The landbridge system connects Malaysia and Thailand to facilitate
the flow of containers or cargo between these two countries, especially
between Port Klang, Malaysia and Bangkok, Thailand. When compared
to rail and landbridge freight distributions, road freight exhibits the
polar opposite trend, dominating container freight by 98.32%. Unfor­
tunately, this freight movement indicates no growth tendency in rail
freight or even a freight split tendency between these two main transport
modes (Zain, Salleh, Zaideen, Menhat, & Jeevan, 2022). This phenom­
enon has become a substantial motivation to conduct this research,
explore the potential possibilities of decreasing the gap between road
and rail freight, and inspire sustainable freight transport development in
J. Jeevan et al. Research in Transportation Business & Management xxx (xxxx) xxx

Table 1 to overcome Malaysian railways’ issues and analyse the relationship

Trend of containers freight by rail and road between 2004 and 2017 between rail freight performance and container dwelling time at sea­
Years Rail freight Landbridge Road freight Total of TEUs in ports. The target sample population of this research is derived from the
TEUs (per TEUs TEUs (per cent) Malaysian seaports key players in the Malaysian maritime sector. The samples can be
cent) (per cent) divided into five categories: Malaysian railway or KTMB staff (25 par­
2004 302,736 33,773 (0.29) 11,004,762 11,341,271 ticipants), the clients of KTMB (10 participants), Multimodal Freight
(2.7) (97.01) Services (10 participants), Malaysian Sugar Manufacturing (10 partici­
2005 310,011 30,022 (0.24) 11,705,880 12,045,913 pants), and other general clients of KTMB (10 participants). The
(2.6) (97.16)
2006 339,037 29,846 (0.22) 13,105,114 13,468,648
extraction method was principal component analysis, and the rotation
(2.5) (97.28) method was Varimax with Kaiser normalization.
2007 333,688 25,846 (0.17) 14,811,364 15,170,898
(2.2) (97.63) 4. Result and discussion
2008 203,939 20,500 (0.12) 16,051,993 16,276,432
(1.3) (98.58)
2009 266,722 13,644 (0.08) 15,578,780 15,859,146 The survey was conducted from February 2020 to April 2020. Almost
(1.7) (98.22) 62% of the respondents from the population have successfully respon­
2010 238,251 8054 (0.04) 17,927,489 18,173,794 ded. In general, 21 participants (52%) from KTMB, 3 participants (8%)
(1.3) (98.66) from YTL Cement, 4 participants (10%) from Multimodal Freight Ser­
2011 282,352 5610 (0.02) 19,690,744 19,978,706
(1.4) (98.58)
vices, 5 participants (13%) from Malaysian Sugar Manufacturing, and 7
2012 331,870 5367 (0.02) 20,219,488 20,556,725 participants (18%) of KTMB’s clients have responded to the e-survey.
(1.6) (98.38) The outcome of the e-survey was analysed via EFA and interpreted to
2013 343,395 4072 (0.19) 20,528,851 20,876,318 answer all four proposed research questions. This section is divided into
(1.6) (98.21)
five subsections: railway system issues; railway implications for seaport
2014 318,033 4892 (0.02) 22,050,384 22,373,309
(1.4) (98.58) competitiveness; Malaysian railway development plan; dwelling time
2015 283,063 5740 (0.02) 23,587,509 23,876,312 analysis in Malaysian seaports and their connection to railway services;
(1.2) (98.78) and seaport regionalization by dry ports through rail connectivity.
2016 331,901 10,929 (0.04) 24,505,003 24,847,833
(1.3) (98.66)
2017 330,859 14,150 (0.05) 23,438,884 23,783,893
4.1. Issues in Malaysia freight railway network
(1.3) (98.65)
Total 4,215,857 212,445 254,206,245 258,629,198 The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) test, which measures sampling ade­
(1.6) (0.08) (98.32) quacy, indicates the proportion of variance in variables that interrelated
Source: Authors. factors could cause. According to Hair, Black, Babin, and Anderson
(2010), the KMO value must be greater than 0.50 before factor analysis
this country. The limited research on the Malaysian freight railway can be performed.Bartlett’s test is an identification matrix that de­
network, in contrast to the available literature on passenger services, is termines if variables are unrelated and unsuitable for structure detec­
another motivation to conduct this research. Therefore, this paper will tion. A factor analysis of the data might prove useful if Bartlett’s test
examine four main topics: the issues in the Malaysian freight railway statistic is below 0.05. The KMO value for issues on the Malaysian freight
network, how they impact seaport competitiveness, solutions to the is­ railway network is 0.730, establishing its adequacy for sampling. The
sues in the current Malaysian railway system, and the relationship be­ KMO index should be greater than 0.60, which ensures the suitability of
tween container transit time and current rail freight performance. The data for extraction of factors (Rovai, Baker, & Ponton, 2013). The EFA
findings of this research may fill the gap in academic research of mari­ analysis result indicates three primary issues in the Malaysian freight
time studies and business logistics. railway network: performance, dwell time reliability, and capacity uti­
lisation, with 68.51% total variance.
3. Methodological design There are five (5) variables relating to the rail freight facilities’
performance, which is the first component of the three primary issues
An Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) has been employed to answer and has a 0.812 Cronbach alpha value. The Cronbach’s Alpha coeffi­
the proposed research questions. The EFA is exploratory in nature, and it cient, a reliability test as recommended by Rovai et al. (2013), shall be
is designed to explore the main dimension to generate a concept or more than 0.7 to indicate the level of accuracy in the measurement
model from a large set of items (Williams, Onsman, & Brown, 2010). An procedure. These variables are underutilised rail networks (0.837),
online survey has been implemented in the form of an e-survey to different metre gauges (0.806), insufficient rail capacity and limited
administer the data collection procedure. For this e-survey, a list-based train services (0.805), routing issues (0.729), and congestion and delays
stratified sampling procedure has been employed to increase the sta­ at the borders (0.532). Railway performance can be split into technical
tistical efficiency and is suitable for the survey when the respondents’ subsystems encompassing track, electrical, and signalling systems
organisations are scattered (Cooper & Schindler, 2014). All the ques­ (Espling & Kumar, 2008). The infrastructure conditions must be in
tions in the e-survey have been derived from the current review of the perfect shape for trains to adhere strictly to their schedule. Although the
literature. An e-survey containing Likert scale questions ranging from Malaysian railway network is connected to both the hinterlands and the
strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, and strongly agree was container seaports, it is not thoroughly utilised, resulting in extreme
distributed to all potential respondents. There are five sections in the imbalance and competition in inland freight shipping. Furthermore,
questionnaire, namely Section A (demographic profile of the respon­ many players prefer roads over rail, resulting in severe road congestion,
dent), Section B (issues in Malaysia’s freight railway network), Section C particularly in metropolitan cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Johor and
(impact of railway network on seaport competitiveness), Section D Penang. Track types affect rail performance too. The heavy usage of
(suggestions to overcome the issue), and Section E, which analyses the metre-gauge (narrow-gauge) railways on the Malaysian railway tracks is
factors of container dwelling time at seaports. disadvantageous to providing double-stack container services in
Respondents are required to validate the Malaysian freight railway Malaysia (Chen et al., 2016).
network’s existing issues and the impact of rail freight on seaport The second issue in the Malaysian freight railway network is the
competitiveness. They are also asked to propose improvement strategies dwell time reliability, of which the Cronbach alpha value is 0.821. The
four (4) variables involved in this issue are lengthy procedures for

3
J. Jeevan et al. Research in Transportation Business & Management xxx (xxxx) xxx

border crossing (0.834), repetitive inspection procedures during border Table 3

crossings (0.799), train length and freight speed limitation (0.734), and Issues in Malaysian rail freight.
complexity of the multi-yards (0.643). Bardi, Bagchi, and Raghunathan Components
(1989) noted that the determining factor for user or carrier selection is Items
Performance Dwelling time Capacity
dwelling time reliability, which is the most critical service attribute in *0.812 reliability utilisation
the users’ opinion. Train movement and terminal operations have *0.821 *0.631
become more intricate due to the more complex multi-yard terminal’s Underutilised rail networks 0.837 0.211 0.246
association with the rail network, in contrast to the traditional inter­ Different metre gauges 0.806 0.176 0.330
modal terminal (Chen, He, Li, & Li, 2018). Track switching for cargo Insufficient rail capacity and 0.805 0.237 0.190
yards such as Penang Port and Port Klang is more complex than others limited train services
Routing issue 0.729 0.360 − 0.111
since they have more railway networks and signals, complicating the
Congestion and delays at 0.532 − 0.399 − 0.179
train moving process and compromising the dwelling time. Also, the borders
long and tedious paperwork process at the Thailand border makes the Lengthy procedures for border 0.113 0.834 0.221
situation even worse. crossing
The cross-border procedures from Malaysia to Thailand are less Repetitive inspection 0.254 0.799 0.259
procedures at the borders
meticulous than the reverse. Malaysia’s procedure requires 11 docu­ Train length and freight speed 0.294 0.734 0.039
ments, but Thailand’s requires only half of those (see Table 2). The limitation
lengthy documentation procedure for crossing from Malaysia to Complexity of the multi-yards 0.064 0.643 − 0.039
Thailand negatively impacts cross-border transaction efficiency between Track sharing causing capacity 0.041 − 0.022 0.876
to constrain in waggons
these two regions. For seamless international rail transport, border
Limited train services 0.309 0.346 0.704
crossings are the significant bottlenecks. Complicated border crossing
systems and procedures often cause significant delays and increased Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.
freight costs, reducing rail transport competitiveness (Andreev, 2018). Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.
*
Cronbach Alpha.
Essential processes and procedures such as transferring waggons and
goods between neighbouring railways, changing locomotives and crews,
technical inspections, and monitoring compliance with railway trans­ congestion reduction (0.855), cost-effective transport to the seaport
port standards are performed at border crossing points. Neighbouring (0.786), variation of transport options (0.691) and intermodal terminal
countries’ railways usually follow different regulatory regimes and utilisation (0.520). This component has a 0.741 Cronbach alpha value
standards. (see Table 4).
The third issue, capacity utilisation, entails two (2) variables: track Rail freight transport has shorter lead times and is comparably faster
sharing causing capacity constraints in waggons (0.876) and limited and more efficient than ocean freight transport. Transit times can be cut
train services (0.704), both detailed in Table 3. This issue’s estimated in half with rail freight transport, significantly decreasing lead times.
Cronbach alpha value is 0.631. Many railways worldwide find accom­ These are beneficial to the fast-moving consumer goods sector’s busi­
modating necessary train services challenging, particularly with regard nesses, where demand is high, especially for short delivery times. Pre­
to their existing infrastructures (Khadem, 2012). dicting business activities and costs becomes easier when lead time is
Likewise, freight trains and passenger trains in Malaysia need to shortened, positively affecting capital binding and adding merit to
share the same tracks. The limited railway coverage and network and seaport competitiveness. Therefore, the use of rail service for freight
dedicated links for freight transport caused the players to depend distribution may reduce congestion in seaports and metro city territories
significantly on road freight transport instead of rail. Hence, railway
capacity utilisation needs to be increased to uphold the Malaysian rail­ Table 4
way’s productivity and reduce road transport dependency. The impact of railway network on seaport competitiveness.
Components
4.2. The impact of railway network on seaport competitiveness Items
Reliable Geographical Operation
services distribution management
The KMO value for the railway network’s impact on seaport *0.741 *0.737 *0.595
competitiveness is 0.561, showing that its sampling is adequate. Three Congestion reduction 0.855 0.180 0.176
components of the railway network were found to impact seaport Cost effective transport 0.786 0.043 0.262
competitiveness, and they make up 62.032% of the total variance. The to the seaport
first component is reliable services, covering four (4) variables: Variations in transport 0.691 − 0.287 0.301
options
Intermodal terminal 0.520 0.656 − 0.046
Table 2 utilisation
Documentations required for freight transactions between Malaysia and Increasing seaport trade 0.093 0.791 0.124
Thailand. volume
Improving cross border − 0.236 0.679 0.441
No Documentations Malaysia to Thailand Thailand to Malaysian transaction
1 Delivery order Required Required Less pollution − 0.016 0.664 0.055
2 Customs form Required Required Integration of − 0.393 0.527 0.392
3 Packing list Required Required multimodal transport
4 Trucking bill Required Not required Reducing container 0.319 0.003 0.713
5 Invoice Required Required dwell time
6 Tax exemption document Required Required Utilising rail freight 0.194 0.298 0.663
7 Leaflet Not required Required Reducing accident 0.153 0.127 0.649
8 Insurance certificate Not required Required during freight delivery
9 Bill of lading Not required Required Shortening the shipment − 0.538 0.063 0.534
10 letter of credit Not required Required cycles
11 license Not required Required
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.
12 Proof of fare payment Not required Required
Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.
*
Source: Authors. Cronbach Alpha.

4
J. Jeevan et al. Research in Transportation Business & Management xxx (xxxx) xxx

and increase the utilisation of the dry ports’ functionalities in this Table 5
country. Dry ports are defined as an inland intermodal terminal with The suggestion to overcome the issue in Malaysian rail freight.
high-capacity transport means that is directly connected to seaports and Items Component
as a location where clients pick up and drop off their cargo as if they
Institutional Infrastructure Maintenance
were moving directly to and from seaports (Jeevan, Othman, et al., integration support system management
2021; Jeevan, Yeng, & Othman, 2021). According to Jeevan, Othman, *0.649 *0.822 *0.778
et al. (2021); Jeevan, Yeng, & Othman (2021), most of the dry ports in Upgrading railway 0.864 0.124 − 0.105
this country, especially in the northern and southern regions, remained line
underutilised due to a lack of awareness of their roles in seaport systems. Integration of rail and 0.806 − 0.007 0.203
Even though these inland terminals have enough railroad tracks, they road freight
Digital solution 0.690 0.131 0.113
are not the first choice of key players because they don’t think they can
Standardisation of 0.683 0.546 − 0.179
work as seaports. railway
The second component of the railway network that affects seaport infrastructure
competitiveness is geographical distribution, which has a Cronbach Utilising Kunming 0.183 0.880 − 0.002
alpha value of 0.737. This component involves four (4) variables: Rail Link
Electrified double − 0.036 0.780 0.334
increasing seaport trade volume (0.791), improving cross-border track project (ECRL)
transactions (0.679), less pollution (0.664), and integration of multi­ Double deck rail 0.452 0.706 0.259
modal transport (0.527). The competitiveness of a seaport depends on facilities
how well it is connected to the rail system and is closely linked to the Investments on 0.157 − 0.160 0.845
railroad terminals
location of its production or consumer markets (Leal, 2012). The third
Double track − 0.161 0.360 0.784
component is operation management, of which the variables are facilitation
reducing container dwelling time (0.713), utilising rail freight (0.663), Utilisation of rail 0.139 0.341 0.769
reducing accidents during freight delivery (0.649), and shortening the network
shipment cycles (0.534). The Cronbach alpha value for this component Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.
is 0.595. In short, the operation management component focuses on Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.
reducing transit time at seaports by enhancing rail services. This *
Cronbach Alpha.
reduction is crucial for attracting more shipping lines to use seaports
that have comprehensive rail coverage. Container loss or damage, which freight transit, particularly rail, would increase, and regional economic
often happens in road freight shipping, can be avoided in this way. growth will be enhanced. Additionally, it can bridge the gap between
Besides developing internal capacity, seaports need to prioritise road and rail freight delivery.
improving their connections with external facilities, especially rail The third component, maintenance management, has an estimated
freight transport. Seaports may also connect to dry ports with modal Cronbach alpha value of 0.778 and is comprised of three variables: in­
shift facilities to preserve and increase their competitiveness. Therefore, vestment in railroad terminals (0.845), double-track facilitation (0.784),
the introduction of the freight railway network is compatible with and use of rail network that connects container ports and hinterland
improving seaport competitiveness. (0.778). (0.769). Providing rail terminals with convenient access to
container ports encourages a balanced mode split. Upgrading rail
4.3. Recommended strategy for Malaysian railway network infrastructure from single-deck to double-deck container distribution
and boosting waggon capacity from the existing 60 TEUs to 66 or more
A recommendation for resolving the problems has a KMO value of TEUs, in accordance with the worldwide standard, encourages a
0.668, supporting the sampling’s adequacy, and three components that balanced modal split (Jeevan, 2017). In addition, upgrading the existing
account for 73.283% of the variation. The first factor is institutional North-South rail tracks to an electrified double-track system will expe­
integration, which has a Cronbach alpha value of 0.649. (see Table 5). It dite the transfer of containers to seaports and increase rail freight
consists of three variables: upgrading of railway lane (0.864), integra­ capacity.
tion of rail and road freight transport (0.806), digital solution (0.690),
and standardisation of railway infrastructure (0.864). (0.683). By
implementing an effective modal shift strategy, rail and road activities 4.4. Rail and container dwelling time at seaports
may be institutionally integrated into the rail freight network (Chen
et al., 2016). KTMB, the sole Malaysian rail operator, has an advantage The EFA analysis result indicates four (4) major factors causing
in strengthening its freight system due to the institutional structure of container dwelling time (CDT) at the seaport in this region: seaport
the Malaysian rail freight system. This is accomplished through joint operation, seaport efficiency, seaport management, and seaport
ventures with the government to improve its system’s performance and container rotation. The total variance of these factors is 89.2%. The
freight capacity in order to promote the integration of rail and road reliability values for variables in each factor are 0.912, 0.855, 0.959,
freight through modal shift. and 0.961, respectively (see Table 6).
The second component is the infrastructure support system, which The factor: seaport operational issues, has five variables comprising
consists of three variables: Using Kunming Train Link (0.888), Electri­ inspection procedures (0.929), ineffective seaport operation (0.865),
fied double-track project (0.770), and double-deck rail facilities (0.770). insufficient transport corridors (0.853), frequent changes in logistic
(0.706). This component’s Cronbach alpha value is 0.649. The govern­ chains (0.775), uncertainty in inventory levels (0.742), and accommo­
ment must play a substantial role in enhancing the rail infrastructure by dating large ocean carries (0.614). The Penang Port is a famous
implementing double-deck facilities and designing a dedicated freight container terminal known for its excellent operations. The port is
railway lane connecting seaports and hinterland via inland terminals. located on the world’s busiest shipping route. The frequency with which
The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project, for instance, will include 20 a container is picked up or sent to the harbour depends on the client’s
stops, including both passenger and freight stations. Only six out of arrangement, which substantially affects CDT (vanDyck, Domfeh, &
twenty stations are freight-only, while the remainder are passenger- Konney, 2020). According to Arvis, Mustara, Ojala, Shepperd, and Sas­
only. The ECRL will connect Port Klang (west coast) to Johor (south­ lavsky (2010), it directly affects port operating costs as inventories and
ern area – near Singapore’s border), Kuantan, and Kelantan (east coast – shipping uncertainty increase; speed of vessel boats’ sailing schedules;
near Thailand’s border). With ECRL, the prospective demand for inland modal reverse relation; port management and layout; terminal working

5
J. Jeevan et al. Research in Transportation Business & Management xxx (xxxx) xxx

Table 6 the initiation of the next transaction. For example, the unavailability of
The factor of container dwell time in Malaysian seaports. the rail freight network on the east coast of peninsular Malaysia and the
Seaport Seaport Seaport Seaport high dependency on the road freight network will delay empty container
operation efficiency management container distribution from the east coast of peninsular Malaysia to the west
Items rotation (approximately 470 km), where major seaports of the country are
*0.912 *0.855 *0.959 *0.961
located.
Inspection 0.929 0.019 − 0.042 0.196
procedures
Ineffective seaport 0.865 0.061 0.119 − 0.378
4.5. Seaport regionalisation by dry ports through rail connectivity
operation
Insufficient 0.853 0.323 − 0.032 0.179
transport Generally, rail services in Malaysia are the least favourite freight
corridors transport option. Road freight transport is preferred due to rapidity,
Frequent changes 0.775 0.068 0.392 0.412 geographical factors, seaport hinterland connectivity, and clients’ per­
in logistic chains
sonal preferences. Additionally, some of the issues, such as performance,
Uncertainty in 0.742 − 0.386 0.471 0.021
inventory levels dwelling time reliability, and capacity utilisation, are significant factors
Accommodate by 0.614 0.319 0.312 0.239 that limit the development of rail freight transport. The seaport sector in
large ocean this country could not achieve the fourth phase of the seaport region­
carries
alisation model proposed by Notteboom and Rodrigue (2005). This sit­
Overcrowded by 0.105 0.964 − 0.006 − 0.008
liners
uation prevents the seaports from achieving their real potential and
Seaport location − 0.048 0.836 0.377 0.243 retaining their attractiveness level all the time. As indicated by Mueller,
Lengthy duration 0.613 0.699 − 0.112 0.115 Wiegmans, Duin, Buckmänn, and Zuidwijk (2014), Debelić, Grubišić,
of terminal and Milanović (2016), and Lavissiere (2018), hinterland connectivity is
operation
a major point of consideration when selecting their destination seaport.
Unclear seaport 0.114 0.142 0.959 0.007
policy Therefore, upgrading the current railway system through institutional
Limited space for 0.163 0.149 0.027 0.961 integration, providing an infrastructure support system, and ensuring
container continuous maintenance management are crucial to boosting rail freight
rotation
transport popularity.
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Almost 98.4% of Malaysian trade depends on maritime transport,
Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization. and almost 98% of these cargoes are transported by road, compared to
*
Cronbach Alpha. only 2% by rail. This situation creates a significant monopolistic system
favouring road freight transport, which will lead to unreasonable freight
hours and business days; shippers and consignee; inspections and reg­ rates. The clients will have limited freight options, making Malaysian
ulatory procedures; freight forwarder/broker; and Third Party Logistic seaports, the main gates for trade in the region, unattractive to potential
Company (3PL). clients. Cooperation with dry ports is essential as a supporting system to
The 3PL’s practises can impact container transit time as the sched­ promote the attractiveness of the seaports. For example, Table 7 shows
uling of container movements becomes its responsibility. However,
handling many containers at the same time put pressure on both berth Table 7
and yard operations. Even though allocation in the ship planning phases Malaysian trading countries from 2018 and 2019 (billion RM).
can help with some of the growing demand for cargo handling opera­ No Trading Import Import Total Import (2018 &
tions, having a wide range of call sizes and a small number of cranes countries (2018) (2019) 2019)
makes the best use of crane capacity.The second component that affects
1. China 175.42 175.59 351.01
container dwelling time is seaport efficiency, which involves three (3) 2. USA 64.95 68.67 133.62
variables: overcrowded by liners (0.964), seaport location (0.836), and 3. Japan 63.86 63.58 127.44
lengthy duration of terminal operation (0.699). These variables are 4. Thailand 48.62 44.23 92.85
5. India 26.5 24.29 50.79
generally interconnected. On the west coast of peninsular Malaysia,
6. Taiwan 63.58 57.03 120.61
many liners stopping at the Malacca Straits have to wait to enter the 7. Singapore 103.07 89.55 192.62
oldest Malaysian seaport due to its strategic location. These long queues 8. Republic of 39.28 38.8 78.08
led to lengthy terminal operation durations, causing prolonged transit Korea
time at seaports. The third component affecting container dwelling time 9. Indonesia 40.49 38.8 79.29
10. Germany 26.38 26.75 53.13
is the seaport management factor, of which the only variable is unclear
11 Other countries 227.66 221.79 449.45
seaport policy (0.959). In Malaysia, the National Transport Policy Total import 879.81 849.08 1728.89
2019–2030 has become the primary reference for infrastructure devel­
opment and the transport sector’s policy amendment. However, limited No Trading Export Export Total export (2018 &
scope has been dedicated to the integration of seaports and inland port countries (2018) (2019) 2019)
policy. Since it is not written in this reference, the cooperation proced­ 1. China 139.15 139.61 278.76
ure and developing strategies between these two nodes could not be 2. Singapore 140.25 136.89 277.14
3. USA 90.18 95.78 185.96
executed. Therefore, seaports had to operate independently, which
4. Hong Kong 74.83 66.54 141.37
lengthened container dwell time due to overpressured daily operations. 5. Japan 70.38 65.24 135.62
The last component affecting container dwell time is the limited 6. Thailand 57.06 55.81 112.87
space for container rotation (0.961). Container unloading and storing at 7. India 36.34 37.55 73.89
the yard is one of the activities that significantly prolongs transit time. 8. Taiwan 32.81 36.95 69.76
9. Republic of 34.24 33.73 67.97
The current transactional transit time at the terminal is an average of 4 Korea
to 6 days in Europe, 6 to 25 days in North America, 3 to 20 days in 10. Viet Nam 34.33 34.73 69.06
Africa, and 1 to 5 days in Asia. The unavailability of rail connectivity in 11 Other countries 293.38 283.52 576.9
specific regions delays the container rotation from the destination back Total export 1002.95 986.35 1989.3
to the origin. This situation will undoubtedly affect container supply for Source: MATRADE (2021).

6
J. Jeevan et al.
the key trading partners of Malaysia between 2018 and 2019. In this
table, Singapore, Thailand, and China are key trading partners besides
Japan, the USA, Taiwan, India, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Hong
Kong, and Vietnam. Thus, rail connectivity to main trading partners
such as Thailand, Singapore, and China via land is critical, besides
depending on maritime connectivity. This alternative connectivity is
essential for reducing the pressure on maritime connectivity, preventing
road freight transport’s overuse and giving additional priority to the
railway network.
Three out of four dry ports in Malaysia have a rail connection facility
for modal shift and modal split procedures. Unfortunately, these ter­
minals remain unknown due to competition issues between these nodes.
Policymakers must redesign a clear vision to emphasise the integration
of dry ports into the seaport system, as the lack of a clear vision has
always been a significant drawback in the seaport system. Once these
nodes are integrated, the implications of seaport competitiveness, con­
sisting of three major components: service reliability, geographical
freight distribution, and operation management, can be improved.
Additionally, Malaysian seaport competitiveness is not aligned with the
global trend (Zainal & Jeevan, 2019). For example, Malaysian seaports
are not prioritising the improvement of inland transport services and
hinterland connectivity and the development of rail freight facilities.
During the global pandemic, container dwell time, container rotation,
and container shortages were significant issues in both the Malaysian
and global seaports. Malaysia’s rail network’s limited coverage wors­
ened the situation as all clients focused on road freight since it was the
only available option. Road freight transport’s excess demand caused a
shortage in the supply. Due to this shortage, most of the containers have
been accumulating in the seaport area (Jeevan et al., 2020), increasing
the space utilisation rate in this country’s major seaports.
For example, Malaysian seaports on the west coast and in the south
have used up all the space they can. Consequently, the container dwell
time, container rotation, and container shortage issues became so severe
that they started to affect the nation’s supply chain. In this case, the
utilisation of rail freight transport and integration of dry ports with
seaport operations might take the edge off the situation by reducing
container dwell time at seaports, increasing container rotation, and
eventually preventing container shortages. For example, seaports can
Fig. 2. Integration of seaport system for regionalisation.
(Source: Authors).
7
Research in Transportation Business & Management xxx (xxxx) xxx
cooperate with dry ports to segregate the cargoes into essential and non-
essential goods. Seaports can focus their operations on essential goods,
whereas dry ports on the latter. Since most of the dry ports have rail
linkages, they can utilise this network for freight delivery, especially for
distant locations, while seaports can cater to short and medium-distance
clients. This task segregation between these nodes may reduce delays
and increase the number of trips for container movements from the
origin to destination and vice versa. Fig. 2 depicts the integration be­
tween seaports and dry ports via the railway system in the Malaysian
seaport system.
5. Conclusion and implications
This paper explores the current status of Malaysian rail freight
transport, which is linked closely to dry port and seaport regionalisation.
This paper reveals that Malaysian railway freight has critical issues
relating to its performance, reliability, and capacity utilisation. It is also
found that improving the railway system will improve service reliability,
comprehensive geographical distribution, and rail freight operation
management. This paper also proposed that road and rail freight
transport’s performance gaps can be reduced via institutional integra­
tion, infrastructure support, and maintenance management. Finally, this
paper explored the factors that influence container dwelling time in
Malaysian ports to understand their association with the railway facil­
ities. The findings indicate that seaport operations, seaport efficiency,
seaport management, and seaport container rotation are the primary
factors causing prolonged container dwelling time at seaports. Since
seaport regionalisation aims to connect seaports and their hinterland
through various transport means, an equal integration of road and rail
freight transport needs to be established to ensure the mission of seaport
regionalisation can be achieved. Nevertheless, maritime players and
policymakers need to understand that seaport regionalisation cannot be
achieved by solely upgrading the railway network in this country. It
needs to be supported by extensive integration of inland terminals or, in
this case, dry ports, with seaports or intermodal transport facilities.
Meanwhile, the seaport clients also need to play their role to ensure a
successful seaport regionalisation process in this country. Besides short-
term benefits, they need to be concerned about environmental issues and
J. Jeevan et al.
congestion resulting from overusing road freight services for freight
distribution. Once the rail freight transport facilities have been upgra­
ded to the same standard as road freight facilities, these transport modes
need to be utilised equally to boost seaports’ competitiveness, ensuring a
comprehensive seaport regionalisation in Malaysia and preventing un­
wanted situations in the freight delivery and pick-up process, especially
amid the pandemic. Rigorous rules need to be imposed for road freight
transport for short-distance delivery (less than 50 km) and rail freight
transport for medium and long-distance delivery (more than 50 km).
Academically, this paper provides significant insights on the current
state of the Malaysian railway system by integrating several aspects,
including Malaysian railway issues, the impact on seaport competi­
tiveness, and recommended strategies for improving the railway system.
In addition, the utilisation of rail for seaport regionalisation may also
enhance the literature from this angle. From a business perspective,
these findings may provide some innovative ideas, especially on policy
on how to improve the efficiency of the railway system. From the
management perspective, this paper may provide a clear direction to­
wards effective modal shift between modes, enforcing inter- and intra-
city rail connectivity for the purpose of freight and passenger
mobility. The seaport’s hinterland expansion through regionalisation
will develop a strategic link to Malaysian inland freight distribution
centres, easing international cross-border transactions, especially be­
tween Singapore and Malaysia-Thailand, and expanding the network to
China through Southeast Asia. As a coastal country, maritime-based
trade and inland-based transactions need to be given equal priority to
ensure substantial gross domestic product (GDP) growth. This strategic
development is necessary for the adaptation to the imperative distri­
bution system and dynamic global production network. Additionally, a
new direction of seaport regionalisation towards seaport geology can be
proposed. This concept focuses on resource utilisation for the benefits of
humankind and the environment. Identifying resources, maintaining an
inventory of resources, and placing the resources in motion to achieve
human goals will be this concept’s aims. Hence, the utilisation of rail
freight and other freight transport is essential to achieving seaport
regionalisation and moving to the next phase, which is seaport geology.
Furthermore, Malaysia needs to place its utmost priority on seaport
development, multimodal infrastructure, and inland terminals. The
country also needs to utilise its existing resources efficiently in its daily
foreland and inland trading processes.
Funding
This research is conducted under the Ministry of Higher Education
(MOHE) Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (UMT/RMIC/FRGS/1/
2019/59603) and the University of Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) for
providing research facilities.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Jagan Jeevan: Conceptualization, Methodology, Project adminis­
tration. Norlinda Rozar: Writing – review & editing. Nurul Haqimin
Mohd Salleh: Writing – review & editing. Masha Nur Salsabiela
Menhat: Writing – review & editing. Abdul Hafaz Ngah: Supervision,
Validation. Rudiah Md Hanafiah: Writing – review & editing. Izyan
Munirah Mohd Zaideen: Visualization, Writing – original draft.
References
Andreev, G. (2018). Harmonisation of Documents for International Transport: A study in the
context of South and South-West Asia (No. 1801). United Nations Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) South and South-West Asia Office.
Arvis, J. F., Mustara, M. A., Ojala, L., Shepperd, L., & Saslavsky, D. (2010). Connecting to
compete-trade logistics in global economy report. In The logistics performance index
Research in Transportation Business & Management xxx (xxxx) xxx
and its indicator (pp. 53–65). Washington D.C.: World Bank and Turku School of
Economics, Finland.
Assad, A. A. (1980). Models for rail transportation. Transportation Research Part A:
General, 14(3), 205–220.
Bardi, E. J., Bagchi, P. K., & Raghunathan, T. S. (1989). Motor carrier selection in a
deregulated environment. Transportation Journal, 4–11.
Chen, S. L., Jeevan, J., & Cahoon, S. (2016). Malaysian container seaport-hinterland
connectivity: Status, challenges and strategies. The Asian Journal of Shipping and
Logistics, 32(3), 127–138.
Chen, X., He, S., Li, T., & Li, Y. (2018). A simulation platform for combined rail/road
transport in multiyards intermodal terminals. Journal of Advanced Transportation,
2018.
Cooper, D. R., & Schindler, P. S. (2014). Business research methods (12th ed.). New York:
McGraw Hill International Edition.
Debelić, B., Grubišić, N., & Milanović, S. (2016). The cost and non-cost conditionality of
transport corridor logistics performances as determinant of port competitiveness. In ,
1. Business Logistics in Modern Management (pp. 145–158).
Espling, U., & Kumar, U. (2008). Benchmarking of the maintenance process at Banverket
(the Swedish National Rail Administration). In Anonymous complex system
maintenance handbook (pp. 559–583).
Freightera. (2019). Shipping by road or rail: Pros & Cons. Retrieved from Go Freightera:
https://www.freightera.com/blog/shipping-road-vs-rail/.
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B., & Anderson, R. E. (2010). Multivariate data analysis: A
global perspective (7th ed.). London: Pearson.
Jeevan, J. (2017). The role of Malaysian dry ports in the container seaport system. PhD
thesis,. University of Tasmania.
Jeevan, J., Chen, S. L., & Cahoon, S. (2019). The impact of dry port operations on
container seaports competitiveness. Maritime Policy & Management, 46(1), 4–23.
Jeevan, J., Mohd Salleh, N. H., Mohd Zaideen, I. M., Othman, M. R., Menhat, M. N. S., &
Divine Caesar, L. (2020). Application of geoeconomics in seaport operations: A
theoretical proposal for post Covid-19 recovery strategy. Australian Journal of
Maritime & Ocean Affairs, 1–26.
Jeevan, J., Othman, M. R., Salleh, N. H. M., Ghani, N. M. A., Noralam, N. A., & Divine
Caesar, L. (2021). An analysis on the triadic connection between seaports, inland
terminals and hinterland market. Australian Journal of Maritime & Ocean Affairs, 13
(1), 23–42.
Jeevan, J., Yeng, C. K., & Othman, M. R. (2021). Extension of the seaport life cycle (SLC)
by utilising existing inland capacity for current and future trade preparation. The
Asian Journal of Shipping and Logistics, 37(1), 45–60.
Khadem, S. M. (2012). Railway track capacity: Measuring and managing (Doctoral
dissertation,. University of Southampton.
Lavissiere, A. (2018). Vessel port dues: An influence from path dependency rather than
geography of ports. The Asian Journal of Shipping and Logistics, 34(2), 61–70.
Leal, E. (2012). Port-rail integration: Challenges and opportunities for Latin America.
Natural Resources and Infrastructure Division, 1, 2–10 (UNECLAC. Issue No. 310 -
Number 7 /2012).
Lowe, D. (2005). Inland waterway, short-sea, and coastal shipping. In Intermodal Freight
Transport (pp. 92–108). Oxford: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann.
Lowtan, D. M. (2004). Rail system in Malaysia. (2017, September). In Market overview:
Freight transport in Malaysia. Retrieved from https://www.cedar.my/images/ind
ustryarticles/3.pdf.
MATRADE. (2021). Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation, Malaysian Trade
Statistics. https://www.matrade.gov.my/en/malaysian-exporters/services-for-ex
porters/trade-market-information/trade-statistics (Accessed on January 2021).
Mohd Zaideen, I. M. (2019). The paradox in implementing ballast water management
convention 2004 (BWMC) in Malaysian water. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 148, 3–4.
Mueller, M. A., Wiegmans, B. W., Duin, J. H. R. V., Buckmänn, E. H., & Zuidwijk, R. A.
(2014). Modelling container port competition: Northern Europe versus Southern
Europe’. In Proceedings of the international association of maritime economists, July
15–18, Norfolk VA USA.
Notteboom, T., & Rodrigue, J. (2005). Port regionalisation: Towards a new phase in port
development. Maritime Policy & Management, 3(32), 297–313.
Othman, M. R., Jeevan, J., & Rizal, S. (2016). The Malaysian intermodal terminal system:
The implication on the Malaysian maritime cluster. International Journal of e-
Navigation and Maritime Economy, 4, 46–61.
Rovai, A. P., Baker, J. D., & Ponton, M. K. (2013). Social science research design and
statistics: A practitioner’s guide to research methods and IBM- SPSS. Watertree Press
LLC.
vanDyck, G. K., Domfeh, S. A., & Konney, G. (2020). Container terminal land-utilisation
efficiency in Ghana. Journal of Transportation Technologies, 10, 1–15.
Williams, B., Onsman, A., & Brown, T. (2010). Australian paramedic graduate attributes:
A pilot study using exploratory factor analysis. Emergency Medicine Journal, 27(10),
794–799.
Woodburn, A. (2011). An investigation of container train service provision and load
factors in Great Britain. European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research, 2
(11), 147–165.
Zain, R. M., Salleh, N. H. M., Zaideen, I. M. M., Menhat, M. N. S., & Jeevan, J. (2022). Dry
ports: Redefining the concept of seaport-city integrations. Transportation Engineering,
8, 100112.
Zainal, Z., & Jeevan, J. (2019). The evolution of seaport competitiveness in Malaysia
seaport system. International Journal of E-Navigation of Maritime Economy, 12,
100–110.