Federated Malay States Railways
| Locale | British Malaya (including Singapore). |
|---|---|
| Dates of operation | 1901–1948 |
| Predecessor | Various state level railways, including Perak Railway, Selangor Railway, Singapore Railway, Malacca Railway, Sungai Ujong Railway, Johore Railway, and other minor lines in British Malaya. |
| Successor | Malayan Railways |
| Track gauge | Metre gauge (1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in)) |
| Headquarters | Kuala Lumpur, Federated Malay States (now Malaysia). |
The Federated Malay States Railways (FMSR) was a consolidated railroad 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 colonies' rail network encompassing the Federated Malay States, the Unfederated Malay States (except Trengganu) and the Straits Settlements, with lines spanning from Singapore to the south to Padang Besar (near the border with Siam) to the north.
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 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.
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