Awww, to think of what could have been!

Malaysia has scrapped plans for a multi-billion-dollar high-speed bullet train connecting Kuala Lumpur and Singapore because of high costs, a government official said Wednesday.... The $2.5 billion bullet train would have been able to travel the 200-mile distance between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore in 90 minutes.

Travelers can still travel between either city by old-school train (seven hours) bus (five hours) or by plane (45 minutes). For more information, this page on Singapore Travel Information covers the basics.

But what the Travel God taketh away, the Travel God giveth in return: Indonesian carrier Lion Air will soon open a Singapore-Bali route with new Boeing 737-900ER planes.

As Singapore is a major international hub for Southeast Asia, the new route is expected to goose visitor numbers to new heights, just in time for the government’s Visit Indonesia Year 2008 program.