A group of railway executives from China arrived in Malaysia on Monday for a visit that they hope will result in a bid to build a high-speed railway line linking Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, media reports said on Tuesday.

The group, led by China Railway Corp (CRC) General Manager Sheng Guangzu, consists of top executives from State-owned rail companies and banks, including China Railway Construction Corp and the Export-Import Bank of China, the 21st Century Business Herald reported.

The group will meet with Malaysian officials to lobby for the project, the report said.

The line is to be 356.1 kilometers long, of which 326.1 kilometers will be in Malaysia and 30 kilometers in Singapore, according to the 21st Century Business Herald. Construction costs are estimated at $12 billion, it said.

But other bidders are in the wings, including a consortium of Japanese rail companies led by East Japan Railway Co, according to domestic financial news portal caixin.com.

Several European companies, including Germany's Siemens and Spain's Talgo, also have shown an interest in bidding, the Caixin report said.