Johor-Singapore Rapid Transit System 41% done, on track for 2026, says Malaysia
Project to transport 10,000 people per hour and attract over 120,000 daily commuters travelling between causeway
The Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link is scheduled to be fully completed by 2026, with 41 per cent of Malaysia's part of the project already completed by June 2023.
This was according to state Works, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh, who made the statement at a press conference on Sunday (16 July).
According to Bernama, Mohamad Fazli said the 4km rail network was divided into three components, the depot, station and marine viaduct, and all showed "good progress" and were "on schedule" for its projected 2026 opening.
He was making the comments after an inspection of the traffic situation at the Eastern Dispersal Link by the committee.
Connecting the Bukit Chagar station in Johor Bahru to the Woodlands North station in Singapore, the RTS is estimated to have a capacity to move around 10,000 people per hour either way.
This is expected to help ease traffic congestion on the Johor Causeway, by attracting over 120,000 daily commuters.
This would account for 35 per cent of the reported 350,000 daily commuters travelling between Johor Bahru and Singapore, Bernama reported.
Singapore's portion of the project hit the halfway mark in May 2023.
Timeline of RTS Link project
Plans for an RTS Link between Singapore and Johor Bahru were first announced in May 2010, after a meeting between Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Malaysia's former Prime Minister Najib Razak.
The project was originally envisioned to start operations by 2018, however, Malaysia requested for multiple deadline extensions, before eventually requesting to suspend the project for six months in 2019, with costs cited as the main reason.
By this time, Najib's Barisan Nasional government had lost power, with ex-prime minister Tun Mahathir Mohamad once again at the helm.
Malaysia decided to proceed with the RTS Link construction on 30 October 2019, with a revised project cost of RM3.16 billion (S$1.03 billion), a 36 per cent drop from the original proposed cost.
Two separate suspensions were requested by Malaysia from 4 November 2019 to 2 May 2020, citing reasons such as proposed project changes, change in country's government, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Malaysia and Singapore officially relaunched the RTS Link in July 2020, with construction following suit. Testing and commissioning is scheduled to start in 2025, with a projected opening date by end 2026.
The RTS Link project is estimated to cost RM10 billion (S$2.91billion) in total, with Malaysia bearing 39 per cent of the cost, and Singapore bearing the other 61 per cent.
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