S’pore-Johor RTS a channel to ‘work and play’ for travellers
The Rapid Transit System linking Singapore and Malaysia’s Johor state would pave the way for people from both cities to benefit whether it be for business or leisure, the leaders from both countries said. Photo: Jason Quah/TODAY
SINGAPORE — The Rapid Transit System (RTS) linking Singapore and Malaysia’s Johor state would pave the way for people from both cities to benefit whether it be for business or leisure, the leaders from both countries said on Tuesday (Jan 16).
Speaking to the press after the signing of a bilateral pact on the cross-border service, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said: “(It will) provide a convenient means for the Johoreans to come to Singapore to work and to play. And Singaporeans will go to Johor to study, to work, to shop.”
Construction of the RTS is set to begin after the tenders are awarded by early next year at the latest. Passenger service is due to start by December 2024.
Malaysian premier Najib Razak said: “It will provide the seamless connectivity and volume that’s required … We’re sanguine and optimistic that it will change the nature of connectivity between Malaysia and Singapore.”
The 4km rail system, which will connect Woodlands in Singapore and Bukit Chagar in Johor via a 25m-high bridge, can carry up to 10,000 passengers per hour in each direction at its peak.
For a start, the service will operate with up to three trains and two spare ones, transporting 5,000 passengers hourly in each direction.
Mr Lee revealed that part of the rail link will go underground in Singapore, where it is connected to the MRT system via the Thomson-East Coast Line, which is undergoing construction.
“It has to start above ground, cross the water, go underground and then there are customs, immigration and quarantine (facilities) underground... then the people can come out and go into the Singapore MRT trains,” he said.
The two countries are also teaming up on another rail project, the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail, which is expected to cut travel times between the two cities from about four hours by car to just 90 minutes. Targeted to start by end-2026, it will have eight stations, seven of them in Malaysia.
Last month, the two sides called a tender for a company to run, build, design and maintain all rail assets for the project, drawing strong worldwide interest, Mr Lee said. Among the groups expected to take part in the tender are those from Japan, China, South Korea and Europe.
The two prime ministers said a detailed, transparent and fair process would be used to decide the winner of the tender, which closes on June 29. The bids would be evaluated at various levels, including price, reliability, financing, maintenance, and the companies’ record in carrying out projects elsewhere, they said.
