Malaysia Transport Minister tasks vendor for VEP information counter in Woodlands to do ‘level best’ to help Singapore drivers

RTS COMPLETION AT 83 PER CENT

Mr Loke spoke to the media after witnessing the signing of a sales and purchase agreement between Malaysia Rapid Transit System Sdn Bhd (MRTS) and Coronade Properties Sdn Bhd (CPSB).

The agreement would see MRTS acquire 781 parking bays at Coronation Square – a mixed development in Johor Bahru that is still under construction – from CPSB, with the parking spaces dedicated to commuters of the upcoming Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link.

On the RTS link, Mr Loke said that the completion rate of the project as of end-July was at 83 per cent, although this was only for the physical construction of the link. 

He also said that both Malaysia and Singapore had a similar completion rate of the project.

“The handover to the system provider has to be done by the end of this year,” he said.

The RTS Link is expected to start passenger service by the end of 2026. It aims to ease traffic congestion on the Causeway – one of the world’s busiest border crossings – by ferrying up to 10,000 passengers an hour each way on a journey that takes about five minutes.

It is estimated to cost RM10 billion, with Singapore bearing 61 per cent of the cost.

Services will run between the Singapore terminus at Woodlands North station and the Malaysia terminus at Bukit Chagar station in Johor Bahru.

The Woodlands North station – which is being constructed at a maximum depth of 28m – will be connected via an underground linkway to the immigration area. On the Malaysia side, the immigration facilities will also be located at Bukit Chagar station.

This means passengers only need to clear immigration authorities once – at their point of departure. Currently, passengers need to clear immigration on arrival as well.

Fares for the RTS Link will be “determined commercially” once the shuttle service is up and running, Singapore’s then-Acting Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said in January,

The project was originally scheduled for completion in 2024, with the Malaysia and Singapore governments signing a bilateral agreement to build the link in 2018.

But the project was suspended a number of times after the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition government – then led by Dr Mahathir Mohamad – came to power in Malaysia in 2018.

The project officially resumed in July 2020, with a bilateral ceremony held on the Causeway to mark the occasion. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his then-Malaysian counterpart Muhyiddin Yassin were both in attendance.

In January, Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Mr Lee – who is now Singapore’s Senior Minister – met to mark the completion of the connecting span of the project which connects both sides of the viaduct.

The two also signed commemorative plaques to symbolise the shared commitment of the rail project to improve connectivity between both countries.