JOHOR BAHRU — About two-thirds of civil infrastructure works on the Singapore side of the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link have been completed, with passenger service slated to start by December 2026.
On the Malaysian side, the project has reached 65 per cent completion as at Dec 31, 2023.
In a joint statement, the transport ministries of both countries said a significant construction milestone was reached at the end of December 2023, with the completion of a 17.1m-long concrete span connecting the Singapore and Malaysian ends of a rail viaduct that will run across the Strait of Johor.
On Jan 11, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim met at the strait in a ceremony to commemorate the milestone.
The two leaders signed plaques symbolising the shared commitment of both countries to deliver the cross-border rail link, which was delayed and suspended for six months at one point, before new terms were agreed and the project resumed.
Passenger service for the RTS Link is targeted to start by December 2026, said the transport ministries.
When ready, the 4km rail shuttle service will be able to carry up to 10,000 people per hour in each direction between Bukit Chagar in Johor and Woodlands North, absorbing at least 35 per cent of the human traffic at the Causeway and easing congestion on the land link.
According to Malaysia’s Mass Rapid Transit Corporation (MRT Corp), the service will operate from 6am to midnight, with trains running at four-minute intervals during peak hours and 30-minute intervals during off-peak periods.
With the connecting span now done, construction work for the rest of RTS Link’s civil infrastructure – which includes the rail viaduct, tunnels, stations and customs buildings – will continue on both sides, the transport ministries said.
Once finished, these civil structures will be handed over to RTS Operations, a joint venture formed in 2020 between Singapore rail operator SMRT and Malaysian public transport firm Prasarana, for rail systems to be installed.
It was previously reported that the aim is to hand over rail infrastructure on both the Singapore and Malaysia sides to RTS Operations for track and systems work by December 2024.
In their statement on Jan 11, the transport ministries highlighted the challenges that went into constructing the connecting span in the middle of the strait.
Weighing 340 tonnes, the span was built using temporary support structures consisting of steel beams and hydraulic jacks that had to be lined up precisely. The structures were erected at a height of more than 26m above sea level.
The ministries said prolonged exposure to the elements and conducting installation works requiring millimetre precision under strong wind conditions presented an added challenge.
They added that these works had to be monitored closely to ensure they were being carried out safely and in a timely manner.
On Singapore’s end, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said construction works for the customs, immigration and quarantine (CIQ) building in Woodlands North, the 730m-long rail viaduct and connecting tunnels are progressing well.
These works started in 2021 after Singapore broke ground on the project in January that year.
LTA said all 12 pile caps, which form the foundation for the piers that support Singapore’s section of the RTS viaduct, have been completed, and construction of the viaduct piers is ongoing.
The RTS Link station in Woodlands North is being built at a maximum depth of 28m, and an underground Basement 3 linkway connecting the station to the CIQ building has been completed as well.
A key feature of the cross-border rail link is that the CIQ facilities of both Singapore and Malaysia will be co-located at the Woodlands North and Bukit Chagar stations. This means passengers need to clear immigration only at their point of departure.
Malaysia’s MRT Corp said the pier columns for its section of the viaduct in the Strait of Johor are substantially completed.
On land, construction of the RTS Link train depot in Wadi Hana, Johor, is almost at the halfway mark, and piling works for the CIQ complex in Bukit Chagar is done.
Bukit Chagar station is about 40 per cent finished.
The RTS Link ceremony on Jan 11 is part of an official visit by PM Lee to Johor — his first overseas visit in 2024.
Following the ceremony, PM Lee and Datuk Seri Anwar, who last met in Singapore in October 2023 at the 10th Singapore-Malaysia Leaders’ Retreat, will witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone.
The zone aims to improve the flow of goods and people between both sides of the Causeway, and enhance the ecosystem of the Iskandar development region and Singapore.
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
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