Construction of the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link project between Johor Bahru and Singapore is progressing smoothly and more than three-quarters of the way completed as of May 31, 2024.

In a media statement on Jun. 11, Malaysian railway developer Mass Rapid Transit Corporation (MRT Corp) said the construction has achieved a completion rate of 77.61 per cent.

System installation works are also expected to commence by end-2024.

Regular updates about the progress of the construction have been provided.

Railway infrastructure progressing, system installation expected

The RTS Link is a light-rail transit (LRT) service between the upcoming Bukit Chagar Station in Johor Bahru and Woodlands North Station in Singapore.

MRT Corp said its maintenance depot, one of the main components of the railway infrastructure in Wadi Hana, has reached 82.14 per cent completion and is slated to undergo system installation works by end 2024.

Other works, such as the construction of track level floors, architectural, mechanical and electrical works, and external works are progressing well.

By end-2024, the platform for the Bukit Chagar Station will also be ready for system access.

Meanwhile, MRT Corp said it is currently focusing on building the station floors.

All land and marine pier columns, including those along Jalan Tun Abdul Razak and Jalan Ismail Sultan, are underway.

Pier installations are also expected to finish by end-2024.

Construction of the marine section includes a navigation channel between piers to allow vessels to pass through.

"The operator of the RTS Link, the RTS Operations Systems Pte Ltd (RTSO) will have access by the end of this year to carry out system installation works," MRT Corp added.

Singapore side

The RTS Link is expected to be able to ferry up to 10,000 passengers per hour in each direction.

The project aims to ease the congestion between the Johor-Singapore land checkpoints.

At least 35 per cent of the human traffic at the Causeway will be absorbed by the RTS Link once it commences operation.

Trains will run from 6am to midnight at four-minute intervals during peak hours and 30-minute intervals during off-peak periods.

In an earlier update in January 2024, both Singapore and Malaysia confirmed that a 17.1m-long concrete span connecting the two countries' rail tracks across the Strait of Johor has reached completion.

On Singapore's side, the Woodlands North Station, which connects to the CIQ building via a linkway, has also been completed.

Top photo via MRT Corp/Facebook