JB-S'pore RTS Link about 83% done, M'sia says

Construction of the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link project between Johor Bahru and Singapore is progressing smoothly and more than four-fifths of the way completed as of Aug. 22, 2024.

According to The Star, Malaysia Transport Minister Anthony Loke said in a press conference on Aug. 20 that the RTS link had reached 83 per cent completion as of July 2024.

The project remains on track to start operations on Jan. 1, 2027, Loke added. 

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

Railway infrastructure progressing, system installation expected

System installation works are also expected to commence by end-2024, with the platform for the Bukit Chagar Station ready for system access.

"The completion of the rail infrastructure will also enable RTSO to commence system installation work, which includes trackwork, rolling stock, signalling systems, as well as power supply and distribution," Loke said.

The construction of the Immigration, Customs, and Quarantine Complex (CIQ) in Bukit Chagar is also underway, Loke added.

"The access for the agencies that will operate at the CIQ to install equipment and systems is expected to begin in Aug 2025," he said.

Back on Aug. 15, 2024, the RTS Link JB-SG Facebook page posted that installation of the Dura Beams for the long-span construction between Pier 1b and Pier 1 across Lebuhraya Tebrau in Johor Bahru had been officially completed.

According to MRT Corp, the beams are the longest of their kind ever deployed for a railway viaduct globally.

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.

RTS Link

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.

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.

Top photo from RTS Link JB-SG/Facebook.