JB-S'pore RTS Link rail system works 50% complete

Rail system works on the Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link between Johor Baru and Singapore has achieved about 50 per cent completion, the transport operator in Malaysia said on Feb. 26.

These works include track installation, signalling, and power supply.

The update on the progress was provided by RTS Operations Sdn Bhd (RTSO), the project’s operator, CNA reported.

The RTS Link, which will stretch 4km from Singapore’s Woodlands North station to Johor’s Bukit Chagar station, is expected to start passenger service by the end of 2026.

Ongoing work is concentrated at the Wadi Hana Depot area in Johor Bahru, which involves attaching track sleepers, rail tracks, and fastening related components.

Wadi Hana Depot is over 1km north of Bukit Chagar station.

Tracks in the depot were 65 per cent completed, CNA reported.

Track installation started in September 2024 from the Wadi Hana Depot and is expected to be completed and reach Woodlands North station in July 2025.

A video taken during a visit by reporters at the RTS Link project’s Wadi Hana Depot on Feb. 26 showed the extent of the works completed.

The 5.3km track alignment begins at Wadi Hana Depot, connects to the main line at Bukit Chagar Station, crosses the viaduct, and extends to Woodlands North Station in Singapore, Malay Mail reported.

The new Immigration, Customs and Quarantine (ICQ) facility, currently under construction, will be next to the Bukit Chagar station.

The installation of power supply components, signalling, and communication systems at the depot, stations, viaducts and tunnels along the RTS Link will start in March 2025 and be carried out in stages.

System testing will begin in 2026 before the first passengers is expected to board the train by the end of next year.

The RTS Link aims to ferry up to 10,000 passengers an hour each way.

Top photos via Shin Min Daily News