Design of JB-S'pore RTS station unveiled

Bukit Chagar project inspired by concept of two hands holding each other by the wrists

An artist's impression of the Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link Station in Bukit Chagar. The design of the station, titled Integration Of Two, signifies Johor and Singapore's relationship and history, said Malaysia's Mass Rapid Transit C
An artist's impression of the Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link Station in Bukit Chagar. The design of the station, titled Integration Of Two, signifies Johor and Singapore's relationship and history, said Malaysia's Mass Rapid Transit Corporation chief executive Mohd Zarif Hashim. PHOTO: MASS RAPID TRANSIT CORPORATION

The future Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link Station in Bukit Chagar will be "modern and futuristic", featuring an intertwined roof inspired by the concept of two hands holding each other by the wrists.

It will have natural lighting and self-cleaning glass, which will reduce maintenance costs.

The winning design for the station was unveiled in Malaysia yesterday, with architect Chin Yee Chong from Johor-based firm SM Architects bagging RM250,000 (S$82,330) in prize money in the Facade Design Ideas Competition.

Mr Chin's design - titled Integration Of Two - signifies Johor and Singapore's relationship and history, said Malaysia's Mass Rapid Transit Corporation (MRT Corp) chief executive Mohd Zarif Hashim.

"It is very modern and futuristic. It will be... an iconic landmark in Johor once it's completed," Datuk Zarif said when announcing the design at a virtual press conference yesterday.

"The four-storey building will be used to co-locate the Immigration, Customs and Quarantine (CIQ). It will be part of a transit-oriented development in the future."

The Facade Design Ideas Competition, which attracted 91 entries, was jointly organised by MRT Corp and Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia (Malaysian Institute of Architects).

The 4km RTS Link - 2.7km of the route in Malaysia and 1.3km in Singapore - will link Johor's Bukit Chagar terminus station to the Singapore terminus in Woodlands North.

It will take commuters about five minutes to reach Bukit Chagar station from Woodlands North station, after clearing immigration.

The rail service can carry up to 10,000 passengers per hour in each direction.

Project construction in Bukit Chagar began in November last year, with Malaysia starting a three-month public inspection of the RTS Link project last month.

The RTS Link stations will be integrated with local transport networks in Johor and in Woodlands.

Asked if commuters would need to clear immigration on both sides, Mr Zarif said: "They will have to get clearance from both, but it will be done in the same building.

"Commuters need to clear formalities with Johor immigration first before going one floor up and doing the same with the Singapore side.

"They can then board the train. Once in Woodlands, they can just get off and about."

Once the project is up and running, rail operation efficiency is his utmost concern, said Mr Zarif.

"I must say that after we complete this project, my concern is whether we'll be able to deliver to expectations, moving people seamlessly between the two countries within a 15-minute time frame," he was quoted as saying yesterday by The Business Times.

"If you ask me, my wish is that we can clear border formalities in Malaysia within five minutes, clear formalities on the Singapore side in five minutes, and take a train ride in five minutes," he said.

The CIQ facilities for both Singapore and Malaysia will also be co-located at each station, meaning commuters will have to clear immigration only once, at their point of departure.

First announced in 2010, the rail link project was initially targeted to be ready by 2018.

A new starting date of end-2024 was agreed to in 2017 and both countries signed a deal the following year, with construction due to start in 2019.

But the project stalled after the Pakatan Harapan government came to power in Malaysia in May 2018.

The project was suspended for six months at Malaysia's request to review its scope, structure and costs.

The deadline to agree on new terms was extended four times before the project got back on track in July last year, one day before the final deadline.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on February 20, 2021, with the headline Design of JB-S'pore RTS station unveiled. Subscribe