Singapore-Johor RTS Link project progressing well: Minister

The cross-border rail line between Singapore and Johor is progressing well, said Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung yesterday.

"The Johor Baru side has broken ground. On our side, we will break ground soon, and we hope the project and the service can commence in 2026 as scheduled," he added.

Mr Ong was responding to Mr Ang Wei Neng (West Coast GRC), on whether the cancellation of the High-Speed Rail project has any impact on the Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link.

The RTS Link was first announced in 2010, and was initially set to be completed in end-2024. But it was suspended in 2019 at Malaysia's request for a review, before officially resuming in July last year.

When completed, the 4km link will connect passengers between Johor Baru's Bukit Chagar terminus station and the Singapore terminus in Woodlands North. The trip between both stations should take five minutes.

The RTS Link will carry up to 10,000 passengers per hour in each direction.

It should ease congestion on the Causeway and make the Singapore-Malaysia border more easily accessible, both countries have said.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) awarded the first RTS Link civil contract - worth $932.8 million - in November last year to Penta-Ocean Construction, to build the Woodlands North Station, tunnels, and the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine building in Singapore.

The second contract for the project will be awarded in the first quarter of this year, LTA said then.