Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link To Be Operational By End-2026

The Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link is on track to be completed by the end of 2026, according to the foreign ministers of Singapore and Malaysia. During Dr Vivian Balakrishnan's visit, he and his Malaysian counterpart Zambry Abdul Kadir reviewed their countries' bilateral relations, according to Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). "They noted the good progress on the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link project and look forward to the start of passenger services by the end of 2026," the statement continued.

When the 4km rail shuttle service is operational, passengers will be able to travel in five minutes from Woodlands to Bukit Chagar in Johor Bahru, or vice versa. It has a capacity of 10,000 passengers per hour in each direction. According to Singapore's Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, over a million travellers passed through land checkpoints during the year-end holiday season in 2022, with approximately 361,000 crossing daily.

Malaysia's Mass Rapid Transit Corp CEO Mohd Zarif Hashim revealed in December 2022 that the RTS project had not been impacted by the recent change in government and was more than 20% complete. “The RTS project received its approval from Malaysia back in 2019. We have made good progress so far and it will continue,” he told reporters during a seminar on RTS and its impact on the Johor property market.