JB-Singapore RTS Link opening delayed to Feb 2027

RTSO is a joint venture between SMRT and Malaysian bus and rail operator Prasarana.

The line will carry up to 10,000 passengers an hour in each direction, and the journey is expected to take five minutes.

The authorities have in recent months announced milestones for the link’s completion.

Singapore’s Land Transport Authority in September announced the completion of the RTS Link’s Woodlands North Station.

Earlier in August, Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke said all the station and rail infrastructure on the Malaysian side had been completed.

Short-term solutions planned to serve RTS Link passengers in JB: Anthony Loke

In an interview with The Straits Times, Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke said system integration is the cause of the RTS delay despite physical infrastructure work remaining on schedule.

“There is a slight delay because, after completion, we still need certification from safety experts and regulators in both Malaysia and Singapore. To be safe, RTSO has pushed it to mid-February 2027,” he said.

To manage the dispersal of RTS Link passengers in Johor Bahru, short-term traffic solutions have been planned, said Loke.

This includes expanding the local bus fleet, creating a dedicated bus hub near Bukit Chagar Station, and constructing pedestrian connection bridges for bus and rail commuters.

“We are identifying a street next to Bukit Chagar station to convert into a bus hub, strictly closed to private vehicles. A dedicated link bridge will connect this hub to the RTS station,” Loke added.

“For rail commuters, an allocation of up to RM60 million (S$19 million) has been approved for a direct link bridge from the KTM JB Sentral platform to the RTS Station.

“This eliminates the current 800m walkway requiring passengers to exit JB Sentral before re-entering the RTS station.”

The project was first announced in 2010, and has seen several delays since then.

In 2017, both countries announced plans to start service by the end of 2024 and later signed an agreement in 2018 to build the rail line.

But in 2019 both countries agreed to suspend the project after it missed milestones.

It officially resumed in 2020 and the target date for service to start was pushed to the end of 2026.

Both countries’ customs, immigration and quarantine facilities will be located in the same facility in each station.

This will allow passengers to undergo both departure and arrival immigration clearance before boarding the train, and no further immigration clearance is required upon disembarkation in the other country.

Both countries passed legislation this year to enable these facilities.

Chinese trainmaker CRRC Zhuzhou builds the trains and German conglomerate Siemens supplies signalling and platform screen doors.