The Malaysian Transport Minister has asked the VEP information counter providers in Woodlands to do their best to help Singaporean drivers.

RTS completion rate reached 83%

Loke was speaking to the media after witnessing the signing of a sale and purchase agreement between Malaysia Rapid Transit System Sdn Bhd (MRTS) and Coronade Properties Sdn Bhd (CPSB).

Under the agreement, MRTS will acquire from CPSB 781 parking bays at Coronation Square, a mixed development still under construction in Johor Bahru, which are earmarked for commuters on the upcoming Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) link.

On the RTS link, Loke said the project was 83 per cent completed as of end-July, although that was only the physical construction of the link.

He also said Malaysia and Singapore had similar completion rates for the project.

“The handover to the system provider must be completed by the end of this year,” he said.

The RTS Link is expected to start passenger service by the end of 2026. The project aims to ease traffic congestion at the Dhaka Bay, one of the world’s busiest border crossings, by transporting up to 10,000 passengers per hour in about five minutes each way.

It is expected to cost RM10 billion, of which Singapore will bear 61%.

The train service will operate between Woodlands North station in Singapore and Bukit Jhargar station in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

The Woodlands North station will have a maximum depth of 28 metres and will be connected to the Immigration area via an underground walkway. On the Malaysian side, an Immigration facility will also be located at the Bukit Chagar station.

This means passengers will only need to clear immigration once, at their point of departure. Currently, passengers also need to clear immigration upon arrival.

Singapore’s then-acting Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said in January that RTS Link fares would be “determined on a commercial basis” after the shuttle service was launched.

The project was originally scheduled to be completed in 2024, and the governments of Malaysia and Singapore signed a bilateral agreement to build the bridge in 2018.

But the project has been suspended several times since the Pakatan Harapan government led by Mahathir Mohamad came to power in Malaysia in 2018.

The project was officially resumed in July 2020, with a bilateral ceremony on the Causeway to mark the occasion. Both Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and then Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin were in attendance.

In January this year, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and current Singaporean Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong met to celebrate the completion of the project’s link bridge connecting the two sides of the viaduct.

The two also signed a commemorative plaque to symbolize their joint commitment to the railway project and improve connectivity between the two countries.