After About 10 Years, The JB-SG MRT Line Finally Begins Construction

Just like that gym session you were supposed to go for in 1997, the construction of the Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link project between Singapore and Johor has been postponed several times, and put off for many years.

Believe it or not, the cross-border MRT system was first announced in 2010, when Tik Tok was just a song by Kesha, and leaving your house bare-faced wasn’t a crime.

The two countries hoped it would be operational by 2018, but it wasn’t to be.

2018 came, and there was still no RTS Link in sight. Instead, a bilateral agreement was finally signed to begin construction in 2019.

But that didn’t happen either, thanks to the Malaysian General Election, Covid-19, and several delays requested by Malaysia to study the financial implications of the project.

Well, actions speak louder than bilateral agreements, they say.

Reader: No one says that

10 years after it was first announced, construction for the cross-border MRT line has finally begun.

After About 10 Years, The JB-SG MRT Line Finally Begins Construction

To mark the occasion, a groundbreaking ceremony was held at the proposed Bukit Chagar station.

The ceremony was attended virtually by Johor’s ruler Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, Malaysia’s Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong, as well as other government officials.

Developed by the Malaysia Rapid Transit System (MRTS), the Bukit Chargar station will be part of a four-storey building, which will have an immigration, customs, and quarantine complex (CIQ).

The total cost of the project is estimated to be around RM10 billion (S$3.24 billion). Singapore and Malaysia have agreed to a split of 61:39, with Malaysia paying RM3.716 billion for the project.

The project is expected to become operational on 31 Dec 2026, when Singapore is in Phase 48 of her safe reopening.

Travel to JB in Just 5 Minutes

While we love crossing the border for good food, cheap shopping, and luxurious vacations, traffic jams are often an inescapable part of the journey, whether you’re driving or taking a bus.

And if you’re taking the train, you’d have to book it about 12 years in advance, so that’s almost never an option.

This is why both Singaporeans and Malaysians were so hopeful when the RTS Link was first announced.

The Bukit Chagar station will connect to the Woodlands North MRT Station, a station on the Thomson-East Coast Line.

And this is the proposed route:

It’d be just like taking a train to Yishun from Woodlands, except you’d need your passport and some cash.

MRTS chief executive Mohd Zarif Hashim said there’ll be eight sets of trains operating at one time, with each train having four-cabin compartments.

Not only will the journey be short – five minutes – the service will be able to ferry around 10,000 passengers in each direction, every hour. 

Waiting time for the trains will be about three-and-a-half minutes during peak period, and six minutes during non-peak period.

The station will likely operate between 6am and midnight.

Ticket prices have not been decided yet.

It’s scheduled to go live in 2026, so let’s hope crossing the border for leisure is allowed by then.

With this pesky coronavirus, you just never know.

Featured Image: Johor Royal Press Office