The Johor Bahru–Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS Link) is a planned high-capacity rapid transit system that would connect Woodlands North in Singapore with Bukit Chagar station in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. It can carry up to 10,000 passengers per hour in each direction. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Malaysia Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin attended the signing ceremony for the RTS Link project on 30th July 2020. The construction of RTS is slated to begin in January 2021 and is expected to be operational by 2026.
SMRT and Prasarana Malaysia Will Be Johor Bahru–Singapore RTS Link Operators
Singapore’s SMRT Corporation and Malaysia’s Prasarana Malaysia are appointed as operators of the Johor Bahru–Singapore RTS Link. SMRT and Prasarana will form a Joint Venture (JV) company — the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link operating company — RTS Operations Pte Ltd. The operating company will overlook designing, construction, and financing details for the RTS Link infrastructure. The JV agreement was signed by Encik Muhammad Nizam Alias (President and Group CEO of Prasarana), Mr. Neo Kian Hong (SMRT CEO), and Yang Berbahagia Datuk Syed Mohamed bin Syed Ibrahim (Chairman of RTS Operations Pte Ltd.)
SMRT CEO, Mr. Neo Kian Hong said: “We are excited to work with Prasarana to provide a service on the third land link between Singapore and Malaysia, which will improve the commute of people who work and live on the two sides of the Causeway. We look forward to forging a close working relationship between our two rail companies.”
LTA Awards a Civil Work Contract
The Land Transit Authority (LTA) of Singapore has started its mission to complete this project with its first civil work contract. Japanese contractor Penta-Ocean Construction has been awarded a US$676m civil engineering package by LTA in which Penta will be responsible for building RTS Link Woodlands North station, tunnels and the Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine (CIQ) buildings. Malaysia will build the same buildings on its side.
Details About Penta-Ocean Construction
Penta-Ocean is a Japanese construction firm specializing in marine technology, architectural technology, environmental construction systems, and land reclamation. The company was founded in April 1896 by Jinjiro Mizuno and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Currently, Penta-Ocean is constructing two stations on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) — Bright Hill and Orchard. Previously, it worked on two stations — Woodlands North station and the Downtown Line’s Bendemeer station.
When asked about why LTA gave the civil work contract to Penta-Ocean, LTA said, “Penta-Ocean Construction has a wide-ranging experience in infrastructure and building projects in Singapore.”
Conclusion
The RTS Link project aims to improve the relationship and business links between Malaysia and Singapore. The rail shuttle service will ease congestion and enable easier border crossing for commuters. The road traffic congestion on the Johor–Singapore Causeway will reduce once the RTS Link project commences passenger services. Commuters can save a lot of time and money using this rail shuttle service as compared to their private vehicles.
