RTS Link now expected to open in Feb 2027 instead of Dec 2026
Ng Wei Kai and Lu Wei Hoong
The Straits Times
Oct 2, 2026
The Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link’s opening will be delayed to February 2027, said RTS Operations (RTSO), the company appointed to run the cross-border rail line.
RTSO expects to complete all system tests and trial runs for the light rail link by Dec 31, 2026, the company said in a statement on Oct 2.
But taking into account time required for third-party safety certification and approval by the RTSO’s grantors, passenger service is currently estimated to start in February 2027, it said.
The line’s opening was previously targeted at the end of December 2026.
The RTSO’s grantors – the authorities which grant it the right to operate – are Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Malaysia’s Ministry of Transport.
In a joint statement on Oct 2, the authorities said they had been informed by the RTSO of its plans to start operations in February 2027.
Infrastructure works on the 4km link between Bukit Chagar station in Johor Bahru and Woodlands North station in Singapore are substantially complete and remain on track, the authorities said.
The authorities added that the revised timeline remains subject to RTSO obtaining independent safety certification for the RTS Link and final regulatory approval.
Both authorities will continue to work with RTSO to facilitate the smooth and safe delivery of the project, they said.
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.
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