Johor Bahru-Singapore RTS Link timeline: A project 16 years in the making

SINGAPORE: The Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link is now expected to begin passenger services in February 2027, after system tests and trial runs are completed by the end of this year.

The latest delay adds another chapter to a cross-border rail project first announced more than 16 years ago.

The project has undergone several changes and delays, including a lengthy suspension from April 2019 while Malaysia reviewed the project. When the RTS Link project formally resumed in July 2020, the targeted opening was pushed from the end of 2024 to the end of 2026.

Here's how the journey of the RTS Link has transpired so far.

2010 to 2016: Idea and an agreed route

The start of the journey began in May 2010 when Singapore and Malaysia announced plans at the annual Leaders' Retreat for a rapid transit system connecting Singapore and Johor Bahru, with a target operational date of 2018. 

Then-prime ministers Lee Hsien Loong and Najib Razak said in a joint statement then that for the convenience of commuters, the RTS Link would have a single co-located customs, immigration and quarantine (CIQ) facility in Singapore.

This would evolve into two co-located CIQ facilities - one in Singapore and one in Johor Bahru - as announced in 2011.

In a press release, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that this was done so that commuters need to clear immigration only once for each way of travel.

It was also announced that the terminating stations of the RTS Link would be in the vicinity of JB Sentral on the Malaysia side and in the vicinity of Republic Polytechnic on Singapore's side.

In its 2013 master plan, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) included plans for the RTS Link to be integrated with the Thomson Line, which would eventually be developed and renamed as the Thomson-East Coast Line.

LTA's master plan also said that the first phase of a joint engineering study to determine the technical parameters for the RTS Link was completed.

In 2015, Mr Lee announced during the Singapore-Malaysia Leaders' Retreat that Woodlands North on the Thomson-East Coast Line would be the RTS Link terminus on Singapore's side.

Bukit Chagar in Johor Bahru was confirmed as the terminus in Malaysia at the following year's Leaders' Retreat.

2017 to 2020: Agreements and delays

In 2017, it was announced that the RTS Link would begin passenger services by the end of 2024, carrying up to 10,000 passengers per hour in each direction.

Singapore rail company SMRT and Malaysia’s metro operator Prasarana Malaysia signed an MOU the same year to form a joint venture company to operate the rail line.

In January 2018, both countries inked a bilateral agreement for the RTS Link, reiterating an end-2024 target for the start of passenger services. Certain amendments were also made to the proposed track alignment and agreed upon by both countries. 

Several months later, however, Malaysia's Pakatan Harapan alliance took power after the general election, with the new government saying it intended to proceed with the RTS Link but wanted to review its cost.

In January 2019, then-Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said the RTS Link was "behind schedule" and that “milestones have been missed”.

In April that year, Mr Khaw said that Singapore and Malaysia were working on an agreement to suspend the project for six months at Malaysia’s request. This was finalised in May, with the transport ministry saying at the time that Malaysia would have to bear the agreed costs incurred by Singapore if it decided not to proceed with the project by an end-September 2019 deadline. 

The suspension period was further extended by a month to end-October “in the spirit of bilateral cooperation”, without any cost to Malaysia. This was then extended to Apr 30, 2020, and then Jul 31, 2020.

The project was officially resumed in July 2020 - with the start date for operations pushed to the end of 2026.

The project also had a few changes: the RTS would be a standalone LRT system, instead of leveraging the Thomson-East Coast Line MRT network as initially planned.

The RTS Link would also no longer use the existing Thomson-East Coast Line Mandai Depot and a new depot would be constructed in Wadi Hana, Johor Bahru.

There was also a concession agreement for the Malaysian government and LTA to appoint RTS Operations as the operating company for the first 30-year concession period.

RTS Operations is a joint venture agreement between Singapore’s SMRT RTS, a unit of SMRT Corp, and Malaysia’s Prasarana RTS Operations.

2021 to 2025: Construction and unveilings

With the project back on track, LTA awarded a S$180 million contract for the construction of a bridge and tunnels in 2021.

This included the construction of a 25m-high bridge linking an underground station at Woodlands North in Singapore to the above-ground Bukit Chagar station in Johor.

A milestone was met in January 2024 when roughly 65 per cent of structural works required for the RTS Link in both countries were completed.

A 17.1m reinforced concrete structure connecting Malaysia’s Pier 47 and Singapore’s Pier 48 above sea level – the closest piers to the other country - was also completed.  

Singapore's Acting Minister for Transport Chee Hong Tat at the time said that RTS fares would be "determined commercially" by the operating company once the service is up and running. Certain factors, such as the demand for RTS Link services and "the cost of providing an efficient and reliable service for commuters on a financially sustainable basis", would be considered.

At the 2025 Leaders' Retreat in January, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim expressed satisfaction with the "good progress" of the project. 

Marking another milestone, the RTS Link's first train was unveiled in June 2025.

It was also announced that the first trains would depart from each end of the line at 6am, while the last trains would depart at 12am each day.

The 4km journey between Woodlands North and Bukit Chagar in Johor Bahru would take about 5 minutes, with the shortest wait for a train being 3.6 minutes.

In December 2025, Mr Wong and Mr Anwar met in Singapore, where the supplementary agreement to the RTS Link bilateral agreement was signed to facilitate preparations for the co-located CIQ facilities.

2026

With final preparations underway, the first RTS Link train arrived in Woodlands North Station in February for a scheduled demo. 

Singapore passed legislation in May allowing for the co-location of both countries’ CIQ facilities at each station. Malaysia’s officers will be deployed at the customs and immigration zone at Woodlands North station in Singapore, and Singapore officers will likewise be deployed to Bukit Chagar station in Malaysia.

The Bill also includes provisions for managing incidents that occur on the railway tracks when moving between countries. Singapore and Malaysia have agreed that both countries will have concurrent criminal jurisdiction over criminal offences that occur on board trains in transit, as well as over the stretch of railway tracks located between Piers 47 and 48

On Sep 4, the RTS Link Woodlands North Station was completed, with LTA releasing images of the ticketing concourse and arrival and departure halls. LTA said in a Facebook post that passengers will be able to "transfer seamlessly" to the RTS Link from the TEL Woodlands North station at Basement 1.

On Oct 2, RTS Operations said that the passenger services will begin in February 2027, after system tests and trial runs are completed by the end of this year.

The revised timeline remains subject to RTS Operations obtaining independent safety certification for the RTS Link and securing final regulatory approvals.