KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will try to negotiate with Singapore to maintain the Shuttle Tebrau train service between Johor Bahru Sentral and Woodlands after the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link begins operations.
Malaysia’s Transport Minister Anthony Loke said on Thursday (Oct 26) that the termination of the shuttle service was one of the conditions agreed between Malaysia and Singapore in implementing the RTS project.
“I personally feel that it is not wrong if we have more connectivity between the two countries … which gives choices to passengers.
“Therefore, the Ministry of Transport (MOT) will try to negotiate this matter with Singapore, so that this service is maintained even after the RTS starts operating,” he said at the Ministers’ Question Time session in parliament. The JB-Singapore RTS Link is expected to begin operations by end-2026.
Mr Loke said this in his reply to a supplementary question from Pulai Member of Parliament (MP) Suhaizan Kaiat on whether the shuttle service between Johor Bahru Sentral and Woodlands will be maintained after the RTS commences operations.
The RTS Link aims to connect Bukit Chagar in Johor Bahru to Woodlands in Singapore, serving about 10,000 passengers per hour each way to help ease traffic congestion on the Causeway.
RTS Link tunnels will connect to a viaduct 25m above the Straits of Johor, bridging the Woodlands North station in Singapore to the Bukit Chagar station in Johor Bahru.
The CIQ (customs, immigration, quarantine) facilities of both countries will be co-located at the Woodlands North and Bukit Chagar stations, which means passengers only need to clear immigration authorities once – at their point of departure.