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“Next Station, Bukit Chagar” — Unpacking the JB-Singapore Rapid Transit System
- Ingrid Oo and Bryan Pak
- 1 day ago
- 9 min read
In this Explainer, find out...
What is the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link (RTS)?
What is the purpose of the Johor Bahru-Singapore RTS?
What are the future benefits and challenges brought by the Johor Bahru-Singapore RTS?
Introduction
The planned Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link (RTS) is projected to provide a faster and more environmentally friendly mode of transport between Bukit Chagar in Johor Bahru to Woodlands North in Singapore from the end of 2026. Running at 80 km/h, it will make the journey between Johor and Singapore in just six minutes. As of February 2025, construction of the project reached the halfway mark.
The RTS would mark an exciting progression in ties between Johor and Singapore. More than 300,000 travellers and 100,000 vehicles pass between the causeway each day, making it one of the busiest border crossings in the world. With the establishment of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone in 2025, economic cooperation is only expected to increase and the need for an efficient mode of transport is needed.
This Policy Explainer will explain what the Johor Bahru-Singapore RTS is, the role it will play in Johor-Singapore relations, and the potential outcomes it could bring.
Development Of The Johor Bahru-Singapore RTS
Overview of Johor-Singapore Relations
Given their proximity, Singapore and Johor have always maintained a close relationship, especially in the economic sector. In 2022, Singapore contributed about 70 per cent of Johor’s total foreign direct investment in the manufacturing sector, where it is the second largest foreign investor. Singapore is also the second largest foreign investor in Iskandar Malaysia, the main southern development corridor in Johor, with S$9.5 billion worth of investments committed between 2006 and June 2023.
With the strong economic interdependence between both sides, there is a need to improve cross-border connectivity. This makes a case for the construction of a robust and efficient transport system that links Singapore and Johor together, which the Johor Bahru-Singapore RTS aims to achieve.
Conceptualising the RTS
The idea of extending Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) to Johor Bahru was raised during a discussion between Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and his Malaysian counterpart Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad in July 1990. In the same year, there were suggestions for a light rail transit system to be built across the causeway.
It would not be until 20 years later when news about this concept would be heard again. In May 2010, the RTS was announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpart Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak. In December 2016, it was decided that the RTS would connect Singapore and Johor via a high bridge across the Straits of Johor.
In January 2018, Singapore and Malaysia signed a bilateral agreement, recording certain requirements, frameworks and arrangements for the RTS. They also set a start date for RTS passenger service: 31 December 2024.
Delays and Suspensions of the JB-SG RTS
Despite the smooth start, the construction of the RTS faced many hiccups along the way. In August 2017, the Sultan of Johor Ibrahim Iskandar expressed his concerns over the design of the RTS, including its bridge.
In January 2019, Singapore’s transport minister Khaw Boon Wan confirmed that the project was “behind schedule and not progressing well”. This was because several important dates in the legally binding RTS bilateral agreement have been missed. For example, Malaysia delayed confirming its joint venture partner from September 2018 to December 2018, and later to March 2019. Moreover, Malaysia had suspended bilateral discussions to appoint the RTS operator since August 2018.
The COVID-19 pandemic also played a part in construction delays. In May 2020, the deadline for another bilateral agreement was extended by three months to July 2020 due to the pandemic. However, in July 2020, Malaysian transport minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong ultimately announced that construction for the RTS would begin in 2021, and its operations would begin in 2026. In Malaysia, construction started on 22 November 2020, while construction for the Woodlands North RTS officially began on 22 January 2021 in Singapore.
What Is The Johor Bahru-Singapore RTS?
Location and Logistics
The RTS would connect Singapore’s Woodlands North MRT station to the yet-to-be-built Bukit Chagar station in Johor Bahru. This route necessitated the construction of a second crossing across the Straits of Johor parallel to the original causeway.
The RTS would provide for transfers on the Malaysian side at the nearby Johor Bahru Sentral station, where commuters can catch intercity buses or trains. On the Singaporean side, commuters would be able to catch the MRT from Woodlands North MRT, the northern terminus of the Thomson-East Coast Line, which connects to Singapore’s central business district.
The RTS will be a light rail system, with each train consisting of 4 cars, each with a normal capacity of 607 passengers. It is expected to serve up to 10,000 passengers each way per hour, with trains running every 3.6 minutes at peak hours.
Customs and Immigration
To allow for fast transit, Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine facilities will be located at both Woodlands North and Bukit Chagar station, and travellers will go through immigration at their point of departure. They need not go through immigration again at arrival, as they would when crossing the causeway, allowing for a smoother process.
Fares
Fares for the RTS have not been set, and are expected to be announced in 2026. However, the fare-setting process is likely to face complications as fares need to account for differences in currencies and the divergent purchasing powers of Malaysians and Singaporeans. Furthermore, for the RTS to attract ridership, fares also need to be low enough to compete with existing bus services (S$1.80-S$2.30), and the existing KTM shuttle train (S$5).
Who is the RTS Expected to Serve?
As previously mentioned, an estimated 300,000 Malaysians cross the border to Singapore every day. Though many will likely still rely on private vehicles to cross the border, the RTS would provide an additional, quicker method to cross the border, especially for those travelling by public transport or foot.
The RTS could also have great potential to serve Singaporeans crossing into Johor. Vehicle ownership in Singapore is not as high as it is in Malaysia, so more Singaporeans are reliant on public transport to enter Johor. If the RTS proves to be a quick, affordable, and reliable mode of transportation, more Singaporeans are likely to use it.
Challenges Faced By The RTS
High Construction Costs
The projected cost of the RTS is S$2.9 billion. While this number is considered low for a rail project, it was expensive for Malaysia given its political circumstances in 2018. After the elections, the new government wanted to slash its expenditure to reduce the RM1 trillion (S$336.4 billion) national debt accumulated by the previous government. Hence, in May 2018, Malaysia’s transport minister Anthony Loke said that Malaysia wanted to reduce the RTS’s cost. Eventually, Malaysia made significant budget cuts, announcing proposals to reduce costs by 36 per cent to RM3.16 billion (S$1.03 billion). Some of the cost reduction measures include: waiving the land cost of the Bukit Chagar land, and using a light rail transit system for the RTS instead of heavy rail like the MRT.
This example shows that it was a financial burden for Malaysia to construct the RTS. The fact that Malaysia cut the project cost shows that the original cost was extremely unsustainable for its budget in 2018. The financial issues that Malaysia faced would also affect the future of the RTS. By downgrading the system used from heavy rail to light rail, the RTS could face more serious wear and tear from heavy usage, if the trains are constantly serving close to their passenger capacity.
Insufficient Capacity of the RTS
Due to the financial burden the RTS placed on Malaysia, plans for the RTS were amended to a light rail system. Although the RTS is expected to be able to carry up to 10,000 passengers per hour, the change to a light rail system likely did reduce the maximum capacity of the RTS.
The RTS is expected to ferry about 40,000 passengers each day. However, more than 300,000 Malaysians cross the border daily, which exceeds the capacity of the RTS. As travelling to Johor Bahru becomes more convenient, this may even increase the number of people crossing the border, especially from Singaporean leisure travellers. This could further put pressure on the RTS. Therefore, due to these limitations, it is unlikely that the RTS will completely supplant the use of other modes of transport to cross the border.
Potential Pros And Cons Of The RTS
Advantages
Reducing Congestion on the Causeway
It currently takes about one to two hours to travel across the causeway on weekdays, with the journey taking much longer during weekends and public holidays due to greater congestion. With the RTS, the travel time is cut to six minutes. Furthermore, train services are very frequent, with one train arriving every 3.6 minutes during peak hours, making it convenient for commuters.
Currently, travellers crossing the causeway between Johor Bahru and Singapore must clear immigration twice, upon departure and arrival. The RTS will have co-located CIQ facilities on both sides of the border, thus commuters only need to clear immigration at their point of departure. These factors could draw more travellers to the RTS.
Such significant reductions in travel time will encourage more people to use the RTS, freeing up space on the road and alleviating congestion. In fact, the RTS is expected to absorb at least 35 per cent of the traffic at the causeway.
Environmental Benefits
When the RTS is operational, some people will be encouraged to use the RTS over their own personal vehicles. The number of cars on the roads will decrease, leading to a fall in carbon dioxide emissions from cars. Another way to understand this is using the concept of carbon dioxide emissions per capita. The RTS can carry many passengers at once, so the carbon dioxide emissions produced by one LRT car will be spread out among many people. In contrast, the carbon dioxide emissions for a personal vehicle are spread out across fewer people. Therefore, public transport is more environmentally friendly in terms of reducing carbon dioxide emissions per capita.
Furthermore, during severe traffic congestion, cars may not even be moving on the road. A car that is stuck in a traffic congestion burns fuel less efficiently than when it is moving, thus it produces more emissions when idling than when travelling. When more people are encouraged to switch to the RTS, it will reduce the number of cars on the road, and thus reduce traffic congestion. Thus, the remaining cars can move continuously along the causeway, and each car will produce less emissions than if it were stuck in the traffic congestion.
Complementing the Johor-Singapore SEZ
In 2025, the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (SEZ) was created. With the creation of the SEZ, businesses investing in Johor or Singapore can benefit from favourable regulation. As such, more business is expected to flow between Johor and Singapore as firms seek financing and investment in Singapore, and land and labour in Johor.
Singaporean businesses seeking to expand their operations into Malaysia would benefit from faster transport links, and vice versa. For example, in a recent parliamentary sitting, Minister of State Alvin Tan highlighted that several companies may have their regional headquarters or innovation centres in Singapore, but production facilities across the border. The RTS could reduce congestion on the causeway, which would allow products that need to be transported via land to be brought over the border more easily. This would make business operations easier, and could make Singapore a more attractive place for companies to set up regional headquarters in.
Disadvantages
Impact on Singapore’s F&B and Retail Sectors
Many Singaporeans already visit Johor Bahru to eat and shop, as goods tend to be cheaper there than in Singapore. A stronger Singapore Dollar, GST hike, and the cost of land and labour all contribute to Johor Bahru’s relative affordability compared to Singapore. The RTS would cut travelling times, making cross-border transit more accessible. This could lead to more Singaporeans travelling across the border to stretch their dollar, diverting business away from Singaporean establishments. DBS Insights Group estimates that the RTS could lead to spending leakage increasing by S$1.5-2.1 billion in the medium-term, which constitutes three to four per cent of 2023 retail spending in Singapore.
These predictions reflect business owners’ fears that the RTS could result in less demand for food and retail among Singaporeans, especially in neighbourhoods near the RTS.
The Government has taken the stance that the RTS will grow markets in both Malaysia and Singapore. However, in recognition of business owners’ concerns, Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong highlighted several measures in place to help heartland businesses cope with increased competition. These include various grants and initiatives offered by EnterpriseSG to assist heartland businesses to upgrade their offerings and facilities, HDB’s upgrading works on Neighbourhood Centres, and the provision of CDC vouchers.
Conclusion
Overall, the Johor Bahru-Singapore RTS will likely bring about many benefits to both Singapore and Malaysia. However, the development of the RTS also presents many challenges to both countries, which need to be addressed by both governments. It is thus important that both governments seize as many opportunities as possible from the RTS. Singapore is already taking steps in the right direction, with a new task force set up to help Singaporeans reap benefits from the RTS.
In the long term, there are many benefits of the RTS. Most importantly, this development is a commitment to fostering stronger bilateral ties between both nations. To this end, collaboration between not just the Malaysian and Singaporean governments, but also with the business community and other institutions, is essential to ensure the success of this project.
This Policy Explainer was written by members of MAJU. MAJU is a ground-up, fully youth-led organisation dedicated to empowering Singaporean youths in policy discourse and co-creation.
By promoting constructive dialogue and serving as a bridge between youths and the Government, we hope to drive the keMAJUan (progress!) of Singapore.
The citations to our Policy Explainers can be found in the PDF appended to this webpage.
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