M’sia-bound coach passengers face 90-minute wait after clearing Tuas checkpoint amid CNY rush

JB-bound coach travellers hit with 90-minute jam after Tuas

A MS News reader travelling by coach from Singapore to Johor Bahru (JB) on Saturday (14 Feb) said he was stuck in a jam lasting close to 1.5 hours after clearing Tuas Checkpoint.

According to him, this was three times longer than it would usually take.

“The Singapore customs side moved quite quickly, and there was not much of a jam,” he explained.

However, congestion built up shortly after his bus exited Singapore at about 10.40am.

Second immigration building activated amid CNY jam

According to the reader, coach passengers typically clear immigration at one building upon entering JB via Tuas.

But on Saturday, officers directed Singaporean and Malaysian travellers to a second building behind the main hall.

“On normal days, they only open one building to clear the travellers,” he said.

When he arrived and alighted, officers were “shouting for Singaporeans or Malaysians to cross over to the building behind”.

He observed that both immigration buildings at the coach terminal were activated.

While one was designated for Singaporeans and Malaysians, the original building was used for international travellers.

Although his own clearance was not significantly delayed, the reader said that queues at the international building stretched “all the way to the outside”.

The bottleneck, he observed, appeared to involve non-Singaporean and non-Malaysian travellers.

Coaches at JB filled but unable to move

The reader entered Johor by coach, sharing that passengers in Singapore boarded at various pick-up points such as Golden Mile, Boon Lay, and The Star Vista before heading to Tuas.

Although they travelled through the coach lane, all passengers still had to alight to clear immigration before re-boarding.

He said around 15 buses were waiting at the Malaysian checkpoint but were unable to depart promptly as some passengers were still stuck at immigration.

“Most of the buses could be seen filled, but not able to move because we have international travellers on board who are still stuck at immigration,” he told MS News.

After clearing Singapore immigration, he estimated that he remained stuck for close to 1.5 hours.

On a typical Saturday, he said the entire process usually takes less than 30 minutes.

He added that passengers were not updated on the situation, and simply waited until the bus started moving.

“But everyone looked like they expected this jam to happen,” he observed.

ICA warns of ‘very heavy traffic’ during festive period

The congestion comes after the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) warned of “very heavy traffic” at Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints from 13 Feb to 23 Feb 2026 during the Chinese New Year travel period.

ICA said it will intensify checks to curb the smuggling of contraband items such as e-vaporisers, firecrackers and bak kwa, and travellers should expect longer waiting times.

Those travelling during peak periods are advised to cooperate with officers, observe traffic rules and maintain proper lane discipline.

Speaking to MS News, the reader said soaring airfares had prompted him to take the bus this time.

“This CNY weekend, the flight tickets are really expensive, at least four times more expensive,” he said.

Looking ahead, he added, “I may consider getting flight tickets much earlier.”

Also read: Tuberculosis clusters in M’sia: How concerned should S’poreans be?