On Thursday (11 Jan), the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced that the Rapid Transit System (RTS) link connecting Singapore and Johor Bahru (JB) is 65% complete.
The Prime Ministers (PM) of both Malaysia and Singapore, Mr Lee Hsien Loong and Mr Anwar Ibrahim met to commemorate the completion of the connecting span.
Having started back in 2021, LTA shared that construction on the link is progressing well in Singapore.
According to a press release by LTA, the RTS Link spans 4km, connecting the Singapore terminus at Woodlands North station to the Malaysia terminus at Bukit Chagar station in JB.
With a maximum capacity of 10,000 passengers per hour in each direction, every trip will take about five minutes between the stations.
Source: @bernamadotcom on X
The checkpoint, immigration & quarantine (CIQ) facilities of Singapore and Malaysia will be available at the two stations. Therefore, passengers would only need to clear immigration at the point of departure.
With the link set to serve passengers by end-2026, it will help to significantly improve connectivity between the two countries and ease congestion on the Causeway.
Construction of the CIQ building, tunnels, and viaduct started in 2021 and works in Singapore are progressing well, LTA said.
Two-thirds, or slightly over 65%, of the overall civil infrastructure works are now complete.
Source: Facebook
Back in March 2023, Singapore completed the final concrete casting of the pile cap for Pier 48. This is the pier on Singapore’s side which is closest to Malaysia.
The milestone marked the completion of the second of 12 pile caps. The caps provide the foundation for the piers which support the rail viaduct structure crossing the Straits of Johor.
Fast forward to today and all 12 pile caps are now complete with construction of the piers and the launch of viaduct segments ongoing, revealed the LTA.
On Thursday (11 Jan) morning, PM Lee and PM Anwar met at the Straits of Johor to celebrate the completion of the connecting span.
Source: @bernamadotcom on X
Measuring 17.1m in length and weighing about 340 tonnes, the reinforced concrete spans Malaysia’s Pier 47 and Singapore’s Pier 48, connecting the RTS Link marine viaduct on both sides.
Describing its completion as a significant milestone, the Ministry of Transport (MOT) said in a separate press release that both PMs signed commemorative plaques to signify their countries’ shared commitment to the project.
Source: @bernamadotcom on X
After the civil infrastructure works are complete, the authorities will hand the link over to RTS Operations Pte Ltd.
RTS Operations will then carry out the installation works for the RTS Link rail systems.
RTS Operations Pte Ltd is a joint venture company involving Malaysia’s Prasarana Malaysia Berhad and Singapore’s SMRT Corporation Ltd. It will operate the RTS Link service when it’s ready for operation.
According to LTA, the viaduct will connect to RTS Link Woodlands North station through underground tunnels.
Source: SG Yap on YouTube
The station is now undergoing construction at a maximum depth of 28m.
The CIQ building will also have three storeys, including two basement levels. The building will be connected to the station via a linkway on the Basement 3 level.
Construction of the linkway is complete with remaining works progressing well.
LTA said the RTS Link Woodlands North station and CIQ building comprise a total gross floor area that is 10 times the size of a typical MRT station.
These buildings will be connected to Woodlands North MRT station on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) through an underground concourse.
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Featured image adapted from @bernamadotcom on X.
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