Malaysian Transport Minister: Fares for JB-Singapore RTS Link likely to be announced by December

KUALA LUMPUR: At a press conference on Tuesday (Oct 18), Anthony Loke, Malaysia’s Transport Minister, said that the fares for the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link will likely be announced by the end of the year.

"The announcement would be made jointly with RTS Operations (RTSO), as the project was a bilateral initiative between Malaysia and Singapore. I cannot make any unilateral announcement because it is a bilateral project,” he said.

Mr Loke added at the Transport Exhibition that the cross-border rail service is scheduled to become operational in February 2027, according to reporting from The Malay Mail. 

Each trip between Bukit Chagar in Johor Bahru and Woodlands North in Singapore is estimated to take only five minutes. More importantly, the RTS Link will be an important part of the solution to the persistent traffic problems on the Causeway between Singapore and Malaysia, which is used by approximately 300,000 people daily.

The fares will be announced before the RTS’ opening so that the public will have enough time to get familiar with how much tickets cost, the Minister also said.

While the rail service was expected to start by next January, there has been an adjustment to this schedule as independent safety certification for the RTS Link as well as final regulatory approvals are still being awaited, announced the Land Transport Authority of Singapore and the Malaysian Transport Ministry on Oct 2.

In February, Mr Loke said that each trip on the RTS Link might cost around RM15.50 to RM21.70, or S$5 to S$7. He added that while the price of the fares for the rail service is likely to be higher than regular public transport fares in Kuala Lumpur, it will still be more cost-effective for passengers than travelling cross-border by car. 

The RTS Link has the capacity to transport around 10,000 passengers each way. The project is budgeted to cost S$3.24 billion, with Singapore taking on a 61% share of the costs while Malaysia will shoulder the remaining 39%. 

The typical travel time between Johor Bahru and Singapore is around 25 minutes to an hour, depending on the mode of transportation, or sometimes even more, when traffic is heavy or when immigration queues are long.

The Bukit Chagar Integrated Immi­gration, Customs and Qua­ran­tine (ICQ) Complex for the RTS link will have100 immigration e-gate lanes, making travel easier. /TISG

Read also: First JB–Singapore RTS train pulls into Woodlands for demonstration