Johor sets up Causeway task force to overcome congestion

SINGAPORE – A task force has been set up and mobilised to come up with solutions to reduce congestion at the Johor Causeway, especially during the weekends, while waiting for the Singapore-Johor Baru Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link project to be completed by 2026.

Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi announced this on his official Facebook page yesterday after visiting the RTS Woodlands North Terminus project site.

Onn Hafiz, who was accompanied by Singapore Transport Minister S. Iswaran, said the establishment of the task force was a short-term solution to ease congestion.

According to media reports, more than 300,000 Malaysians are estimated to cross the Johor Causeway every day, making it the busiest border crossing route in the region.

Onn Hafiz is currently on a three-day official visit to Singapore from Sunday, his first official trip to Singapore after being appointed menteri besar in March.

He is confident that the modern transportation system, which will be completed in the next four years, will be able to overcome the congestion problem at the Johor Causeway.

“I am also confident that when the RTS project is completed, this project will bring economic benefits to the people and the state of Johor, especially Johor Baru,” he said.

The RTS Link is a 4km rail shuttle service between the Singapore terminus at Woodlands North station and the Malaysia terminus at Bukit Chagar station in Johor Bahru.

It will have a large capacity of up to 10,000 passengers per hour in each direction.

Passengers will enjoy a fast and seamless experience travelling between Singapore and Johor Baru on the RTS Link, with a journey time of about five minutes between the two stations.

Both countries had recently appointed a consortium comprising Systra SA, Minconsult Sdn Bhd, and Bureau Veritas Singapore Pte Ltd as the independent verification and validation (IV&V) agent for the RTS Link project.

The IV&V agent will ensure that the project is carried out in compliance with the stipulated safety requirements and regulations.

This includes assessing and certifying that the RTS Link is safe to commence passenger operations at the end of 2026. – Bernama, April 19, 2022