Last Friday, Singapore’s Land Transport Authority and Malaysia’s Ministry of Transport said in a joint statement that RTS Operations (RTSO), the operator of the rail link, had informed them of the revised timeline.
They added that the February 2027 target remains subject to RTSO obtaining independent safety certification and securing final regulatory approvals.
Singapore’s Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow said in a Facebook post on Friday that the original plan had been for safety certification and licensing to be completed before the end of this year, “but it was not to be”.
He said his colleagues at the Land Transport Authority had worked to ensure the Singapore station was ready for the start of cross-border train services, adding: “We aim to start services before Hari Raya next year.”
Hari Raya Puasa falls on Mar 10 next year.
The 4km rail link, which will connect Singapore’s Woodlands North station with Bukit Chagar station in Johor Bahru, had been expected to begin service by the end of 2026.
Once operational, the cross-border rail service will have a peak capacity of up to 10,000 passengers per hour in each direction, with the journey between the two stations expected to take about five minutes.
When asked on Thursday on when the exact date of the launch is, Loke said this can only be made clear “after all the necessary approvals have been obtained”.
“But in terms of the general timeframe, we are quite confident that it will be around mid-February,” said Loke.
When asked by CNA on whether his recent announcement to resign as Malaysia Transport Minister would impact the timeline of the RTS Link service launch, Loke stressed that it would not.
“(The RTS Link timeline) has nothing to do with my resignation … It concerns the work done by contractors and the team. We make policy decisions and I act as a spokesman for the project but (my potential resignation) will not impact the timeline,” said Loke.
Loke had resigned from this Cabinet post in protest of former prime minister Najib Razak’s conditional royal pardon. Loke recently clarified that he and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim have agreed it will take effect only when Najib begins his house arrest.
