RTS Link update: 5-minute JB-S’pore commute set to be possible by Dec 2026

If you’ve ever braved the Johor Bahru-Singapore Causeway, you know the struggle is real. While the causeway itself is less than a ten-minute ride, it’s the traffic getting to the checkpoints and passport control on both sides that tests your patience. 

Whether you’re driving to work, hopping on a bus for a shopping spree in Orchard Road, or simply visiting friends across the border, it’s a shared experience to spend hours in a sea of vehicles or standing in queue after queue.  

But the Johor Bahru–Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link will soon be here to save the day—or at least, December 2026 is when we can finally expect it to, The Independent Singapore reported.

The RTS Link is a railway shuttle link approximately 4 km in length with two stations, one in Bukit Chagar, Johor Bahru, Malaysia, and one in Woodlands, Singapore. Once operational, it promises to cut down travel time between the two cities to a mere five minutes.  

With the ability to carry 10,000 passengers per hour in both directions, this project could redefine what it means to commute between Johor Bahru and Singapore.  

Progress is steaming ahead  

While it feels like this project has been a long time coming (because it has), the good news is that construction is well underway. 

Over in Malaysia, 93% of the infrastructure is complete, including Bukit Chagar Station and Wadi Hana Depot, according to MRT Corp.

Singapore isn’t far behind, with 80% of its viaducts and infrastructures ready, and the Woodlands North Station will soon integrate seamlessly into Singapore’s MRT system.  

The link also has a “clasping hands” viaduct design, which symbolises the tight bond between the two nations.

For years, the Causeway has been Malaysia and Singapore’s busiest border crossing, with 300,000 people crossing daily. The traffic jams are legendary (and not in a good way).  

The RTS project was initially supposed to be completed this year, but delays caused by government reviews and the COVID-19 pandemic set things back. 

Now, with construction resuming in late 2020 and speeding along since then, there’s light—or a train—at the end of the tunnel.  

The end of Causeway chaos  

This transformative project doesn’t come cheap. Budgeted at RM10 billion (over S$3 billion), Malaysia is contributing RM3.716 billion (S$1.129 billion) of the total cost, while Singapore is footing the rest of the bill.

When the RTS Link opens in two years, it’s not just commuters who’ll benefit. Businesses, tourism, and even cross-border relationships stand to gain from the seamless connectivity.  

For those of us who’ve endured hours of traffic just to enjoy a plate of nasi lemak in JB or a bowl of bak kut teh in Singapore, this is the start of something truly exciting. Hopefully with this new RTS Link, “border jams” will be a thing of the past, and five minutes will be all it takes to cross one of the busiest land border crossings in the world.

Featured Image Credit: SM Architects Sdn Bhd