Passenger service on the Johor Bahru-Singapore RTS Link is now targeted for February 2027, later than the earlier end-2026 target. The revised date is from operator RTS Operations (RTSO) and was made public on 2 October by the project’s two grantors, Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Malaysia’s Ministry of Transport.
The new date still depends on RTSO getting independent safety certification for the line and securing final regulatory approvals from both countries. RTSO is a joint venture of Malaysia’s Prasarana Malaysia and Singapore’s SMRT Corporation.
Why the opening has moved
Infrastructure works on both sides of the Causeway are substantially complete, but the remaining testing and commissioning needs more time. RTSO expects to finish its final system tests and trial runs by 31 December 2026. An independent safety assessor then has to certify the system, and authorities in Singapore and Malaysia must review that certification before they grant approval for passenger operations.
How the line will work
The RTS Link is a standalone light rail line running 4km between Woodlands North in Singapore and Bukit Chagar in Johor Bahru. The system can carry up to 10,000 passengers an hour in each direction at peak.
Customs, immigration and quarantine (CIQ) facilities are co-located. Passengers clear both Singapore and Malaysia checks at the station they depart from and do not go through immigration again on arrival.
In Singapore, the RTS Link Woodlands North station sits underground at a maximum depth of 28m, over three storeys with two basement levels and an underground linkway to the CIQ building. It connects at basement level to the Thomson-East Coast Line’s Woodlands North MRT station. From there, the line rises onto a 25m-high bridge across the Straits of Johor to the above-ground Bukit Chagar station. The depot is at Wadi Hana in Johor Bahru.
