KUALA LUMPUR: The Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link (RTS Link) will have the capacity to carry up to 10,000 passengers per hour per direction.
The Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) and Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) in a joint statement said the RTS Link's passenger capacity was higher than the average capacity of 300 passengers per hour per direction that Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) is ferrying now.
This would mean that the line will be able to handle an additional 60,000 users, who are expected to cross the Causeway during peak hours.
"The RTS Link will have the capacity to carry up to 10,000 passengers per hour per direction, which translates to additional capacity of 60,000 users crossing the Causeway during peak hours.
"Passengers travelling in either direction will clear both Malaysia and Singapore authorities at the point of departure, and need not go through immigration clearance again at the point of arrival," it said.
Both Malaysian and Singapore would have their Custom, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) facilities in Bukit Chagar and Woodlands North to facilitate passenger flow.
The KTMB Tebrau Shuttle services to Singapore will cease operation six months after the RTS Link starts operating, which has been targeted to begin by December 2024.
The fares would be set commercially by an operating company that would be appointed by both governments. Malaysia and Singapore will not be regulating the fares.
“Both governments will jointly appoint an operating company (OpCo) to own, design, build, finance, operate, maintain and renew the RTS Link’s operating assets such as trains, tracks, systems.
“The OpCo will pay a concession fee to the two countries in exchange for the right to collect fare revenue from operating the RTS Link,” it said.
Both countries have also agree to appoint Prasarana and LTA as the infrastructure companies to fund, build, own, maintain, and renew the civil infrastructure and stations within their respective territories.
The governments have also decided that Prasarana and SMRT will jointly operate the RTS Link for the first concession period, which would cover the first 30 years of operation.
“Both governments welcomed the exchange of letters between the Malaysian Prime Minister’s Department, Prasarana, LTA, and SMRT Corporation Ltd, recording their commitment for Prasarana and SMRT to form a Joint Venture (JV) Company to be the OpCo for the first concession period.
“The companies have committed to incorporate the JV by 30 June 2018, and to sign the concession agreement by 30 September 2018. Subsequent concessions will be awarded through open tender,” it said.
The RTS Link will cross the Straits of Johor via a 25m-high bridge, linking the Bukit Chagar Station in Johor Baru to the RTS Link Woodlands North Station in Singapore.
“For economies of scale, the RTS Link will utilise the same four core systems (trains, signalling system, communications system, and Integrated Supervisory Control System) as Singapore’s upcoming Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL).
“Heavy maintenance will be outsourced to the TEL Operator – SMRT Trains – at the TEL’s Mandai Depot, though there will also be a light maintenance facility at Bukit Chagar,” it added.
Malaysia and Singapore today signed a bilateral agreement on the RTS Link, eight years after the idea was mooted.
The agreement was signed by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan, who represented Malaysia, and Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan, on behalf of Singapore.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong.
The bilateral agreement captured the key points of agreement on the RTS Link project, including the technical, safety and security requirements, commercial, financing, procurement and regulatory frameworks, as well as customs, immigration and quarantine arrangements.