Johor Bahru–Singapore RTS Link targets mid-February opening as safety checks continue

Malaysia’s transport minister Anthony Loke said in Johor Bahru on October 8 that the Johor Bahru–Singapore RTS Link is expected to open around mid-February 2027. The extra time is intended to allow an independent safety assessment and regulatory approvals before passengers use the cross-border railway. No exact opening day has been set.

The February timetable is a target, not an approved start date. In a joint release on October 2, Singapore’s Land Transport Authority and Malaysia’s Ministry of Transport said the operator, RTS Operations, had informed them that passenger service was now expected to begin in February 2027. They said the revised timetable depends on independent safety certification and final approvals from regulators in both countries.

Why RTS Link passenger service is moving into 2027

Loke told reporters that work on the project remained on track for completion by December 31, but several additional weeks would be needed for an independent safety consultant’s final assessment and technical approvals. He described January as technically possible, while saying he wanted a buffer so the required processes could be carried out properly. The precise launch date, he said, would become clear only after the approvals were obtained.

Loke framed the change as a difference between completing the works and opening the railway to passengers. He said it was ‘not really a postponement’ because construction remained on schedule. The distinction matters to prospective travellers: finishing infrastructure and trial runs would still leave a separate safety review and decisions by the two countries’ authorities before the service could start.

Safety certification and approvals still required

The joint announcement sets out the sequence. RTS Operations expects to complete final system tests and trial runs by December 31, 2026. An independent safety assessor must then certify the system. Authorities in Singapore and Malaysia can consider approvals for passenger operations after reviewing that certification. The agencies said infrastructure works in both countries were substantially complete and could support service once the remaining testing and commissioning were finished.

Singapore’s transport minister Jeffrey Siow said in a Facebook post reported by CNA that the earlier plan had been to finish safety certification and licensing before the end of 2026. He said the aim was to begin service before Hari Raya next year. That aspiration and Loke’s mid-February estimate do not replace the conditions set out by the two transport authorities; neither establishes a guaranteed opening date.

The four-kilometre line is intended to connect Woodlands North in Singapore with Bukit Chagar in Johor Bahru. CNA reported that the planned trip between the stations is about five minutes and that the line is designed for a peak capacity of up to 10,000 passengers an hour in each direction. Those figures describe the planned service, not an operating timetable or current passenger volume.

Johor Bahru bus connections planned for RTS passengers

Alongside his October 8 remarks on the rail opening, Loke launched an expansion of Bas.My Johor Bahru bus services intended to spread passenger traffic away from Bukit Chagar. Around 20 additional services are planned to connect the station with shopping centres including Mid Valley Southkey, Toppen Tebrau and Paradigm Mall, and residential areas including Kota Masai, Permas Jaya and Taman Pulai Mutiara, CNA reported.

The planned buses would run every 15 to 30 minutes and provide at least 70 trips a day, according to Loke. CNA also reported plans for operator Handal Indah to add 20 bus parking bays at JB Sentral and for Jalan Jim Quee to become a dedicated bus pickup and drop-off lane for RTS passengers. These arrangements are intended to help distribute travellers after the rail link opens; the reporting does not establish when every route or road change will be in place.