PUTRAJAYA: Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan has briefed the Sultan of Johor on the Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link Project.
The minister met Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, on Tuesday to provide details on the RTS project and the ruler had expressed his views.
In a statement issued today, Rahman said he humbly heeded to Sultan Ibrahim's views and would take them into account in improving the RTS project.
"The government is committed to sign the agreement with Singapore by the end of this year.
"People from Malaysia and Singapore can look forward to better connectivity and accessibility once the proposed RTS is completed in 2024," he said.
In an exclusive interview with the New Straits Times Press Group last month, Sultan Ibrahim had expressed serious reservations on the proposed design of the RTS rail track, including an elevated bridge, linking Woodlands in Singapore and Bukit Chagar, Johor Baru.
Sultan Ibrahim said while he welcomed the project, he disagreed with the overall curve-shaped design of the track, as well as the plan to build the bridge as high as 30m above water in the middle section.
The bridge, he was reported saying, would disrupt the city skyline along the Johor Straits, adding the proposed curved design of the rail link as well as the elevated bridge was impractical, unsustainable and potentially costly.
The RTS rail link was announced by the Malaysian and Singaporean governments seven years ago to provide a much needed alternative to the 80,000 to 100,000 people who commute at the Malaysia-Singapore Causeway daily.
The RTS is expected to accommodate up to 10,000 passengers an hour in each direction between its terminus stations at Bukit Chagar, Johor Baru, and Woodlands, Singapore.
On the Singapore side, the rail link will join the republic's Mass Rapid Transit at its upcoming Thomson East Coast line (TEL).
The 31-station TEL project will open in phases from 2019 to 2024.