MALAYSIA Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) has awarded a Ringgits 604.9m ($US 137.4m) contract to Sunway Construction Group (SunCon) for the construction of stations and structures on the cross-border Johor Bahru - Singapore RTS Link between Johor Bahru in Malaysia and Woodlands in Singapore.
SunCon says the contract is for the construction and completion of Package 1B, covering advance works for stations and viaducts, and Package 5, covering terrestrial viaducts and ancillary structures. The contract runs for a period of 26 months, with completion expected in the second quarter of 2025.
Groundbreaking ceremonies were held to launch construction of the 4km RTS Link in Malaysia in November 2020 and in Singapore in January 2021. The line is being designed, built, financed and maintained by a joint venture of Malaysia’s Prasarana and Singapore’s SMRT under a 30-year concession agreement.
The line, which will be equipped for ATO at GoA4, will run for 2.7km in Malaysian territory, where it will begin at Bukit Chagar, Johor Bahru, and for 1.3km in Singapore territory, where it will terminate at Woodlands North station and will have an interchange with the Thomson-East Coast Line. The line will cross the Strait of Johor on a 25m-high bridge and passengers will be able to clear customs and immigrations requirements for both countries at their point of departure. The line will have capacity to transport 10,000 passengers per hour per direction.
The line was originally envisaged as a heavy rail line sharing trains and equipment with the Thomson-East Coast Line, but this policy has subsequently been changed to the adoption of a light rail system using four-car LRVs to be manufactured by CRRC.
In August 2020 RTS Operations awarded Siemens Mobility a contract to design, install and commission the CBTC signalling system and platform screen doors for RTS Link.
For more data on light rail projects in Asia and around the world, subscribe to IRJ Pro.
