PETALING JAYA: Mohd Zarif Mohd Hashim is a man on a mission – to make a “game changer” come true, one that will bring Malaysia and Singapore within touching distance.
The game changer is the Rapid Transit System Link railway, connecting Bukit Chagar in Johor Bahru and Woodlands in Singapore.
It is only 4km long but when completed will take travellers from one country to another in just five minutes of travel and another 10 minutes of formalities.
“That’s five minutes to clear Malaysian border formalities, another five minutes for Singaporean border clearance, and five minutes for the train ride to Singapore or Malaysia,” says Zarif, chief executive of the Mass Rapid Transit Corporation, which is undertaking the project.
Economic catalyst
Zarif says the RTS is more than a means of transport as it will open up a world of new opportunities for businesses on both sides of the Causeway.
“Some people say that it will benefit Singapore more than Malaysia but my straight answer to that is ‘no’ and the key here is because you can go from one country to another in just 15 minutes.
“We can set up world class international schools, hotels and hospitals in Johor Bahru and you will see more people coming from Singapore to Johor Bahru because it only takes 15 minutes to access these facilities.”
Zarif said the short travel time would also make cross-border courier and delivery services more feasible.
“It will redefine how food delivery services operate, how items are couriered. You can do anything from deliver food to documents across the border in under an hour,” he said, adding the RTS could very well turn Johor Bahru into a services hub.
He said this did not yet include the economic spillover from the construction of the RTS link within these six years.
The construction will see Malaysia fork around RM3.7 billion for its part of the RTS and create 1,500 direct job opportunities.
“Another 17,000 jobs will be created from the ancillary services for the construction of the project, from food catering to security and so on. The total economic multiplier of this project is around RM6 billion.”
Zarif said the focus should be on how Malaysia can exploit the full potential of the RTS Link.
More than a link
Zarif said the link will also take a lot of pressure off the century-old Causeway which is used by some 350,000 people a day who wake up as early as 4am to go to Singapore.
He said the RTS was capable of carrying up to 10,000 passengers per hour, and it is hoped that the railway will ferry almost 50% of the people currently using the Causeway.
Besides the very short travel time, the waiting time for a trip is only three-and-a-half minutes during peak hours and six minutes for other times.
Zarif said that immigration and customs checks would only be conducted at the point of departure, either at Bukit Chagar or Woodlands, making it faster for travellers to continue with their journey.
On the Malaysian side, travellers can access KTM’s ETS service connecting Johor to KL, and other public transport services while those arriving at Singapore can continue on the Thomson-East Coast MRT Line.
“Imagine how much more people and business can do when a journey which once took hours, now only takes 15 minutes.” - FMT
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