JOHOR SULTAN APPROVES REVISED DESIGN
SPAD presented several options to the ruler on Tuesday
SULTAN of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar has agreed to the revised Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link alignment design proposed by the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD).
The ruler conveyed his agreement after granting an audience to SPAD chief executive officer Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah and his senior management team at Istana Bukit Pelangi here on Tuesday, where they presented several options for the project.
SPAD, in a statement, said the alignment options took into account the suggestions made by Sultan Ibrahim during an earlier audience with the ruler on Sept 19.
“His Majesty has agreed to the option of a 25m-high bridge, which will cross the Straits of Johor in a straight line, while complying with the Marine Department’s technical guidelines for a minimum of 25m air draught clearance.
“His Majesty also stressed the importance of ensuring adequate traffic dispersal at the RTS Bukit Chagar station area, and SPAD will act on it,” SPAD said.
The commission thanked Sultan Ibrahim for giving his full support to the RTS project, and also Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan for his guidance on the project.
In August, Sultan Ibrahim expressed his reservations about the proposed RTS rail track design, which included an elevated bridge linking Woodlands in Singapore and Bukit Chagar in Johor Baru.
In an exclusive interview with the New Straits Times Press group, Sultan Ibrahim said while he welcomed the project, he disagreed with the general curveshaped design of the track and the plan to build the bridge as high as 30m above water in the middle section.
He was reported as saying that the bridge would disrupt the city skyline along the Straits of Johor, and that the proposed curved design of the rail link and the elevated bridge were impractical, unsustainable and potentially costly.
The RTS, announced by the Malaysian and Singaporean governments seven years ago, is expected to accommodate up to 10,000 passengers an hour in each direction between its stations in Bukit Chagar and Woodlands.
On the Singapore side, the rail link will connect with the republic’s mass rapid transit at its upcoming Thomson East Coast Line, which will open in phases from 2019 to 2024.