MALAYSIANS ELATED AT JB-SINGAPORE RTS DEAL
Those crossing the Causeway daily looking forward to 30-minute train ride
MALAYSIANS crossing the Causeway daily for work and study are counting the days when they can get those extra hours of sleep.
Thousands, who have to leave home in the wee hours of the morning to get to work or school on time, are looking forward to the promised 30-minute train ride across to Singapore.
A group of Malaysians residing in Johor told Channel News Asia that they were looking forward to the Rapid Transit System (RTS), which will connect Johor Baru to Singapore in half an hour.
Malaysia and Singapore inked an agreement on Tuesday to build the RTS project by 2024, which can reduce congestion on the Causeway by up to 15 per cent.
Zainab Jusoh, a housekeeping supervisor, the report said, grew tired of waking up at 3am to avoid hours-long traffic jams.
She has since moved to Singapore but told Channel NewsAsia she might move back once the RTS is constructed.
“If it is only 30 minutes with the train, that is great, much better.”
Albert Chin, who supplies workers to Singapore from Johor, feels the same.
“It is more convenient for commuters so that they can turn up for work in Singapore on time and do not need three or four hours in advance to prepare.”
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan told Channel NewsAsia on Tuesday that the promise of the project from the government would be a gamechanger in an election year, especially in Johor.
Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong reportedly said his country was committed to the RTS and that the agreement signed was binding, regardless of any potential change in government.