SINGAPURA: A task force has been set up and mobilised to come up with solutions to reduce congestion at the Johor Causeway especially during the weekends, while waiting for the Singapore-Johor Bahru Rapid Transit System (RTS) link project to be completed by 2026.

Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi posted this piece of information on his official Facebook page on Monday after visiting the RTS Woodlands North Terminus project site.

Onn Hafiz, who was accompanied by Singapore Transport Minister S. Iswaran, said the establishment of the task force was a short term solution to ease congestion.

According to media reports, an estimated more than 300,000 Malaysians cross the Johor Causeway every day, making it the busiest border crossing route in the region.

Onn Hafiz is currently on a three-day official visit to Singapore starting April 17 and it is his first official trip to Singapore after being appointed Menteri Besar of Johor in March.

He is confident that the modern transportation system, which will be completed in the next four years, will be able to overcome the congestion problem at the Johor Causeway.

"I am also confident that when the RTS project is completed, this project will bring economic benefits to the people and the state of Johor, especially Johor Bahru," he said.

The RTS Link is a 4-kilometre rail shuttle service between the Singapore terminus at Woodlands North station and the Malaysia terminus at Bukit Chagar station in Johor Bahru.

It has a large capacity of up to 10,000 passengers per hour in each direction.

Passengers will enjoy a fast and seamless experience travelling between Singapore and Johor Bahru on the RTS Link, and a journey time of about five minutes between the two stations.

This includes assessing and certifying that the RTS Link is safe to commence passenger operations at the end of 2026.

-- BERNAMA