Missing MRT link, Part 3
Instead, the governments of Singapore and Malaysia have set up a working group to look at ways to help improve transport links between the two countries. And one option being considered is to extend Singapore’s MRT network into Johor, according to The Straits Times report today that cited Singapore’s Ministry of Transport. The Transport Ministry has not issued a media statement as at blogging time today. :-)
The news is definitely significant as it shows the intention of the two governments to work together to facilitate the massive cross-border flow of people between Malaysia and Singapore.
But can they really come up with a neat solution? The answers are not so clear due to the lack of information. There are many, many questions and issues.
For a start, the ST report said the proposed MRT link could start at Woodlands in Singapore and end at the Iskandar Development Region in Johor. Where exactly is it in IDR?
The IDR covers a huge area, accounting for more than 10% of the land area of the state of Johor, which itself is some 28 times bigger than Singapore. The state capital of JB, which is the closest link to Singapore, itself is in IDR. So is Senai Airport, which is about 30km away from the Malaysia-Singapore border.
It’s more ideal if the MRT link begins in Woodlands as reported and end in the heart of JB itself, instead of somewhere else within the IDR.
And what’s the working group’s plan to improve traffic flow along the causeway – a 1-km land bridge linking Singapore and Malaysia? As mentioned earlier, this is the main bottleneck and the source of much political angst between the two governments.
But building a new bridge for the MRT without resolving the causeway problem won’t be ideal. It is akin to doing a minor heart surgery without treating the main clogged artery.
The clogged artery must go, eventually. In its place, a new overhead bridge must be built to help resolve many problems in one fell swoop as argued in Cleaning up Straits of Johor good for Singapore too last year.
The working group must work out a holistic plan to improve traffic flow between the two countries. They must take into account all ways to improve road, rail and even sea traffic in the dirty Straits of Johor.
The current causeway chokes the straits and does not even allow boats or sampans to sail from the northwestern coast of Singapore to the southeast side of Johor, without making one big detour.
Another missing link is a high-speed train from KL to Singapore. Will Francis Yeoh build another rail bridge to Singapore? Or will he dig a tunnel under the Straits of Johor?
Sophie’s World hopes that the Singapore-Malaysia working group will triumph over their respective internal politics and come up with a holistic transportation blueprint that will benefit people on both sides of the straits.
Hopefully, such a plan will forge closer ties between the two close neighbours and withstand time.
