On Sunday, the 19th of June 2022, the train service between Malaysia’s Johor Bahru Sentral station and Singapore’s Woodlands station resumed operations, with about 70,000 tickets reported as sold. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tebrau Shuttle service was discontinued for two years on the 24th of March 2020.
According to Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong, the restart of service was well-received, with over 70,000 tickets sold in one month. He noted that the action will assist in minimising congestion on the Causeway.
“We are only aiming for 240 people (one trip) in the first week because we need to look into and arrange certain things like MySejahtera and other features,” Dr Wee explained at a press conference.
“When it is completely operating, we expect 7,000 passengers to be able to use this service every day,” he added.
Dr Wee was accompanied by Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi, KTM Chairman Musa Sheikh Fadzir, and Group Chief Executive Officer Rani Hisham Samsudin at the flagging down of the Tebrau Shuttle in Johor Bahru.
Onn Hafiz thanked the Ministry of Transport, KTM, and everyone engaged in the restart of the Tebrau Shuttle service.
“Seeing the restoration of shuttle service after it was discontinued for two years and the people have been waiting since,” he remarked.
“It can help the state minimise road congestion and the ticket sales for one month alone that reached 70,000, indicates a huge demand,” he added.
Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority stated in a Facebook post on Sunday that the restart of operations at the Woodlands Train Checkpoint implies an extra mode of travel for land border crossings.
“ICA has worked with Malaysian authorities to resume this service to provide shuttle train passengers with a seamless and safe immigration clearance experience,” it said.
Every day, Tebrau Shuttle runs 31 trips between JB Sentral and Woodlands, including 18 journeys from JB Sentral to Woodlands and 13 journeys from Woodlands to JB Sentral. During peak hours, the frequency is 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, ticket listings appearing on KTM’s website for one month from 19th June to 18th July appear sold out during peak timings due to the conclusion of the Singapore school holidays and the long Hari Raya Haji holiday weekend from JB Sentral to Woodlands.
JB Sentral services begin at 5 am and conclude at 10.45 pm, while trains at Woodlands operate from 8.30 am to 11.45 pm.
