JOHOR BARU, July 30 — Transport Minister Anthony Loke says the Cabinet has approved in principle the Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link project but it is still looking into the cost and other final details.

He said that if the Cabinet gives its go-ahead, then the first process was to set up a joint operation company between Malaysia and Singapore as the RTS involved two separate countries.

Loke, who is the Seremban MP, was hopeful that the RTS project would continue as planned.

He said the project has been delayed for two months due to the 14th general election (GE14) and the formation of a new government.

"Despite the delay, the RTS project will be completed in six years’ time by 2024,” Loke told reporters after the pilot e-testing demonstration at Berjaya Driving Institute in Taman Perling here.

It was reported that the deadline for Prasarana Malaysia Bhd and Singapore’s SMRT Corporation Ltd to form a joint-venture company to operate the Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link has been missed.

The joint-venture company has not been set up by the initially-agreed June 30 deadline, as Prasarana Malaysia suspended discussions with SMRT after the general election in May.

However, Loke stressed that there was no issue with regards to the short delay and Malaysia has communicated with Singapore on the matter.

"The issue of compensation also does not arise as the joint-venture company has not been formed yet,” he said.

On January this year, Malaysia and Singapore signed a legally-binding agreement to build the link.

The cross-border service, slated to start running by end-2024, will connect Johor’s Bukit Chagar and Singapore’s Woodlands North, where it will join the upcoming Thomson-East Coast Line.

The RTS Link will run above ground in Johor and on a 25m-high bridge track across the straits before travelling underground to Woodlands North in the island republic.

The RTS trains will be able to carry up to 10,000 passengers per hour in each direction, translating into an additional capacity of 60,000 users crossing the causeway during peak hours.