ISKANDAR PUTERI, June 22 — The Johor government is looking to develop the Johor Baru Light Rail Transit (JB-LRT) in an effort to overcome congestion and integrate the transportation system in the city centre.
Johor Public Works, Transport and Infrastructure Committee chairman Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh said the move was to complete the transportation network in the city centre and to aid in the movement of the cross-border Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) passengers, which is expected to operate in early 2027.
He said the JB-LRT will be one of the most effective systems to overcome the issue of congestion in the city.
"The Johor government has received many suggestions to create an LRT system in Johor Baru, not to mention that such a system is suitable to be developed in urban areas and is under consideration.
"So far, the state government has agreed to conduct an LRT feasibility study in Johor Baru city in the near future,” said Mohamad Fazli during a media conference at the Johor state assembly in Kota Iskandar here today.
Mohamad Fazli said the state government is keen on the results of the feasibility study to see which areas are suitable for the construction of the LRT, including its stations.
He added that densely populated areas with high populations will be given priority.
"The study does not only involve the Johor Baru city, but also Pasir Gudang and Iskandar Puteri as well as Kulai which are all in the Johor Baru area,” he said.
Mohamad Fazli, who is also the Bukit Pasir assemblyman, said for a start, the Johor government will establish a Public Transport Integration Committee in Johor Baru to study the construction of the JB-LRT.
He said the committee would also design an integrated transportation system to ensure that the flow of passengers using the RTS is interconnected, thus overcoming the issue of congestion in the city centre.
"Among the transportation systems that will be integrated with the proposed RTS are bus systems including the Muafakat Johor Bus and commercial buses, the Iskandar Malaysia Bus Rapid Transit (IMBRT) system, the Gemas-Johor Baru electric double-track project (ETS) and the proposed JB-LRT development.
"In addition to that, the Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) will also be planning to develop a centralised parking at Plaza Seni and Danga City Mall,” he said.
On the RTS, Mohamad Fazli said, the construction of the project’s infrastructure has reached 17 per cent until May 30 and is expected to be completed by December 2026.
He explained that the RTS Link is an LRT service that has a line of four kilometres per hour, one-way.
"This can also encourage people to start moving away from the use of private vehicles to public transportation,” he said, adding that it would further help reduce traffic congestion at the Johor Causeway which is also one of the busiest border crossings in the world.
