Singapore-Malaysia land VTL may involve rail next, but car trips won’t happen so soon: Gan Kim Yong

• Singapore is exploring allowing train travel under the travel lane for vaccinations at the recently announced land border
• Officials from both countries will review production capacity weekly based on public health conditions
• Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong says traffic in the Causeway is unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels

SINGAPORE – Next, the Vaccinated Lane (VTL) between Singapore and Malaysia may be extended to the train crossing, but it may take longer to allow travellers to cross the Causeway by car or other form of private transport.

Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong said it may be some time before land traffic between the two countries returns to pre-pandemic levels.

He made the comments at a news conference on Wednesday (Nov 24) evening, hours after the governments of Singapore and Malaysia announced that a controlled number of vaccinated travellers could pass through the Causeway from next Monday. transit.

In the first phase, around 1,500 travelers will enter each country on 64 designated buses per day without the need for quarantine.

“We started with the bus because, as you can imagine, it’s easier to manage, the capacity is more manageable, and there’s a reservation system,” Mr Gan said. He had just held a video conference with his Malaysian counterpart, Senior Minister Azmin Ali.

“So we can actually decide how many people to allow through based on the number of times the bus is going to go through.”

Mr Gan also said it may take longer to allow travellers to travel across the Causeway by car or other form of private transport because, unlike trains or buses, they do not have a fixed capacity.

“If we do, there will also be some form of reservation system or registration system so we know how many people are going each day,” he added.

“So the current focus is really on buses, and the next step might be trains between the two places.”

Singapore and Malaysia are also connected by a train route between Woodlands and Johor Bahru operated by Malaysian rail operator KTMB.

Mr Gan said officials on both sides wanted to increase the capacity of bus travel on a weekly basis, but this would have to depend on whether the Covid-19 situation in both countries remained stable.

“We’ve also discussed that it may not be possible for us to return to our pre-pandemic situation, where we may have more than 100,000 people crossing the Causeway every day.”

He added that officials will gradually open up the program, allowing ordinary travel so more people can travel.

Under the arrangement, which will begin next Monday, travelers must be citizens, permanent residents or long-term pass holders of the country they enter.

Before the pandemic, more than 300,000 people crossed the Causeway every day, making it one of the busiest land crossings in the world.

May combine travel arrangements in the future

Currently, workers can travel between Singapore and Malaysia through regular commuting arrangements.

Under this route, travelers entering Singapore must work there for at least 90 days before being eligible to return to Malaysia. They will also be given a 7-day stay-at-home notice.

Unlike the Travel Lane program, travelers do not need to be fully vaccinated to travel through this route.

Mr Gan said the regular commuting arrangement would remain in place for now, but added that the Singapore government may merge the two travel arrangements to make it more convenient for workers once the process of the carriageway plan has stabilized.

He added that the existing arrangements for cargo drivers to enter Singapore will remain unchanged. Cargo drivers entering Singapore from Malaysia through the Tuas and Woodlands checkpoints must undergo a rapid antigen test or present proof of vaccination.

Mr Gan said Singapore authorities expected increased travel demand during the Lunar New Year celebrations in February next year, when families traditionally hold reunion dinners.

He reiterated that, taking into account the public health situation in both countries, the capacity of the travel corridor will be gradually increased.

“Keep in mind that as we expand the VTL, we do want to see (Covid-19) cases come through,” Mr Gan said.

However, as travelers must be fully vaccinated, the government expects the cases to have limited impact on healthcare facilities.

“So my message is that I would urge Singaporeans to be patient. I know that many Singaporeans really want to visit your family, relatives or friends in Malaysia,” he said.

“We need to do this step by step in a safe way.”