Property near the RTS Link
The RTS Link is not carrying passengers yet. Systems testing is targeted to finish by the end of 2026 and passenger service is targeted for January 2027. Here is every verified project’s distance to Bukit Chagar — with the source of each figure, and where those sources contradict each other.
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Is the RTS Link open, and which projects are near it?
Status first, marketing second.
The RTS Link is not open. As at 2026-08-05 it is not carrying passengers. Civil works are essentially complete and the project is in systems installation and integration testing, targeted for completion by the end of 2026, with passenger service targeted for January 2027. It is a 4 km line with two stations — Bukit Chagar and Woodlands North — and a published end-to-end running time of about five minutes. 10 verified developments have a published figure under one kilometre from Bukit Chagar; three more reach it through the CIQ complex.
- Passenger service
- Not yet runningtargeted for January 2027
- Construction status
- Systems testingtargeted for completion by end-2026
- The line
- 4 km · two stationsBukit Chagar ↔ Woodlands North · about 5 minutes
- Clearance
- Co-located at departureboth countries cleared before you board
What is actually true about the timetable today
The physical railway is close to finished. Reporting through 2026 has described construction as essentially complete and the project as having moved into systems installation and integration testing, with that phase targeted to finish by the end of 2026. Trains have been delivered and dynamic testing has been carried out.
The opening date is the part that has moved. The Malaysian government’s published target has been January 2027; separate coverage has pointed at end-2026 or December 2026 for the start of operations. I am not going to collapse that into one confident date, because the honest position is a target rather than a confirmed timetable, and targets on this project have shifted before.
For a buyer, the practical consequence is smaller than the noise suggests. Almost every development within walking distance of Bukit Chagar completes in 2029 or 2030 — Aethera Residences targets June 2030, Arden February 2030, R&F Princess Cove phase 3 November 2029, Skyline One Sentosa March 2031. Whether the railway opens in December 2026 or in the middle of 2027 changes almost nothing about your handover. What it does change is your ability to verify the thing you are paying a premium for before you complete the purchase, and that is an advantage earlier buyers here never had.
One design point worth understanding, because it is the actual product. Immigration clearance is co-located at the departure station: you clear both Malaysian and Singaporean immigration before boarding, so there is no second queue when you arrive. The “five minutes” you see quoted is the running time of the train. Your door-to-door time is the walk to the station, the clearance queue, the train, and the walk at the other end. Anyone selling you five minutes as a commute is selling you one component of it.
Every verified project, by distance to Bukit Chagar
Each figure is tagged with its source: the developer or a statutory document, my own calculation from coordinates, or “not published”. Where a project’s own sources disagree, it is tagged as a conflict and explained further down.
Walking distance, or reached through the CIQ complex
- Twin Tower Residence @ Bukit Chagar~150 mmy calculation from coordinates — my calculation from the station site coordinates
- Coronade Twins210 mdeveloper / statutory document — developer’s figure · covered overhead bridge under construction
- CTC SkyOne @ Bukit ChagarApprox. 300 mdeveloper / statutory document — CTC’s published figure
- Aethera ResidencesAbout 400 mdeveloper / statutory document — developer’s estimate, covered route
- Shama Suasana @ Suasana Iskandar480 mmy calculation from coordinates — straight line, my calculation
- SKS Pavillion Residences500 mdeveloper / statutory document — developer’s own figure, no independent check published
- Arden Serviced Residence @ One Bukit Senyum600 mdeveloper / statutory document — Astaka Holdings FY2025 annual report
- Gen Sphere @ JBCC700 mdeveloper / statutory document — developer’s figure
- Causewayz Square @ JBCC800 msources disagree — straight line · the developer’s 600 m is to the CIQ, not the station
- Summer Suites Johor Bahru850 mdeveloper / statutory document — developer’s figure, to the CIQ and station together
- R&F Princess Cove Phase 3Inside the CIQ complexdeveloper / statutory document — reached by a 650 m covered link bridge
- R&F Princess Cove Phase 2 — Seine RegionInside the CIQ complexdeveloper / statutory document — reached from inside the development
- Paragon Suites @ CIQBeside the CIQnot published — developer states walking distance, publishes no metre figure
One to five kilometres — a short drive, not a walk
- The Astaka @ One Bukit Senyum~1.2 kmmy calculation from coordinates — straight line from the tower, my calculation
- Setia Sky 88 @ JB City Centre1.35 kmmy calculation from coordinates — straight line · 3.3 km by road
- The Eclipse Johor BahruNot publishednot published — developer says only “within minutes”
- The Asteriaz @ Kebun Teh~2.9 kmmy calculation from coordinates — straight line, my calculation — a drive, not a walk
- The Celestz @ Kebun Teh~2.9 kmmy calculation from coordinates — straight line, my calculation
- Avenue Residences3.5 kmdeveloper / statutory document — developer’s figure
- Veranda Residences (Phase 2)4 kmdeveloper / statutory document — developer’s road figure
- Paragon Gateway4.0 kmmy calculation from coordinates — straight line, my calculation
- Skyline One Sentosa4 km or 4.4 kmsources disagree — the developer’s own site gives both figures
- Paragon Signature Suites4.4 kmdeveloper / statutory document — developer’s own table
- Wave Serviced Apartment @ Marina Cove≈ 4.3 kmmy calculation from coordinates — straight line from the developer’s stated address
- Skypark Kepler @ Lido Waterfront BoulevardUnder 5 kmdeveloper / statutory document — developer’s wording — a ceiling, not a measurement
- Monterra Johor BahruAbout 5 kmsources disagree — developer’s figure · my straight-line measurement is 5.7 km
- Adison Serviced Apartments @ W City Larkinton5 kmdeveloper / statutory document — WCT’s figure
- The Address @ Maxim Pelangi3.0 kmmedia report — StarProperty’s figure, not a developer measurement
- M Grand Minori3.0 kmdeveloper / statutory document — Mah Sing’s own figure
Beyond five kilometres, or not served by the line at all
- The Straits View DUO10 kmsources disagree — developer’s road figure · 6.4 km straight line
- Country Garden Danga Bay6.6 kmdeveloper / statutory document — developer’s figure, not walkable
- Southkey NADI Residences7 kmdeveloper / statutory document — developer’s road figure
- Florian Residences (Vista Tiara)7 kmsources disagree — master page says 7 km, the tower pages say 6 km
- Calia Residences by PGB7.7 kmdeveloper / statutory document — developer’s figure, free shuttle offered
- Amberwood Resort Residences8.5 kmdeveloper / statutory document — developer’s figure, shuttle service promised
- Sky Curve @ Taman Perling9.6 kmmy calculation from coordinates — straight line, my calculation
- Aliva Mount Austin11.1 kmmy calculation from coordinates — straight line, my calculation
- Hillview @ Senibong CoveAt the CIQdeveloper / statutory document — drive and park — no walking route exists
- Eco Tropics Lanna18.8 kmmy calculation from coordinates — straight line, my calculation
- Jasmine 3 @ Meridin East21.6 kmmy calculation from coordinates — straight line, my calculation
- Ponderosa Regency @ Taman Ponderosa5.8 kmmy calculation from coordinates — straight line, my calculation
- The Straits View Garden @ Permas Jaya6.7 kmmy calculation from coordinates — straight line, my calculation
- Parkland By The River @ Permas Jaya8 kmdeveloper / statutory document — Parkland’s figure · 4.9 km straight line by my calculation
- Daya 1 Residences @ Taman Daya9.3 kmmy calculation from coordinates — public parcel record, not a Keck Seng figure
- Mandolin Residences @ Taman Desa Tebrau11.1 kmmy calculation from coordinates — straight line from Plenitude’s own pin; no rail here, you drive
- South Hills @ Seri Alam12.0 kmmy calculation from coordinates — straight line from the developer’s registered gallery pin
- Redhill @ Seri Alam14.5 kmmy calculation from coordinates — two pins in circulation about 1 km apart; measured from the Alam Heights one
- Sentrio Residences 2 (SN13A)≈20.7 kmmy calculation from coordinates — straight line from Scientex’s published coordinate; not an RTS-walkable address
- Aliff Harmoni @ TampoiNot publishednot published — no developer figure exists
- Pine LegacyCannot be statednot published — no confirmed site address
- KSL RiverhausNot published by KSLnot published — Second Link side of the city
- The M Macrolink MediniNot servednot published — the RTS terminates on the far side of the city
- Verte Medini ResidenceNot servednot published — Second Link commute, about 15 minutes to Singapore
- Forest City Nigella ParkAbout 30 min drivedeveloper / statutory document — developer’s figure into the JB city centre
- Riveria Garden @ Wawari — Aluna TerracesDrive and parknot published — no rail serves this township
Where the numbers contradict each other
Six cases from the verified set. None of these is fraud. All of them will mislead you if you compare them against a figure measured a different way.
Monterra — 5 km or 5.7 km
The developer publishes about 5 km to the station. Measured straight-line from the same site I get 5.7 km. The gap is small; the habit of not saying which basis you used is not.
The Straits View DUO — 10 km or 6.4 km
The developer quotes 10 km, which is a road distance. Straight-line from the same address is 6.4 km. Compare that 10 against someone else’s straight-line figure and you will rank the two projects backwards.
Florian Residences — 7 km or 6 km
The same developer’s master project page says 7 km and its individual tower pages say 6 km. When one developer cannot agree with itself, ask for the coordinates.
Skyline One Sentosa — 4 km or 4.4 km
Both figures appear on the developer’s own site. It also quotes a five-minute RTS ride where press coverage says six minutes.
Causewayz Square — 600 m to what?
The 600 m everyone quotes is the developer’s distance to the CIQ. The station itself is 800 m straight-line. Two different destinations, one number in circulation.
CTC SkyOne — a station figure but no CIQ figure
CTC publishes about 300 m to the station and states walking access to the CIQ without a metre figure. Its own material also gives the station coordinates, which is exactly the right way to let a buyer check.
How to verify any distance claim in ten minutes
This is the whole method. It works for the CIQ, the station, a school or a hospital.
Get real coordinates
The project’s registered coordinates or Plus Code — not the sales gallery address, which is often on a different site entirely.
Fix the destination
Bukit Chagar station sits at approximately 1.4665 N, 103.7623 E in public rail records. The road CIQ is a different point. Decide which one you actually mean.
Measure the straight line
A degree of latitude is about 111,320 m; a degree of longitude is 111,320 m times the cosine of your latitude. Or use the measure-distance tool on any map.
Then walk it
A straight line does not cross a six-lane road, wait at a junction or climb a kerb. You do. Check whether a covered or overhead link exists, and whether it is built or merely proposed.
Ask for the source
Annual report, APDL, brochure or agent’s summary — these are not the same class of evidence. Arden’s 600 m comes from Astaka Holdings’ FY2025 annual report. Ask for that level.
Weigh the shelter, not just the metres
In this climate a covered link changes behaviour more than two hundred metres does. Coronade Twins has a covered overhead bridge under construction; R&F Princess Cove has 650 m of covered bridge already built. Ask whether a proposed bridge is funded.
Frequently asked questions
Is the RTS Link open yet?
No. As at 5 August 2026 the Johor Bahru–Singapore Rapid Transit System Link is not carrying passengers. Civil construction is essentially finished and the project has moved into systems installation and integration testing, which is targeted for completion by the end of 2026. Passenger service is targeted for January 2027.
If a page, a brochure or a sales agent tells you the RTS is running, that material is out of date and you should treat everything else on it with the same suspicion.
When will it actually start carrying passengers?
The stated target is January 2027. That target has been the Malaysian government’s published position since it was announced, and it was restated in April 2026 press coverage; separate coverage has floated end-2026 and December 2026 as the operational start. I am giving you the range rather than pretending there is a single confirmed date, because there is not.
What matters for a buying decision is that almost nothing within walking distance of Bukit Chagar completes before the railway is due. Aethera Residences targets June 2030, Arden targets February 2030, R&F Princess Cove phase 3 targets November 2029. You will be able to watch the line operating for two or three years before you take keys. That is a genuinely better position than the buyers who bought here in 2019.
How long is the ride, and where does it go?
It is a 4 km cross-border line with exactly two stations: Bukit Chagar in Johor Bahru and Woodlands North in Singapore. End-to-end running time is about five minutes.
The design feature that matters more than the five minutes is co-located immigration clearance at the departure station — you clear both countries before you board, so there is no second queue on arrival. A “five minute” claim in a brochure describes the train, not your journey. Your journey is the walk, the clearance queue and the train.
Which projects are genuinely walking distance to Bukit Chagar?
10 have a published figure under one kilometre: Twin Tower Residence at about 150 m, Coronade Twins at 210 m, CTC SkyOne at about 300 m, Aethera Residences at about 400 m, Shama Suasana at 480 m, SKS Pavillion at 500 m, Arden at 600 m, Gen Sphere at 700 m, Causewayz Square at 800 m and Summer Suites at 850 m.
Three more reach the station without a metre figure because the station sits inside the CIQ complex they connect to: both released phases of R&F Princess Cove, via a 650 m covered link bridge, and Paragon Suites @ CIQ, whose developer states walking access but publishes no distance. Everything else on this page is a drive.
Why do two sources give different distances for the same project?
Usually because they are measuring different things and neither says so. A road distance follows streets; a straight-line distance is a line on a map; “minutes” is a claim about traffic. The Straits View DUO is the clean example — its developer quotes 10 km to the station, and measured straight-line from the same address it is 6.4 km. Both are defensible. Neither is comparable to the other.
Sometimes it is simply inconsistency inside one developer’s own material. Florian Residences gives 7 km on its master page and 6 km on its tower pages. Skyline One Sentosa’s own site gives 4 km in one place and 4.4 km in another, and quotes a five-minute RTS ride where press coverage says six.
And sometimes the figure is to a different destination entirely. Causewayz Square’s widely quoted 600 m is the developer’s distance to the CIQ, not to the station — the station itself is 800 m in a straight line. That is not dishonest, but if you compare 600 m here against 700 m somewhere else you have compared two different journeys.
Does “600 m to the CIQ” mean 600 m to the RTS station?
Not necessarily, and this is the single most common substitution in Johor Bahru marketing. Bukit Chagar station sits beside the road checkpoint complex but it is not the same point, and the difference is a couple of hundred metres on several projects.
Ask the question explicitly: is this figure to the road CIQ, to the station concourse, or to the station entrance you would actually use? Then ask which document it comes from. On this page every figure carries its source for exactly that reason.
Will the RTS push property prices up?
I am not going to give you a percentage, because nobody can source one honestly for a line that has not opened. What I can show you is the gradient that already exists. In my verified set, the stock closest to the station carries the highest published bands — Aethera Residences runs to RM4,288,000 and Arden starts at RM1,078,000 — while stock four kilometres out starts at RM348,653 at Paragon Gateway.
That gradient predates the railway. It is a city-centre premium, and part of the RTS expectation is already inside it. Anyone quoting you a specific post-opening uplift is guessing, and you should ask them for the source.
I want to be in Medini or Forest City. Does the RTS help me?
No. The line terminates at Bukit Chagar on the eastern side of the city, and there is no station anywhere on the western side. The M Macrolink Medini’s own material states plainly that it is not served. Verte Medini Residence sells a Second Link commute of about fifteen minutes on the developer’s own figure.
If you are buying on the western side, the RTS is not part of your case and you should not pay for it. Your crossing is Tuas. I set out how the city splits on the Johor Bahru property guide.
How do I check a distance claim myself, in ten minutes?
Five steps. One: get the project’s registered coordinates or Plus Code, not the sales gallery address. Two: take Bukit Chagar station at 1.4665 N, 103.7623 E from public rail records. Three: measure the straight line — one degree of latitude is about 111,320 m, and a degree of longitude is 111,320 m multiplied by the cosine of the latitude. Or just use the measure-distance tool on a map. Four: walk the route, or at least look at it in street view, because a straight line does not cross a highway and you do. Five: ask the agent which document the published figure comes from.
That last step is the one that separates a figure from a claim. An annual report and a brochure are not the same class of source — Arden’s 600 m comes from Astaka Holdings’ FY2025 annual report, which is a filed document.
Related guides
Each written from the verified project files, not auto-generated.
Send me a project and I will measure the distance properly
Coordinates, straight line, road route and whether the covered link actually exists — plus the current price list. If a developer’s figure does not hold up, I will tell you that instead of repeating it.
No agent fee payable by the buyer on new developer launches
Louis Koh
11 years in Malaysian property · Johor Bahru & Kuala Lumpur new launches · English & 中文
I work with cross-border buyers from Singapore and with local investors. When a project does not fit what you actually need, I say so — that is usually worth more to you than another brochure.
Published 2026-08-05 · RTS Link status described as at this date: not in passenger service, systems testing targeted for completion by end-2026, passenger service targeted for January 2027. Programme dates are set by the governments and operators and have moved before — verify the current position before you rely on it. Distances are tagged with their source on this page. This page is marketing information, not an offer or a contract.