Intra-city train not linked to MRT

06 July 2011 , By The Star

The proposed intra-city commuter train to be set up in the state will not be directly linked to the Mass Rapid Transport (MRT) system in Singapore, said Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman.

Abdul Ghani said Metropolitan Commuter Network (MCN) had proposed that the existing Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) infrastructure be used for the project.

“Due to this, it will be impossible to directly link the train to the MRT system,” he said in reply to Dr Boo Cheng Hau (DAPSkudai) at the Johor State Assembly yesterday.

He said that apart from setting up an intra-city commuter train, MCN had also proposed to create a link to Woodlands in Singapore, but the project had yet to be approved.

“The state government supports the idea but approval is needed from the Land Public Transport Commission and the Federal Government before implementation,” he said in reply to Datuk Samsol Bari Jamali (BNSemarang).

On another matter, Abdul Ghani said the authorities had detained 7,750 illegal immigrants from January 2010 to May this year.

“We also recorded 1,331 illegal immigrants were involved in criminal activities for the stipulated period,” he said.

He added that they were from Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nepal, China, Myanmar, the Philippines, Pakistan, and the Middle East.