Partial commencement of Cross-Border Railways Act 2018 from 14 September 2020

29 September 2020

The Cross-Border Railways Act 2018 (“Act”), with the exception of certain stipulated provisions, came into operation on 14 September 2020. The Act was gazetted on 19 April 2018.

By way of background, the Cross-Border Railways Bill (“Bill”) was referred to a Select Committee after its second reading in Parliament. Parliament had invited written representations on the Bill for the consideration of the Select Committee.

The two key purposes of the Act are stated to be to support the planning and construction of the upcoming cross-border railways and put in place the necessary regulatory framework to ensure safe and secure cross-border railway operations.

Two key cross-border railway projects are currently underway, namely, the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (“HSR”) and the Johor-Singapore Rapid Transit System (“RTS Link”) projects. The Land Transport Authority aims to meet the targeted completion of the RTS Link by end-2024 and the HSR by end-2026.

Reference materials

The Act is available on Singapore Statutes Online website sso.agc.gov.sg by clicking here.