3-hour jam at Woodlands Checkpoint as Malaysians head home early for CNY

Malaysians in Singapore made an early return to their hometowns, resulting in a three-hour-long jam for some commuters at Woodlands Checkpoint on Friday (Feb 13) evening.

With Chinese New Year this year falling on Tuesday (Feb 17), many embarked on their journey back home on Friday after work, reported Shin Min Daily News.

According to traffic conditions shown on the Checkpoints.sg mobile app at about 5.30pm on Friday, the time taken to reach the Johor Bahru (JB) checkpoint from Woodlands was estimated at around 155 minutes, increasing to 210 minutes by about 7.15pm. A tailback was also spotted on the Causeway.

At about 9.45am on Saturday, the time taken to reach JB was estimated at between 110 and 135 minutes, reported Shin Min.

It was the same scene for commuters taking public transport.

One commuter, surnamed Ma, told Shin Min that he took around three hours — double the usual time — to reach JB from Woodlands on Friday night. Ma, 45, who works in F&B, said two hours were spent just queueing for a bus to cross the Causeway.

Netizens in online community groups shared about the human congestion at Woodlands Checkpoint on Saturday morning, with one traveller posting a photo at about 7.50am showing a large crowd after clearing Singapore customs.

"Happy Valentine's jam day," wrote the traveller.

The congestion appeared to persist for at least another hour, with another Facebook user showing a similar situation at around 9am.

A commenter noted that she made the crossing to JB at about 6.50am, with the entire journey taking about one hour and 10 minutes.

Another photo taken at about 11am showed that the crowds had dissipated by then.

Smooth traffic towards JB on Sunday

Checks on the Checkpoint.sg mobile app by AsiaOne just after 10am on Sunday morning showed traffic to be relatively smooth on the Causeway towards JB.

A jam, however, was spotted in the direction towards Singapore, with the time taken between checkpoints estimated at 40 to 60 minutes.

At the Second Link near Tuas, traffic towards JB was also clear, but a trail of cars were spotted in the direction towards Singapore, with the time taken estimated at between 15 and 25 minutes.

Commuter traffic towards JB was also reportedly smooth, according to members of the Woodlands Checkpoint Human Traffic Facebook group.

A short queue for buses at the Woodlands Checkpoint was seen in a photo posted at about 8.50am. 

Another photo posted to a separate group showed near-empty lines for buses at 6.30am.

"All by today already reached their kampongs. Already reunion," wrote one Facebook user explaining the smooth traffic.

Gridlock expected for Chinese New Year period

Singapore's Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) had earlier warned that those heading into Malaysia via the Woodlands and Tuas land checkpoints are expected to face severe congestion and prolonged waiting times during the upcoming Chinese New Year peak period from Feb 13 to 23.

The ICA added that it will also conduct intensified checks against the smuggling of contraband, such as e-vaporisers and bak kwa during the festive period.

In another update on Feb 12, ICA and the Traffic Police stated that they will be stepping up traffic enforcement operations at Woodlands Checkpoint from Friday (Feb 13) to the first day of the Chinese New Year on Feb 17.

The operations are aimed at deterring and detecting motorists who commit traffic violations such as speeding, "and engaging in queue-cutting" at the checkpoint, according to the joint statement.

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candicecai@asiaone.com