The Woodlands Checkpoint is one of the two land border checkpoints Singapore, connecting ground traffic with Malaysia. It services the Johor–Singapore Causeway. The other land border checkpoint services the Malaysia–Singapore Second Link.
Even with the completion fo the Johor–Singapore Causeway in 1924 connecting the Singapore island and the pensular, there was no formal land border checkpoint in Singapore restricting the flow of people between two lands, until Singapore's independence from Malaysia in 1965. This was due to the fact that Singapore and the rest of the Peninsular Malaysia had been under a single soverign control (in form of British colonies, Straits Settlements, and Malayan Union and Japanese occupation during the World War II in Asia), or enjoined in a single political entity (in form of Federation of Malaysia). During these periods of singular external control, the security of Singapore's side fo the Causeway had been nominally ocerseen by the local police authorities. The police would step up its secruity checks as and when the sitation demanded, like during the Malayan Emergency[1][2] or dealing with the aftermath of prison breaks at the prison at Pearl's Hill.[3][4] Generally poeople at both sides of the causeway could travel between Singapore and Johor, ergo Penisular Malaysia freely.[5] Since independence of SIngapore, there have been several replacements of the checkpoint buildings physically to accomdate the growing traffic between the two countries, but they have largely located in the same area.
The indepedence of Singapore from Malaysia on 9 August 1965 necessitated a customs and immigration checkpoint at Singapore's end of the causeway. The process of establishing diplomatic recognitions between Singapore and Indonesia had left Malaysian politicians feeling unease.[6] The era of joint travel visa enjoyed by both Malaysians and Singaporeans would come to an end,[7] and eventually instead of using identity cards for identification purposes,[8] both citizenries would have to use travel documents such as passports to enter either country. Due to new immigration laws, a checkpoint was established at Woodlands to check on all foreigners, except those who held Malaysian identity cards or having special visa arrangments entering Singapore on 2 August 1966.[9]
To fulfil an earlier demand by the Malaysian government that all travellers between the two nations have to use travel documents by 1 July 1967, the construction for a customs and immigration checkpoint for the causeway was completed and operationalised in time for the 1 July 1967 deadline. However, due to a delay of the new requirement by Malaysia, Singaporeans could travel to Malaysia using their identity cards until 1 September 1967. Completed at a cost of S$270,000 (1967) (US$88,200), the double storey checkpoint would replace the current checkpoint located next to it. There were six traffic lanes for incoming traffic and three lanes for outgoing traffic.[10] Services provided at the checkpoint included issuance of Restricted passports.[11]
By 1972, there was a daily average of 18,000 vehicles travelling through the causeway. This led the Public Works Department to widen the causeway from 30 fee to 83 feet, and as well as constructing a new bridge to connect the checkpoint to the causeway.[12] Costing at S$1.2 million (1974) (US$492,435.64), an railway bridge would be constructed as well.[13] The construction would be completed in 1976.[14] The checkpoint itself would also be replaced with an expanded version at about 40 metres south of it to process up to 40,000 passengers a day that's projected for 1982.[15][16] The expanded version would cost S$12 million (1977) (US$4.92 million).[17] The checkpoint would also host five dog kernals which would house narcotics sniffing dogs, which would go on sniffing out more than half of the drugs trafficked through the checkpoint in 1978.[18][19] The checkpoint was opened in two phases, in May 1977 and January 1978.[20] The opening also signalled the implementation of the Exit Control Scheme, which was to prevent visitors to the nation from overstaying. It was not implemented earlier as the previous checkpoint was already at capacity. This checkpoint was declared to be able to cope with the traffic for the next ten years as well.[21]
The checkpoint also saw the introduction of computers with varying levels of success. The initial computers installed by Registry of Vehicles to check the validity of the vehicles were subjected to dusty conditions and were prone to frequent breakdowns.[22] Additional computers were installed and used in 1981, speeding up the process with greater accuracy to check for people on the immigration blacklists, allowing officers to detect 470 people, up from 35 monthly.[23]
By 1987, it was becoming more apparent that the causeway was getting jammed with increasing frequency.[24] Short term works, costing S$13 million (1989)[25] (US$6.67 million), were done on the current checkpoint buildings and fixtures to increase the efficiency of the immigration officiers. Better designed checking booths were introduced in 1986.[26] Existing halls were expanded, with additional clearance lanes being built in 1989.[27][28] However, such short term works were projected to help cope with the traffic only into mid-1990s.[28]
Whilst the current checkpoint was being renovated to deal with the increasing traffic flow in the short term, plans were mooted to redevelop the checkpoint in 1989. These plans took nearly a decade to realised. To aid the redevelopment, an S$34 million (1989) (US$17.43 million) 8.3 ha of land was to be reclaimed from the straits, and this was undertaken by Housing and Development Board.[29] While the redevelopment at Woodlands was ongoing, the opening of Malaysia–Singapore Second Link would provide some respite to the traffic congestion at the causeway.[30][31]
The new Woodlands Checkpoint, built partially on reclaimed land, was opened in 1999 to accommodate the increasing traffic flow and the soot which had enveloped the old customs complex over the years. The old customs complex, built in the early 1970s, at the junction between Woodlands Road and Woodlands Centre Road closed after the new checkpoint was opened in July 1999,[32] although the motorcycle lane remained opened in the morning until 2001, and it had been reopened on 1 March 2008 for goods vehicles only.
The new checkpoint complex also houses the Woodlands Train Checkpoint, opened on 1 August 1998, as the Singapore railway border clearance facility, which was previously co-located with Malaysian immigration and customs at Tanjong Pagar railway station.[33] The relocation to Woodlands caused disputes between the two countries, which was resolved in 2010. On 1 July 2011, Woodlands Train Checkpoint replaced Tanjong Pagar railway station as Singapore's inter-city railway station. Northbound rail passengers pass through co-located border clearance for both countries at Woodlands Train Checkpoint before boarding the train to Malaysia. Southbound rail passengers clear Malaysian exit controls at JB Sentral, and Singapore immigration and customs on arrival at Woodlands Train Checkpoint.