By Motomi Sakai, Toyo Keizei Shimbun, 27 May 2023
EDIT: WEF December 2025, the Electric Train Service (ETS) will be extended to JB Sentral, located in the heart of Johor Bahru City Centre. Currently, it takes 11 hours to get to Kuala Lumpur from Singapore by train, with transfers required at JB Sentral then to Gemas. With the ETS extension to JB Sentral and then the RTS link to Singapore's Woodlands North, one can expect to take around 5 hours to travel to KL Sentral from Singapore. Provided if the border procedures and waiting or transfer times are short enough.
To read up more on this, please click on the link for my commentary article here.
Today is day 11 of Chinese New Year. I came across this article regarding KTMB and the train system in Malaysia, in Japanese by Toyo Keizei News. It describes the modernization of KTMB trains that an average Japanese person does not have any clue about.
Link of article: https://news.livedoor.com/article/detail/24312786/
Article Translation:
The ETS 92 series express train enters Kuala Lumpur Station, which still retains traces of the British colonial era (photo by author)
Recently, the railway industry in Southeast Asia has been attracting attention. Starting with Laos being connected to China by railway, a tourist train using express trains that once ran in Hokkaido is now operating in Thailand. And in Indonesia, where used Japanese trains run, the opening of a high-speed railway is approaching. While various railway topics are being talked about in ASEAN countries, the railway situation in Malaysia, located in the center of Southeast Asia, does not seem to be getting much attention.
A long time ago, backpackers heading to Asia would often say, "Let's take the Malayan Railway from Thailand to Singapore." However, the current situation of Malaysian railways has changed significantly since then.
New express trains run smoothly
Conventional railway lines running through Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore, generally have a track gauge of 1m.
Malaysia's railway business is primarily run by the Malaysian Railways Board (KTMB). It opened in 1885 during the British colonial period, and currently has a total length of 1,641 km. Traces of the British colonial era can still be seen everywhere, most notably Kuala Lumpur Station in the center of the capital, Kuala Lumpur, and the adjacent KTMB headquarters building. Both are strongly influenced by the culture of the Muslims, who make up just under 70% of Malaysia's population.
The Kuala Lumpur Station building incorporates Islamic architectural style (photo by editorial department)
The current railway hub is KL Sentral Station, about 1km west of Kuala Lumpur Station. It is a major terminal where the commuter train "KTM Commuter" and the express train "ETS" (the acronym for Electric Train Service) arrive and depart. Electrification began in 1995 in the suburbs of the capital region, and the sections were extended afterwards. In 2010, the ETS was introduced as the electrified sections were extended. It can be said that KL Sentral is one of the most modernized railways in Southeast Asia.
All of the country's railway lines are Y-shaped.
The western line is called the West Coast Line, and runs from Padang Besar, the junction with Thailand, to JB Sentral (JB is short for Johor Bahru), just north of the Singapore border. The line from Padang Besar to Gemas, the Y-shaped intersection, is double-tracked and electrified, and construction is underway to double-track and electrify the section from Gemas to JB Sentral.
While modernization has progressed, there are no longer any direct trains between Kuala Lumpur and JB Sentral, which previously existed. This is because the electrified section only goes as far as Gemas, and the ETS train cannot go beyond that. There is a passenger train called KTM Intercity that runs between Gemas and JB Sentral, but there are no direct trains to Kuala Lumpur. The line has been cut off by electrification.
However, recently, during local holidays, there are special passenger trains that run from KL Sentral to Padang Besar and even across the border into Thailand. Since there are usually no opportunities to ride a sleeper train from Kuala Lumpur, sleeper tickets sell out quickly whenever a special train is operated.
On the other hand, the other side of the Y, the East Coast Line, runs from Gemas to Tumpat in the north. This line is a single-track, non-electrified line, and is not as modernized as the West Coast Line.
Are you taken aback by how modern it is?
Among the stations along the line, the aforementioned Kuala Lumpur Station and Ipoh Station, known as the food capital of Malaysia, still use colonial-era architecture, while many stations, such as Taiping Station and Butterworth Station on the opposite side of Penang Island, have modern station buildings built in conjunction with the double-tracking project.
Butterworth station platform. ETS (left) and KTM Commuter are parked there (photo by author)
Ipoh Station, which still retains the atmosphere of the British colonial era (Editorial photo)
On the other hand, the vehicles are very modern, especially in electrified sections. The ETS electric express train has two models: the 91 model made by Hyundai Rotem of South Korea and the 93 model made by CRRC Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co., Ltd., and operates at a maximum speed of 140 km/h. KTM Commuter's current fleet also mainly consists of six-car trains introduced after 2012.
For example, if you travel from Thailand to Malaysia by land on a diesel locomotive-hauled passenger train, you will be surprised to see many new trains parked at the huge station. Padang Besar, the border station, is served by ETS trains from Gemas and Kuala Lumpur, and the KTM Commuter commuter train runs between the station and Butterworth, about 170 km away.
Even now, many people take the train journey from Thailand to Singapore via Malaysia, but those who want to experience the old "Malayan Railway" journey may be surprised by the Malaysian railway, which has become too modernized. The passenger train "Tebrau Shuttle" operated by KTMB runs to Singapore, but the train journey ends at Woodlands Checkpoint Station, just a 5-minute ride from JB Sentral along the causeway connecting the two countries.
So, are there any trains that allow you to enjoy the atmosphere of the old "steam train journey"?
What's unique is the night train that runs directly from JB Sentral Station in Johor Bahru to Tunpat on the east coast, at the right end of the Y, once a day. The diesel locomotive-hauled train also has sleeper cars, making the 16-hour train journey enjoyable. Incidentally, Tunpat borders Thailand to the north, but there is no rail connection between the two countries, as they are separated by a river.
A passenger train bound for Tumpat waiting to depart at JB Sentral Station. Sleeper cars are also attached (photo by author)
What happened to the high speed rail plans?
The route generally understood in Japan as the "Malayan Railway" runs from Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, to Singapore, along the west coast of the Malay Peninsula facing the Indian Ocean. As the electrified sections are concentrated along the west coast, this can be said to be the railway route that supports the backbone of Malaysia.
However, construction is currently underway on the ECRL, a railway line that will run from Kota Bharu near Tumpat on the east coast, across the peninsula, and ultimately to Port Klang, Malaysia's largest trading port, located on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. This new line is being built by China. It may not seem to contribute much to Malaysia's transportation needs, but for China, the railway is important in securing a "way out" from the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea without passing through the Straits of Malacca.
Meanwhile, the introduction of Japan's Shinkansen and the idea of a high-speed railway between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, which was once discussed, seemed to have disappeared for a time, but now the governments of both countries are continuing to consider reviving the discussion on construction. Separately, at the Malaysia-Singapore border where many commuters pass every day, the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link Project (RTS) is under construction with the aim of opening at the end of 2026. Although this is a high-speed railway, it is a commuter line, and this will see the light of day as a concrete result.
For Japanese people, Thailand and Singapore are familiar overseas travel destinations, but Malaysia seems to be less well known, especially in terms of rail travel. Although it has changed a lot from the old-fashioned "railroad trip," it would be interesting to enjoy the scenery of the tropical rainforest from the window of a modern train.
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(Motomi Sakai: UK-based journalist)
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