Topic 13: Travelling by Train

Travelling by train is an excellent way to see the Malaysian countryside and many towns in West Malaysia. However if you are pressed for time, you may find the journey by rail from town to town rather slow. (Best option of those with limited time is by bus or coach) There are a number (still few compared to buses) services per day for intercity travel. You can catch the electric train services (ETC) if you travel between Seremban, KL and Ipoh

Trains from Kuala Lumpur International Airport     From Kuala Lumpur International Airport, a fast train, the KLIA Express, takes you to the Kuala Lumpur city centre (KL Sentral terminal) in less than 30 minutes. At KL Sentral, the main railway terminal, there are connecting trains operated by Malayan Railways (KTMB) to Butterworth (Pulau Pinang), Alor Setar (Kedah) and to Arau (Kedah). The journey by train to Butterworth takes more than six hours from Kuala Lumpur and about 12 hours from Singapore .

Trains in Malaysia     In peninsular Malaysia, the KTMB operates over 12 intercity express services daily on weekdays, 18 intercity express services on weekends and eight local train services daily. (most are commuter services with Selangor) There are also services operating from Bangkok, which stop at major towns such as Haadyai (Thailand), Alor Setar, Padang Besar, Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, Seremban, Johor Bahru and Singapore . You can also travel from KL to the east coast of West Malaysia, right up to Tumpat in the state of Kelantan.

You can buy tickets for some train services on-line or make reservations by phone.

Train services by KTM are classified as Express trains, Shuttle Trains and Local trains (multiple stops)