I have always wanted to travel by train all the way to Bangkok from Kuala Lumpur. As the E&O express is way way too expensive for a peasant like me, I decided to do it the cheap way on KTM and SRT, the state railways of Malaysia and Thailand.
Seat61.com was the source of valuable information in planning this trip. The trip was divided into the following portions - Kuala Lumpur to Butterworth on KTM and Butterworth to Bangkok on SRT.
There were two options for me from Kuala Lumpur. First was to take the Ekspres Langkawi that leaves Kuala Lumpur every night for Hadyai before joining the International Express from there or take the Ekspres Rakyat to Butterworth and take the SRT International Express.
I decided on the latter as the Ekspres Langkawi does not have the first class cabin anymore and it would entail a long transit in Hadyai.
From July 2015, the options would increase and make it a lot faster once the Electric Train Service from Kuala Lumpur to Butterworth comes online with a travel time of around 3 and a half hours. This would allow a morning departure and a short transit in Butterworth before taking the SRT International Express.
The first class ticket was purchased online from the KTMB website. I decided to board at the old Kuala Lumpur station as this option would not be possible anymore from July 2015. It's also nicer as I get to wait on the platform and watch trains instead of waiting in the boring holding area of KL Sentral station.
The train arrived a good 15 minutes behind schedule. Most of the time the Indian made YDM locomotives would be hauling this service but on this particular day, a class 25 locomotive was on duty.
The one and only first class or Premier coach was really showing it's age, even though the seats had been given new upholstery, they were in bad shape. My seat tray table was stuck and could not be use plus my window had a condensation problem, so my view was obscured.
Old but comfortable
Deprived of my main source of entertainment...looking outside
There were many areas where the speed was restricted due to track repairs and so by the time we arrived in Ipoh, the train was already 30 minutes late.
Complimentary refreshments
Passengers in Premier class were served a complimentary bottle of water and a donut. A restaurant coach was also available but it was hot and stuffy as the air-conditioning wasn't working plus there was nothing worth buying and of poor quality.
We managed to arrive at the Butterworth station on time at 2220hrs, completing the first leg of my trip.
The station is a long walk of about 1 km to the ferry terminal. I however arranged a pick-up at the station to take me to my hotel on Penang island for a good nights sleep.
As I was a solo traveler, I wanted to travel first class on the train to Bangkok, however first class tickets are not sold in Malaysia. First class is only available from Hadyai. So I made a booking for a single occupancy first class cabin from Hadyai to Bangkok through a travel agency recommended by the seat61 website - www.asia-discovery.com, as SRT does not have an online booking facility.
The booking was easy and efficient with the ticket sent by DHL to me in KL at an extra charge. So for the Butterworth to Hadyai sector, I bought a reserved second class ticket from the Butterworth station. This is a more costly option but secures myself a seat.
If you purchase a cheaper unassigned ticket on the day of travel, you will have to buy one to Padang Besar and another from there to Hadyai during the long transit.
The new Butterworth station is not an example of a user friendly facility. One has to walk up and down many flights of stairs. First from the front porch/lobby up to the first floor. Later it's down again this time from the waiting area to the platform.
If coming from the ferry terminal, you have to navigate up stairs, then walk across a bridge before descending again. Walk a few meters to the lobby before going up again as mentioned earlier. There are lifts but when a train load of passengers arrive, it can take forever for one's turn. So the other option, is to carry your luggage up and down.
This the long stairs from the waiting area down to the platform.
There is however a nice air-conditioned waiting room which has a water fountain and a power socket to recharge your phone.
Relaxing in the waiting room
The incoming train from Bangkok arrived 55 minutes late and it was a huge rush to get us on the train as fast as possible and we managed to depart on time.
Class 24 locomotive on duty
The second class coach
If you book the upper bunk, you get the forward facing seat
While not 100% full, the passengers were an interesting mix. A group of young guys who were traveling to Bangkok to buy cheap T-Shirts for sale later in Malaysia. A young Malaysian born Aussie, who was on holiday in Penang but all her friends were busy with their work, so she bought a ticket to Bangkok but planned to get down at the first station that she found "interesting" and go on an adventure. There were the western backpackers "searching" for the meaning of life in Asia, the group of noisy Malaysian senior citizens on a tour to Thailand, the backpacker who was in dire need of a shower and the young couple looking forward to a romantic getaway at Hua Hin.
As the train raced across the north Malaysian countryside of paddy field and kampungs, the train staff came around taking orders for dinner that would be served during the long transit in Padang Besar. I was starving by this time as I hadn't had lunch yet. He also distributed immigration cards for Thailand and even had pre-paid SIM cards for sale. He spoke a fair bit of English, Bahasa Malaysia and of course Thai.
The very spacious seats
Paddy fields of Kedah
About 2 hours after leaving Butterworth and stopping at Bukit Mertajam, Sungai Petani and Alor Setar, we pull into the border town of Padang Besar. The train will stop for around one and a half hours. Passenger can leave their bags onboard and just take their passports for Malaysian immigration exit check before proceeding to Thai immigration entry processing. Once done most passengers board the train to cool down in air-conditioned comfort away from the sweltering heat. Someone also comes onboard offering to change currency to Thai Baht. I am sure the exchange rate isn't that good.
Once back in my seat, dinner was waiting and the staff offered coffee and tea to go with the meal. Meanwhile, some catch forty winks, while others gather on the platform and start to chat with one another. A brave group even went into town to shop for food before returning to the train.
Scorching heat at Padang Besar
Killing time by taking selfies
Crispy Chicken, cashew chicken with rice
Fruit and Coffee/Tea, all part of the set meal
The restaurant coach and staff coach waiting to be attached to the international express
Once the Ekspres Langkawi train arrives from Hadyai, the Thai railway locomotive that brought it, will take the restaurant and staff coach and attach it to the two waiting passengers coaches from Butterworth.
The staff will clear up dinner and disembark and a new set of crew will take over. This set had very limited English. They then started to offer dinner (again!) that would be served after Hadyai.
Attaching the restaurant and staff coach to our passenger coaches
Made by Hitachi and delivered in 1993
Once the locomotive was attached, we were ushered on board and off we headed into Thailand. An open gate just after the station marked the border. An hour later we pulled into Hadyai's platform 2. The staff coach was detached and moved forward before reversing into platform 1. The restaurant coach, two passenger coached no 9 and 10 were taken by another locomotive and attached to the rear of the waiting train on platform 1. The train is schedule to have a 20 minute stop but as we were late, just minutes after the last three coaches were attached we departed.
I meanwhile had relocated to coach no 2, which is the first class coach.
The long and narrow
In day mode
The staff come around this time to offer drinks and meals for sale. You could also eat at the restaurant coach but it felt stuffy and not very comfortable. The food are freshly cooked and came in large portions. Worth the money and to Asian taste.
The restaurant coach
About an hour after leaving Hadyai, the coach attendant asked if I would like to have the seats turned into beds. As I was traveling alone, he only made up the lower bunk. Dinner was later served in my cabin and it was a good set meal that filled me up.
Once done with dinner I took a walk to the back of the train to explore the train and also chat with the other passengers. There is also a special coach with facilities for passengers who have mobility issues. Well done to SRT for having such facilities.
Special lifts for wheel chair passengers
The coach for passengers in wheel chairs
Once back in my cabin I soon fell asleep but kept waking up due to the jerky ride. By about 4.30am I gave up trying to sleep and just relaxed in bed watching the sun slowly rise.
Waking up to such views is simply priceless
Around 7 am the staff came around taking breakfast orders and once again I stuffed myself. The western breakfast wasn't that good but I still cleaned the plate!
By the time we arrived at Hua Hin, we were a good 2 hours late.
By the time we reach the outskirts of Bangkok, the train was traveling at a painfully slow speed for about an hour before pulling into the majestic Hua Lamphong railway station.
I love old stations like this, they give you a sense of "arrival". They were the grand gateway of their era. Grand landmarks of the city they stand in.
Finally a short rest for this locomotive
I truly enjoyed this journey by train. Sure it was a long one compared to a 2 hour flight but it is by far the more interesting way to travel.
Since getting home, I keep wishing I could this all over right away.
I made a video of the trip and click below to watch.
Thank you so much for reading and visiting my travel blog.
The Bangkok-Kuala Lumpur is an interesting sector as there are a few airlines that cover this sector as 5th freedom flights. This gives travelers the chance to try short regional flight with non-regional airlines that normally would entail a long haul flight into a short 2 hours sector.
I decided to give Ethiopian Airlines a try as I have never flown them before and they operate the route with the B767's, an aircraft type that I have yet to fly on.
Booking was done online, it was simple and easy, so was the check-in. Turned up at BKK airport and was greeted by the friendliest group of counter staff. I was told that I was the only passenger joining the flight.
BKK departure level
Happy that they have checked-in the one and only passenger from Bangkok
I had time to quickly find the hidden and much recommended food court located at level 1. It was teeming with people.
The Magic Food Point Food Court
Once inside, went to the counter and purchased coupons. 100Baht of coupons should be enough for one person. Most meals cost between 50 to 90 Baht and I had a plate of fried rice noodles and a Bahn Mi sandwich.
Very busy with travelers and staff
Once done with security and immigration, I wandered around the huge duty free area before heading to gate F4 when I saw the aircraft taxi in about 20 minutes late.
ET-AMF
The aircraft, ET-AMF started life with Belgian airline Sobelair in 2000 until the airline ceased operations in 2004. It then moved to Hainan Airlines until 2007.
In 2014, it was operating Ethiopian Airlines flight ET702 from Addis Ababa to Rome when it was hijacked during the flight by the co-pilot .
The co-pilot waited for the captain to go to the toilet so he could lock him self in the cockpit. The flight continued to Geneva, Switzerland were it landed about 06:00.
The co-pilot then climbed down from the cockpit window using the emergency escape rope and surrendered to police. He was unarmed and requested asylum in Switzerland as he feared persecution in Ethiopia.
Gate F4
Once cleaning was completed, I was personally invited to board and I was, as expected, the only passenger to the join the other 18 to 20 other passengers who were on transit. Not a single crew welcomed me or said anything as I walked into the cabin and made my way to the back and my seat at 32A.
The aircraft was showing it's age of 15 years. The cabin had a musty smell and was hot. My seat, while it had great legroom, could not return to full up right position, so I changed to another seat 35A.
There was a safety card and an air-sick bag in the seat pocket, nothing else. No magazines, entertainment or duty free sale booklets. There however some left over amenity kits and headphone from the previous sector on some seats.
The content of the seat pocket
The crew offered newspapers, before the doors were close and announcements were made. The safety video was screened on the overhead monitors, before we took-off about 1 hours late.
The 4 ladies that were taking care of economy were unfriendly but were not rude. They just did or said what was necessary and nothing more.
I tried a few times to engage them in conversation but they seem uninterested and even refused request for a photograph except for one, which looked like the most junior.
During the flight a Cantonese movie was screened on the overhead monitors.
Meal service was the only saving grace in the whole flight. The meal was substantial with a choice of chicken served with rice or fish with a creamy sauce. The tray had a Thai salad, cheese & crackers, passion fruit mousse and butter & bread roll made up the rest of the meal. The fish sauce was a tad too salty for me but otherwise a good meal. The crew offered wines, soft drinks, juices and later coffee and tea.
Fish option
The only real minus for me was the rather old aircraft that wasn't well taken care of. The call chime and lights would go on and off repeatedly by themselves for up to 5 minutes a few times during the flight. The TV monitor screens were "off-colour" and the cabin had a musty smell. The seats feel like they have reached their "use by" date. The service by the cabin crew was reserved at best with no attempt at all to go beyond the required.
I was glad however to see that the crew were enforcing the safety requirements strictly.
Would I fly with them again? Maybe but they are not on the top of my list.
A video of trains passing the Bangsar LRT station in Kuala Lumpur. At this one spot you will be able to see KTM Intercity and commuter trains, the KLIA express trains from the airport and the LRT trains of the Kelana Jaya line
Last December 2014, the Malaysian east coast experienced the worst flooding in more than 4 decades which resulted in huge damage. One of the biggest lost was for the Malaysian railway company KTMB. The line which is referred to as the East Coast line or by tourist as the Jungle Line (my post about the jungle line) is currently closed for the next 12 months at least. Oddly the KTMB website does not have any notice in English for travelers about this closure. So if you plan to travel between Gemas and Tumpat, it's not possible at the moment.
photo by Hambali Parjan
photo by Hambali Parjan
photo by Hambali Parjan
photo by Hambali Parjan
photo by Mohd Rosdi Ariffin
The following stations were damaged or destroyed -
Chegar Perah, Merapoh, Gua Musang, Limau
Kasturi, Bertam Baru, Kemubu, Dabong, Bukit Abu, Manek Urai and Kuala
Krai. Besides the stations, tracks and bridges were also wiped out.
Eight locomotives, 19 passengers coaches, one buffet coach and four
power generation cars were also lost in the flood waters. I have re-posted
some photos taken from social media here to give you an idea of the
devastation
Photo by Inspektor Asraf
At the end of February recovery of the stranded locomotives and rolling stock began. They will be transported by road to the various workshops on the west coast for repairs.
Photo by Mohd. Hafiz Othman
More details of the repairs is not clear but I will post information when the line is reopen for the benefit of those who would like to make a trip on the the jungle line.
