Sentral-Woodlands
I think we've all heard stories about how the Malaysian railway system is (for the lack of a better word) crap. On my recent trip to Singapore, I put that to the test.
I've not been on a normal train for ages now. The Electronic Train Service (ETS) which I ride home to Ipoh every now and then doesn't really count. If Malaysia's train network consisted of nothing but ETS, I reckon they'd bankrupt a lot of bus companies, but I digress.
On my way to Woodlands, I experienced my first night on-board a sleeper train.
While the on-board toilets looked like latrines from the 1940s, I'd say that it was surprisingly pretty comfortable. The overnight sleeper train is perhaps the most time-effective way to travel, since you practically sleep the whole journey and by the time you wake up you're already in Woodlands.
My trip back from Singapore, however, is a whole other story.
Sleeper trains only run at night so if you take the one in the daytime you only get seats. The train that we got was a really, really old train that quite frankly looked like it might have fallen apart at any moment. The carriageways between the cars had rusted so badly that some of them had completely collapsed, leaving gaping holes on the floor.
And the best thing?
Even though I supposedly paid my ticket to sit in an air-conditioned class, the bloody air-conditioning broke down five seconds after leaving Woodlands. Needless to say, it was boiling hot.
Now imagine sitting in there for eight hours and you begin to get the idea of what a semi-torturous ride it was.
Not all of it is bad though. Besides improving your geography tenfold (Layang-Layang anyone?)You do get to meet a whole bunch of people on the train. If you're going to be stuck in a train for a prolonged period the least you can do is to strike up a conversation with the person next to you.
I spent half my afternoon talking to a dude who works with the ground crew at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal. My travelling buddy, on the other hand, met a female teacher who used to study at INSTEP.
All in all, I'd say there still is a future for railway in Malaysia. It's quite a shame no one pays any attention to it. Some major improvements are needed, that's for sure, but I think if KTM can take that extra bit of effort to modernize (just like it has done with ETS) then people will definitely use it.
I've not been on a normal train for ages now. The Electronic Train Service (ETS) which I ride home to Ipoh every now and then doesn't really count. If Malaysia's train network consisted of nothing but ETS, I reckon they'd bankrupt a lot of bus companies, but I digress.
On my way to Woodlands, I experienced my first night on-board a sleeper train.
While the on-board toilets looked like latrines from the 1940s, I'd say that it was surprisingly pretty comfortable. The overnight sleeper train is perhaps the most time-effective way to travel, since you practically sleep the whole journey and by the time you wake up you're already in Woodlands.
My trip back from Singapore, however, is a whole other story.
Sleeper trains only run at night so if you take the one in the daytime you only get seats. The train that we got was a really, really old train that quite frankly looked like it might have fallen apart at any moment. The carriageways between the cars had rusted so badly that some of them had completely collapsed, leaving gaping holes on the floor.
And the best thing?
Even though I supposedly paid my ticket to sit in an air-conditioned class, the bloody air-conditioning broke down five seconds after leaving Woodlands. Needless to say, it was boiling hot.
Now imagine sitting in there for eight hours and you begin to get the idea of what a semi-torturous ride it was.
Not all of it is bad though. Besides improving your geography tenfold (Layang-Layang anyone?)You do get to meet a whole bunch of people on the train. If you're going to be stuck in a train for a prolonged period the least you can do is to strike up a conversation with the person next to you.
I spent half my afternoon talking to a dude who works with the ground crew at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal. My travelling buddy, on the other hand, met a female teacher who used to study at INSTEP.
All in all, I'd say there still is a future for railway in Malaysia. It's quite a shame no one pays any attention to it. Some major improvements are needed, that's for sure, but I think if KTM can take that extra bit of effort to modernize (just like it has done with ETS) then people will definitely use it.
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