Federated Malay States Railways - Part 2

The journey from Woodlands onwards were actually a bit boring.  We do stopped at various interesting locations.  The Johore Bahru station is also the new station (no longer at the old one).  I was a bit concerned at first as the Malaysian Immigration did not stamped by Passport.  So I dropped off and asked one of the officers at the JB station.  Kena suan by him say that we already pass immigration and customs at TP liao.  So why need to do it all over again?

Hehe.. A bit mountain turtle feeling.  So what if I lost my immigration card in Malaysia?  Better hold on to that white card as my dear life depends on it.

We slept a bit on the car and actually moved to another carriage.  Ours were a bit warm.  The A/C seems to be leaking.  We found most of the seats to be empty so we just helped ourselves to the coolest carriage and took a nap.  Later we explored the dining carriage.  A bit dissapointed as it only serves tidbits and drinks (at extortion price of course).   So we just bought mineral water and sipped slowly on it.  We actually spent almost an hour at the dining area chatting and observing other people.  The seats in my humble opinion, is actually more comfortable then the one we had.

We discussed about what we plan to do when we reached KL and we actually have a little bet on whether the train will be on time. 

The train continues towards Gemas and thats where we went back to our carriage to sleep.  But this time, surprisingly the flat screen TV was on (each train carraige has a flat screen TV leh.  And it was blasting Malay move (more like propaganda) and KTM's history plus its train's schedules.  The train schedules are actually just slides but its background music is quite interesting.  Bloody Malay traditional music being converted to TECHNO!  Wonder whether its a hit in Malaysia Disco joints anot? hehe

We did reached KL Sentral on time at 3pm and we proceeded to go to the ticket couter to buy our return ticket.  This time we purchased the sleeper carriage which only costs us RM43 each (bloody hell, so much more cheaper then what we paid at Singapore)

The train departure time is 11pm so we had about 8 hours spare time to jalan jalan (take a walk).  We went down to Jalan Petaling to grab out late lunch and took some time to walk around that neighbourhood and visit the old KL train station.  The photo you see is actually taken inside the old station with the 8mm Peleng on my NEX.  Pretty fun lens to shoot with.  You can even see my feet in one of the shots of the train tracks in the gallery.

After that we took a cab to Sungei Wang area to shop around.  We were a bit shacked out actually because we did not get enough sleep last night and also the train ride was pretty exhausting.  We took a break at starbucks and started to people watch.  KL a lot of pretty girls leh :) hehehe..

Anyway, we took off again and head for a SPA around that area.  The SPA facilities not too shabby.  Got facials, massage and even a buffet spread!! So we just showered and get ourselved all cleaned up.  Refreshed and whack the buffet.  Never bothered about the facial and massage though.  After getting oursleves all freshened up.  We took a short walk to Jalan Petaling again to buy some local products before we hit back to KL Sentral.  I also bought 2 Ramlee burgers as a snack on the train.

I actually finished the 2 burgers even before I board the train... hahaha.  Not because I'm hungry but actually bored of waiting.  We were at the station a bit too early and we bought some magazines to keep ourselves occupied.  Photography magazines in Malaysia is pretty cheap wor.. But mostly are just advertisement.

The train was ontime and we boarded the sleeper bunkers.  Pretty cool actually.  Each bed has its own curtain shades and its actually very clean.  Initially I was a bit worried it will be dirty but its actually really very clean.  Mr Dog was actually very happy with his bed and once on board.  We got into sleep mode immediately.  I could not sleep actually due to the fact I have 2 more burgers in my stomach :P  The punishment for Gluttony.  But I just lied there and enjoy my little private space and watched the passing lights and shadows out of the window. 

Its a matter of time that I just dozed off and slept.  The repetitive rocking motion of the train actually helps too.  I woke up in the middle of the night when the train stopped.  It seems like more carriages were added to the train.  We are supposed to be in Singapore TP at 7am.  But around 630, we still have not reached Johore Bahru yet.  We only reached Woodlands checkpoint at around 9am and Mr Dog dropped off from Woodlands because he needs to get back to the office.  I continued onwards and the train stopped again at Bukit Timah for more than 15 mins to wait for a passing train to pass by us (its a single track in Singapore)

I only reached TP at around 10pm and exhausted.  The train ride is actually quite comfortable but the long waiting time is a killer.  Overall, its a very interesting experience and I wouldn't mind taking the train again.  Maybe for the next time, I would try a jouney all the way to Bangkok. :)

Hope you like my little journal.  My gallery is updated with photos of the journey.  Do feel free to browse through them.

Federated Malay States Railways - Part 1

When I heard the news of the exchange of land between Malaysia and Singapore a few months back.  I know I have little time to kind of getting a chance to visit this old train station and try taking a train from this station to Malaysia.

Luckily I had 4 days off last week so I took this opportunity to take a train to KL on Thursday and then back again during the night.  So literally its just a 24 hour trip back and forth.

This may sounds crazy to some but I really like trains.  I think they are elegant and a very efficient transport (in terms of going green).  The thing is that we always heard a lot of negatives comments on the train services and the last time I took the train to JB was during my secondary school days.  And its actually not a very good experience the last time.  Train was late for almost 2 hours.. :P

Nevertheless. I believe this old structure and the railway will be gone soon.  There are already notices at the station informing the closure in end of July 2011.  I will be away from Singapore in December so I guess its the last chance for me to experience the track for one last time. Do I roped in my photo buddy Mr Dog (u saw hime a few times in my travels) to have this little trip.

Pricing wise is crazy.  The price is $34 SGD and $68 for VIP.  All air-conditioned but here's the funny part.  If you buy at TP (Tanjong Pagar).  The price is in SGD.  But if you buy in Malaysia (like JB or KL) Its the exact same amount but in bloody Malaysian Rinngit!!! So for those who want to try the experience and want to save some money.. Maybe you can board from JB instead.  I decided to go ahead as I want to go through the whole process of buying the tickets at the station and board the train at TP.. :P 

I bought the tickets a day earlier and the gentleman at the counter is very helpful.  Do remember to bring more cash.  No nets or credit cards at the station.  The nearest ATM is DBS and its 2 blocks away from the station.  (I learnt my lesson.. :P)

I bought the morning train which leaves TP at 8am.  The ticket mention it will reach KL at 14:56.  We reached there around 6.30am and had our breakfast at the station canteen.  Nasi Lemak and a cup of Kopi.  We board the train at around 7:45am and here's  the funny part.  The immigration for Malaysia (not Singapore hor!!) is at the station and we have to cross the immigration and customs of Malaysia before boarding the train.  I still need to fill out the arrival card.  No stamp was chopped on my passport.  Only on the arrival card and they did not even tear the arrival part. 

The train departed on time and as usual, Mr Dog went to sleep while I enjoyed the scenery.  Its really an old track and not really well maintained.  Technically, we are in Singapore but legal wise, we are in Malaysia.  Very strange feeling... What if the train breaks down and I stepped out of the track... consider me as illegal immigrant anot har?? :P hehe.  Along the way we cross some bridges and I spotted a few homeless people sleeping there.  I was not fast enough to take a picture.  Moving trains and the dirty glass panel is a pain in the ass. 

The train took about 45mins to reach Woodlands checkpoint.  Here all of us got out and have our passport scanned.  They have a waiting area after you finish clearing the Singapore immigration.  Here we wait for the rest of the passengers and they will only open the gates for us to board the train until everyone of us are cleared.  

Below is a GPS snapshot of the track.  I recorded it while I was on the train back from KL.  Will continue part 2 in another post.   Some photos taken during the trip are in my gallery.  Do feel free to browse through them.

View Ktm Railway Track in a larger map

Update on Tuesday, November 9, 2010 at 2:29PM by Fatboi

I've changed the original title of the post as I read one of my reader's comment that the title is not that appropriate.  I did some researched and found that KTM used to be known as the Federated Malay States Railways under the British colonies day.  Think this title will suit this post better :) 

You can read more about this railway here in wikipedia