Train
travel in Singapore & Malaysia
|
Route map |
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Taking the train is the
safe, comfortable, cheap and traditional way to travel independently
between Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Penang & Bangkok. It's
environmentally-friendly, too, compared to unnecessary short haul
flights. Singapore-Kuala Lumpur takes 6 hours on one of two
modern daytime trains or 8 hours on a time-effective overnight sleeper
train, from just $9 or £5 one-way. Singapore to Bangkok is a
wonderful 1,249 mile overland journey, it takes about 48 hours
including an afternoon free in KL and a morning spent in Penang,
departures are daily, and it costs a bargain £33 ($50) one-way
including comfortable sleeping-berths with fresh clean sheets. You
change trains at Kuala Lumpur and Butterworth (Penang), and of course
you can stop off to see Kuala Lumpur or Penang as long as you like, or
catch the ferry to Ko Samui or the bus to Phuket or Krabi.
You leave
from the faded colonial grandeur of
Singapore's 1932 art deco mainline station, rumble slowly
over the famous causeway and on into Malaysia, over a railway built by the British
and mainly single-track, past palm plantations and jungle. In
Kuala Lumpur, trains now use the modern KL Sentral station, but those
going north from KL still pass through the famous old
Moorish-style station. Trains in Malaysia & Thailand
run on metre-gauge track, narrower than European standard gauge.
This page
will explain everything you need to know, including train times,
fares, what the trains are like, and how to buy tickets.
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Sponsored links:
Singapore - Kuala Lumpur - Penang - Bangkok
The train trip from Singapore to Bangkok is 1,946 km or 1,249 miles
and involves 2 or 3 separate train rides, depending on where you want
to stop off and change trains. I'd recommend stopping off at
Kuala Lumpur and Penang, both fascinating cities. So stage 1 is to take a train from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur,
choose between two modern air-conditioned daytime trains or an
overnight sleeper train. Stage 2 is from
KL to
Butterworth (linked by frequent ferry to Penang),
with a choice of two daytime trains or an overnight sleeper.
Stage 3 is to take the 'International
Express' leaving Butterworth at lunchtime and arriving in Bangkok next
morning.
It's entirely up to you whether you do this journey all in one go in 48
hours or stop off and see places on the way, as each train is booked
and ticketed separately. All 3 trains can be booked at any railway
station in Malaysia or Singapore, or by
email with Malaysian Railways. There is a detailed map of train
routes in Malaysia on the Malaysian Railways website, www.ktmb.com.my.
It's not difficult to read the timetable below! Each column is a
separate train, and you read downwards. You can buy tickets for
any train, between any two stations. So for example, in the
second column you see that train number 2, with 1st & 2nd class seats,
running daily, leaves Singapore at 07:40, stops at Johor Bahru, Gemas,
Tampin, calls at Kuala Lumpur at
14:19, stops at Ipoh and finally arrives at Butterworth (for the Penang Ferry) at 21:35.
You could change trains at KL onto train 8. Or you could stay on
board till Butterworth, stay overnight and catch train 36 to Bangkok next
day. It's up to you...
Singapore ►
Kuala Lumpur ► Penang ► Bangkok
|
|
Train number: (read the
notes below) |
4** |
2 |
8 |
6 |
170 |
36 |
12 |
|
Facilities on board (see the
explanation below): |
1,2 |
1,2 |
F,S,2,3 |
1,2 |
2,3 |
S |
L,S,2 |
|
Days of running: |
daily |
daily |
daily |
daily |
daily |
daily |
daily |
| Singapore
(Keppel
Road station) |
depart |
- |
07:40 |
- |
15:30 |
- |
- |
21:00 |
| Johor Bahru |
depart |
- |
08:28 |
- |
16:19 |
- |
- |
22:13 |
| Gemas |
arr/dep |
- |
11:24 |
- |
19:14 |
- |
- |
02:18 |
| Tampin
(for
Malacca) |
arr/dep
|
- |
12:15 |
- |
20:06 |
- |
- |
03:30 |
| Kuala Lumpur (Sentral)
Change trains |
arrive |
- |
14:19 |
- |
22:05 |
- |
- |
06:00 |
| Kuala Lumpur
(Sentral) Change trains |
depart |
09:15 |
14:19 |
20:45 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| Ipoh
(for Cameron
Highlands) |
arr/dep |
12:10 |
17:31 |
00:12 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| Butterworth
(linked
by ferry with Penang) |
arrive |
15:55 |
21:35 |
05:50 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| Butterworth
(linked
by ferry with Penang) |
depart |
- |
- |
06:05 |
- |
- |
14:20 |
- |
| Alor
Setar (for Kuala Kedah &
Langkawi ferry) |
arr/dep |
- |
- |
08:23 |
- |
- |
16:33 |
- |
| Arau
(for Kuala Perlis &
Langkawi ferry) |
arr/dep |
- |
- |
08:58 |
- |
- |
17:08 |
- |
| Padang Besar (Thai
frontier) |
arrive |
- |
- |
09:47 |
- |
- |
17:42 |
- |
| Hat Yai
(for bus to
Phuket or
Krabi)
(Thai time) |
arrive |
- |
- |
10:20* |
- |
- |
18:38 |
- |
| Hat Yai |
depart |
- |
- |
- |
- |
14:18 |
18:55 |
- |
| Surat Thani
(for ferry to
Ko Samui
&
Koh Tao): |
arrive |
- |
- |
- |
- |
19:45 |
23:21 |
- |
|
Chumphon (for ferry to
Koh Tao): |
arrive |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
02:10 |
- |
| Hua Hin |
arrive |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
06:01 |
- |
| Nakhon Pathom
(for
train to River Kwai) |
arrive |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
08:50 |
- |
| Bangkok
Hualamphong Station |
arrive |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
10:50 |
- |
Key to classes:
L = Deluxe sleeper (Premier Night Deluxe), 1 or 2-bed compartments with private
shower & toilet, air-conditioned.
F = 1st class sleepers (Premier Night
Standard), 2-bed compartments with
washbasin.
S = 2nd class sleepers (Superior Night), upper & lower berths with
curtains for privacy, air-conditioned.
1 = 1st class seats (Premier). Quite luxurious,
reclining, air-conditioned.
2 = 2nd class seats (Superior).
Comfortable,
air-conditioned.
3 = 3rd class seats (Economy). Modern & fairly comfortable, but basic.
* = Only one 2nd class sleeper & seats car runs to/from Hat Yai.
The 1st class sleepers only run between Kuala Lumpur, Butterworth & Padang Besar.
** = Trains 3 & 4 have been suspended from 17 March 2008 until further
notice, so please use other trains until or unless they reinstate this
one.
All times shown in local time (remember that
Thailand is 1 hour behind Malaysian time!).
Customs & passport formalities leaving
Singapore.
Please check times before you travel at
www.ktmb.com.my,
as they change from time to time.
See notes by train number below.
Fares How to
buy tickets
Map
of train routes in Southeast Asia
Weekly luxury train Singapore-Bangkok
Hotel accommodation
Bangkok ►
Penang ►
Kuala Lumpur ► Singapore
|
|
Train number:
(see notes below) |
35 |
41 |
7 |
5 |
1 |
3** |
11 |
|
Facilities on board (see
explanation above) |
S |
2 |
F,S,2,3 |
1,2 |
1,2 |
1,2 |
L,S,2 |
|
Days of running: |
daily |
daily |
daily |
daily |
daily |
daily |
daily |
| Bangkok (Hualamphong
Station) |
depart |
14:45 |
-
|
-
|
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Nakon Pathom
(for
River Kwai train)
|
depart |
16:04 |
-
|
-
|
- |
- |
- |
- |
| Hua Hin |
depart |
18:11 |
-
|
-
|
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Chumphon (for ferry from
Koh Tao) |
depart |
21:47 |
-
|
-
|
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Surat Thani
(for
Ko Samui
&
Koh Tao) |
depart |
00:46 |
08:11 |
-
|
- |
- |
- |
- |
| Hat Yai |
arrive |
05:54 |
12:27 |
-
|
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Hat Yai (bus connection from
Phuket
or
Krabi) |
depart |
05:54 |
-
|
14:50* |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| Padang
Besar (Malaysian frontier) |
depart |
10:00 |
-
|
17:50 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| Arau
(for Kuala Perlis &
Langkawi ferry) |
arr/dep |
10:40 |
-
|
18:26 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| Alor
Setar (for Kuala Kedah &
Langkawi ferry) |
arr/dep |
11:20 |
-
|
19:06 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Butterworth
(linked
by ferry with Penang) |
arrive |
13:45 |
- |
20:55 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Butterworth
(linked
by ferry with Penang) |
depart |
- |
- |
21:45 |
- |
07:00 |
10:40 |
- |
| Ipoh
(for Cameron
Highlands) |
arr/dep
|
- |
- |
02:11 |
- |
10:48 |
14:43 |
- |
| Kuala
Lumpur (Sentral) Change trains |
arrive |
- |
- |
06:10 |
- |
13:58 |
17:45 |
- |
| Kuala
Lumpur (Sentral) Change trains |
depart |
- |
- |
- |
08:15 |
13:58 |
- |
21:10 |
|
Tampin
(for
Malacca) |
arr/dep |
- |
- |
- |
10:03 |
16:14 |
- |
23:39 |
| Gemas |
arr/dep |
- |
- |
- |
10:56 |
17:07 |
- |
00:52 |
| Johor Bahru |
arrive |
- |
- |
- |
13:48 |
20:11 |
- |
|
