Before the Train Ride

I have always dreamt of riding in a train. I am not sure what triggered the dream but I could still see clearly in my mind how watching Before Sunrise made the dream stronger than ever. As much as I want to meet a stranger in a train, who after the train ride will be more than just an ordinary acquaintance but a real, dear friend, I know quite well that the dream would never ever transpire if I will not think, even at the very least, of riding into one at all.

 

 

 

Before going to Singapore, I realized that this time was a good opportunity to try riding one. Not only that I have been reading a ton of web pages that offer stories about their train experience from Singapore to Bangkok days before then but I was also bound to travel with my mom and brother, which although nullifies the possibility that I will be meeting a stranger in a train, was in reality, made the dream safer and reachable to pursue and was more convenient since I already have the needed company.

 

Prior riding, you have the option to buy your tickets through:

1. online booking (website or email)

2. phone booking (you could call the KTM Call Center locally at 1-300-88-5862 or +603-2267-1200 for overseas)

3. visiting ticketing counters of KTMB

 

I advise you to get the tickets way before your scheduled date of trip rather than getting one on the day of your trip itself so that you could still choose your preferred seats/sleepers and so you could also spare yourself from the inconvenience of having to found out that there are no more tickets available.

 

If you decide to either buy or collect your tickets from the Singapore station or if ever you have decided to start your train trip from the Singapore station, the amount you’ll be paying for the tickets will be the same amount as that of the Malaysian ringgit amount but with Singapore’s currency (RM30 –> S$30). Basically, this makes the price of the ticket double as what you should be paying if you are to buy the tickets through ticketing counters in Malaysia or if you are to start your journey in Malaysia.

 

 

This particular station in Tanjong Pagar will be nearing its close down since a new station in Woodlands, which is found in the northern part of Singapore and obviously closer to Johor Bahru, is now under construction and will be operating on the third quarter of 2011. Despite the unreasonable pricing they have for their tickets here, you might as well visit the station, if you happened to be here, for its historical value. The easiest way to get here is through an MRT ride to Tanjong Pagar Station.

 

 

We made our way to Johor Bahru, Malaysia through the Causeway link found at the bus terminal along Queen street corner Cheng Yan Pl. Queen Street is in parallel to Victoria Street and could be easily located as it is just a walk away from Raffles Hospital and Bugis MRT Station.

 

Aside from this, you could also board bus #170 from Kranji MRT to Larkin Bus Terminal and bus #160 from Jurong East Interchange.

 

The cost of our bus ride is S$2.40 each. It will only take about 30 minutes, at the very least, to get to Johor Bahru Railway Station excluding immigration procedures and bus waiting.

 

 

We bought our tickets from the new and modern Johor Bahru Railway Station and decided to go for the Johor Bahru – Malacca (Tampin Station) – Kuala Lumpur (KL Sentral) – Penang (Butterworth Station) adventure since that would already mean access of two UNESCO World Heritage sites (Malacca and Penang) in just a single trip.

 

The one-way trip to Butterworth Station, excluding the trip from Tampin to Kuala Lumpur since we opted to just ride the bus from there because of convenience in our part, cost us only RM 201 all in all (RM 67 for each of us). The amount already includes a train ride from Johor Bahru to Tampin in a 2nd class sleeper and a train ride from KL Sentral to Butterworth station in a 2nd class seat.

 

So this is it for now! I will be posting my train ride experience anytime soon. Just stand by!