26 December 2025
As 2026 is fast-approaching, I would say that 2025 has been quite an eventful and promising year, especially as a train otaku. This is because across the world, new train routes has been opening left and right as well as new rail vehicles being introduced as an improvement from their previous generation counterparts. However, there is one particular news that caught my eye regarding rail transportation as it would impact on how I travel to KL.
Since 12 December, the ETS (Electric Train Service) has been running 4.5 hours direct services twice per direction daily along the 330km line between KL Sentral and JB Sentral after electrification and double tracking works are completed along the 192km Gemas-JB section, which is an improvement in the scene of rail transportation in Malaysia.
As a train otaku, hearing this news had definitely made me felt happy because I can finally take the train directly to KL from JB. Even without a direct connection to Singapore, I still felt that the ETS option is more viable than flying despite having to first cross the causeway to JB before making the trip to KL. This is because flying involves having to get to Selatar or Changi AP two hours prior to my hour-long flight for check-in and also getting to KL city center from KLIA or Subang AP via grab or public transport after my flight and airport and immigration procedures. So, flying between Singapore and KL also does not save much time as compared to taking the ETS.
Before the ETS was extended to JB, passengers wishing to travel by rail had to take a diesel-powered train to Gemas before continuing their journey up north with the ETS, which was unpopular because it was quite cumbersome and would took upwards of 11+ hours just to get from JB to KL and beyond. This is especially the fact that if I were to make the journey from Singapore instead, I would have to...
- make the journey to Woodlands Train Checkpoint from elsewhere.
- take the Shuttle Tebrau to JB Sentral (5 mins)
- take the Ekspres Selatan (Southern Express) diesel train to Gemas
- finally take the ETS to KL Sentral. All of which adds to the travelling time.
During this time, taking a long-distance bus is therefore more popular as it directly takes passengers between the same cities for shorter travelling times averaging 5 or 6 hours with different boarding and alighting locations available depending on the operator.
Few years back, there was a plan for a high speed train linking Singapore with Kuala Lumpur with a direct non-stop service taking 90 minutes. However, due to changes in the Malaysian government in 2018 and 2021, the plan was scrapped, then put on hold, and then scrapped much to my disappointment because it would have been an opportunity for more seamless travel between the two cities.
Despite that, as of now, travelling by the ETS is still convenient, in which the combo involves taking the Shuttle Tebrau from Woodlands Checkpoint to JB Sentral before continuing the journey via ETS to KL Sentral, all within 5 hours. By end-2026, it would be even more convenient the RTS link between Woodlands North and JB Sentral will be completed as it will be connected to the Singapore MRT network unlike the existing Woodlands Train Checkpoint.
However, it still can't compare with the now scrapped HST because the ETS will stop at 15 stations between KL Sentral and JB Sentral with only 140km/h operating speeds while the HST allows seamless travel at 320km/h despite offering a domestic + shuttle combo between 8 stations in just 135 minutes according to the original plan.
