Shuttle 63dn

The new timetable which I have posted a while back is in operation! This brings greater convenience for passengers from Johor and Singapore as more trains are in operation at good times and the new shuttles are priced cheaper than express trains. I went up last Monday to JB to try the new shuttle back down to Singapore.



Here's my ticket for the trip. It costs me RM3 (about $1.30) only to get from JB to Tanjung Pagar, more than 20km away.



Here's my train, just arrived at JB station. I was the first to clear immigration, and I got to the platform just in time to get this shot.



The shuttle has only 2 coaches attached to the rake. But this is fine since most of the passengers use this service to ravel short distances only.



Since you've seen the interiors of the various coaches already, here's how it feels like to sit in one.



This is Bukit Panjang crossing, just beside Ten Mile Junction.



You won't see this jam come 1 July next year.



This is Gombak crossing, a manual gate crossing where the gate master has to go out on the road to stop vehicles before pulling the gates together to close the road to traffic.



We stop at the loop line of Bukit Timah Railway Station for about 20 minutes for crossing with 12up Ekspres Sinaran Selatan. Here, you see the station master catching the token to clear the line between Bukit Timah and Woodlands.

Also, as you may have remembered, I have blogged about the Denyo PGCs before which looks like those generators you can find at pasar malams. The shuttle uses the Denyo PGCs in order to minimise costs and save diesel. But partly also because they ran out of proper PGCs.



12up passing through the main line.



Here's a shot of passing by Tanglin Halt. Although the halt has been disused for a very long time now, the area around it has been called Tanglin Halt ever since, even up till today. If they ever restored the halt for commuter services, it would serve as a mega interchange for Buona Vista with the East West and Circle Lines.

With the new shuttles, it brings greater convenience to travellers as there would be a departure every 1 to 2 hours during peak times. I hope that they won't be removed again, like what happened to the old shuttles (but with horrible departure times) last year.

Kembara Mahkota Johor Actual Day

We went back up to JB again for the actual day event.



This is JB Sentral, the future railway hub of Johor. The Sultan officiated the opening of the building, and drove the first official train service out of the station.




This is the future ticketing counter for KTM when they move from the old railway station to here. Notice the new logo.

As this is no longer a KTM event, we were not invited by the Johor Government to join in this event. So we decided to catch a taxi to take us to Kempas Baru Railway Station, about 15 minutes away by train to spot the train. Unfortunately, the cab ride took us about half an hour. The meter said RM13.10 but I gave the driver RM15 instead since he didn't rip us off.



Kempas Baru well decorated even though the train will not stop here throughout the 3 days.



24104 being the "scout coach", or rather, locomotive. This is to ensure that the drive for the Sultan will be a smooth one. Also, in any emergencies or if the current locomotive runs into problems, the scout coach will take over the locomotive attached to the rake.



This is the rake for the Kembara Mahkota Johor. Notice the Sultan waving to the rakyat, or the people of Johor.



Shortly after the departure, a locomotive came in and attached to the rake of containers heading to Singapore. The fireman (assistant locomotive driver) was our friend, Sulhan. We wanted to hitch a free ride but we decided to spend just a little bit more time at the station instead.



This is 2up Ekspres Rakyat which was delayed for 2 hours to give way to the KMJ train.




Our ride home is here! This is 15dn Ekspres Timuran which was delayed by about 2 hours because of the KMJ train.



A small preview of JB Sentral.



Our coach plate.



Here's a video of our train passing through Bukit Timah Railway Station.



Here's how my pass might have looked like if I was invited for the actual event.

That's it for the KMJ. There are actually more to blog but I'm worried that it may be confidential. I'll be looking forward to the next KTM event.

New Intercity Timetable effective 1 August 2010

Timetable done by myself.

Have fun planning your next trip!

Kembara Mahkota Johor Trial Run

I was away on 16 June for the annual event as said above where the Sultan of Johor goes out to see his people. This was the trial run where he was on training to get his locomotive driver's license. 4 of us from Singapore were invited to this event.



This is the test train. The train on the actual day (which I will write about in my next post) would have more coaches attached since the entire royal family will be on board.



Dr. Aminuddin Adnan, President of KTMB, inspecting the locomotive.



This is the media pass which all of us were issued. While other people signed in as TV3, Astro, New Straits Times or other news bulletins, we signed in as KTMRFC which stands for the KTM Railway Fan Club.




These are food fit for a King being prepared on board. We were roped in for a taste test to evaluate the new caterer. They've passed our taste test and are now all around Malaysia selling food and drinks to passengers.


Photo courtesy of Fazil.

This is us meeting Dr. Aminuddin. Not the glammest photo of me but, oh well.



We stopped in the middle of nowhere to have lunch. This was named as Kulaijaya halt which will serve only this train on the actual day.



Our buffet spread in the school hall.





This is the interior of the royal coach for the day, also known as Selun Khas 2. A ticket on this would set you back RM4740 from KL to Singapore.



Buffet No. 2 was just beside Rengam Railway Station for some Nasi Briyani. This is inside the town hall.



We're back on the train to continue the journey! Here you can see some staff sleeping since they didn't get the night off, while the others behind are deciding which song to put on next for their karaoke session.



We've arrived at Kluang to try their famous coffee, toast buns and eggs. Too bad they were so good that I forgot to take pictures of it. Here are packets of Nasi Lemak to make you drool though. They are very rich in coconut flavour and definitely at least 10 times beter than the ones you can get in Singapore. 1 packet costs only 70 sen. My friend bought 5 back for dinner on board the train.

We decided to leave from Kluang station to catch the next train back to Singapore. The trial run continued on to Gemas and back to Johor Bahru the next day.



As you can see, we totally downgraded ourselves from the royal train to an economy class seat.



Here's a video of our train passing through Bukit Timah Railway Station. Our driver was so fast that we arrived at Tanjung Pagar 15 minutes ahead of schedule.

I would like to thank KTM Corporate Communications for this opportunity and the free food. The total amount I paid was RM9 for my return ticket home, since I have concession fro the bus to JB.

My next post will be about the event on the actual day. Stay tuned!

A Day In The Life Of A Trainspotter

I began to like trains since... I forgot. I believe I've been liking trains ever since I started remembering things. "/ Well, it started from the MRT and I decided it was getting boring when I was about Primary 3. Since then, I've widened my knowledge throughout the world. Well, maybe not. Just Asia and a bit of Europe and America. But I'll still like the trains there even though I may not know their info.



My usual hangout is at Bukit Timah Railway Station with about 5 of my other friends. For all you muggers out there, it's really near King Albert Park.


Timetables and special notes of various trains.


Station Master's Table


Token System

This place is not for the squirmish. For a start, here's where the toilet is...



... and the tap...



... amongst other things. Let's not go into that.

A train comes every 2 to 4 hours or so. To while away time, we would usually chat with the station master on duty. On other days, we would bring our own model trains and operate them at the waiting hall.



When a train comes, the cameras come out.



It's not advisable to come here without prior permission as the land is Malaysia's. If you would like a permit to the station, do call JB station first, where the head office of the KTM Southern Sector is.

KTM Komuter

Right! Been away for a week due to Mid-Sem Tests but no worries, you'll be getting 2 posts this week.

The KTM Komuter runs on three routes currently, namely the Rawang - Seremban, Pelabuhan Klang (Port Klang) - Sentul & Rawang - Tanjung Malim routes. For the Rawang - Seremban and Pelabuhan Klang - Sentul routes, they run at a 30 minutes frequency during off-peak, and 15 minutes during peak. For the Rawang - Tanjung Malim route, it runs at a 30 minute frequency between 5am to 6am, and 60 minutes thereafter.

You can get the timetable for each route here and the fares here.


This is an 81 Class EMU manufactured by Jenbacher in Austria, delivered in 1995.


This is an 82 Class EMU manufactured by Union Carriage in South Africa, delivered in 1998.


This is an 83 Class EMU manufactured by Hyundai in South Korea, delivered in 1997.


This is a shot of a "Hybrid Train". As some EMUs have broken down and KTM Komuter is facing a fleet shortage, desperate problems call for desperate solution. A generator (PGC) is attached to provide lighting, air-conditioning and other functions needed to operate the train and a locomotive is used to haul the broken down train. These trains operate during peak hours only on the Sentul - Pelabuhan Klang route, so as to achieve the 15 minutes frequency.


Here's the PGC used to provide electricity to the train. The locomotive and PGC is borrowed from KTM Intercity.


This is another type of generator used for the Hybrid Train. This is KTM Komuter's own generator. This is more economical as the train is only 3 coaches long. Whether the train is 1 or 15 coaches long, the PGC burns the same amount of diesel.



The ride on the Hybrid Train is very smooth and quiet as no motors are operational in the EMU. Propulsion is done by the locomotive. Currently, only 82 Class EMUs are used for the Hybrid Train.

To end this post off, since we're learning about new media, KTM Komuter has adopted new media to reach out to commuters. Do visit their Facebook page for service updates.

Next post will be on Sunday when I will talk about my hobby itself.