A journey of a thousand miles began with a single step; mine started with the day's first public bus at 5.50am to catch the cross-border service Causeway Link CW2 (4.80 SGD or 3.53 USD) between Bugis in Singapore and Johor Bahru in Malaysia.

Let's see if anyone could identify where this is...



In the earlier edition, I took the express bus between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur; this time round I wanted to do everything on trains. Unfortunately, KTM Shuttle Tebrau between Woodlands and Johor Bahru was completely sold out by the time I began my planning in August. It's also impossible to do the same day connection as the first train from Woodlands only departs at 8.30am.

Despite the early hours, there was heavy car traffic leaving Singapore. Thankfully, the buses could use the dedicated bus lane and I cleared both Singaporean and Malaysian immigration within an hour of leaving Bugis.

Too early



Railway in Peninsular Malaysia is mostly operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) and their tickets can be easily purchased online or through their app.

Passengers were only allowed on the platform 10 minutes before departure and long lines had formed before that.


Going down to the platform



Coach B



Good leg space



This KTM train would be the slowest train en-route. In less than a year's time, these diesel-hauled trains will no longer run on this route when the long-delayed electrification and double-tracking project between JB and Gemas is finally complete. I am actually quite excited for the completion as the train travel time between Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur will be reduced to 4.5 hours.

After a middling ride through central Johor, I was happy that our train arrived into Gemas 11 minutes ahead of schedule.

Distance travelled so far: 192km

Gemas is probably best known for being where the East Coast Jungle Line branches off from the West Coast main line. Otherwise it's just a sleepy town of approximately 30,000 located on the border between the Malaysian states of Johor and Negeri Sembilan.

The connecting train to Kuala Lumpur wouldn't depart until 2.5 hours later and I needed to find some lunch.

KFC lunch



With lunch out of the way, I checked out the old Gemas railway station which was converted into a train museum by KTM.



Part of it is now a cafe



The old sign with the elevated electrified tracks in the background



Locomotive 22131 (Limau Kasturi)



Interior - not really well-maintained



Older than me



To be honest, the things weren't that interesting and it took me no more than 15 minutes.

Walking back to the new Gemas station



Similar to the earlier KTM train, we could only board 10 minutes before departure.



Coach B again



Cabin shot



KTM Electric Train Service (ETS) EG9322 runs the entire length of Malaysian electrified track between Gemas and Padang Besar. The ETS Class 93 trains reaches a top speed of 160 km/h, which is one of the fastest service on meter-gauge railway.

Substantially faster than earlier train



Monetizing every space



Stopping at Bandar Tasik Selatan station with Terminal Bersepadu Selatan, KL's main bus station in the background



This train was the shortest ride of the trip at around 2.5 hours and it was over in no time. We arrived in KL Sentral around 3 minutes late at 6.20pm.

Distance travelled so far: 391km

Continuing onward to Padang Besar



I quickly ordered myself a Grab to Fairfield Chow Kit and was checked into hotel by 6.45pm.

Why did I choose this hotel? I was two nights away from hitting Marriott Bonvoy Gold and it was fairly affordable at 267 MYR (~60 USD).

Typical Fairfield room



View from the window



I searched nearby for dinner option and came across Loong Kee.



I went for their signature KL Hokkien Mee. It was just alright; its only saving grace was the fried pork lard.



No visit to KL was complete without a shot of its iconic landmark Petronas Towers.