I am traveling from Penang to KL. Trying to decide between flying and taking a train. Considering the fly time and logistic involved with flying, train and flight take about similar total time. Business Class for the train is very reasonably priced but not all trains have business class. What do the experts recommend? How is scenery along the train route?

If you can get the express train (which usually only has 2-3 stops between Butterworth and KL) and it has a business cabin, I'd go for that. Do check the George Town - Butterworth ferry schedule. IIRC, it leaves every 30 minutes (on the hour and half past) outside of workday peak hours. Takes about 10-15 minutes to cross the channel and another 5-10 mintues walk from ferry terminal to Butterworth train station. If you are staying in George Town and don't have a lot of bags, I'd recommend taking the ferry across to Butterworth instead of Grab (uber) as traffic on the bridge can be unpredictable and it's a huge detour.

All platinum trains have a business cabin whilst all gold trains do not. Gold trains have more stops including more local stations. The business cabin tend to sell out first before the regular cabin and I'd advise you to book 2 weeks in advance if you are traveling on a weekend; earlier if it's school holidays or long weekend.

If you have time, maybe hop off at Ipoh for a night or two (about half way between Butterworth and KL). It's a nice small city with karst hills and good food (you can also take a day trip to Cameron Highlands if you want).

Do buy your tickets or get off at "KL Sentral" instead of "Kuala Lumpur". "Kuala Lumpur" is the old train station, which is about 1 km closer to the city but not the closest to a public transit.

There are some nice scenery on the train but it's not to die for. Mostly jungles, suburban homes, and oil palm plantations. The ride between Taiping and Ipoh is pretty tho where you'd pass through the main mountain range (and just a bit north of Taiping, you'd cross a huge lake and the train passes through the middle of the lake. Bukit Merah on the map).

If you are flying, maybe fly into KL-Subang (SZB) airport instead of KL International (KUL). Subang is much closer to the city but if you arrive during office rush hours, traffic can be really bad.

Hope this helps.

Did not realize the travel time over the channel can be issue. checked on flights to SZB. They are operated by Batik and Firefly. I believe Batik has fairly good reputation. What about Firefly? Also, how early do I need to arrive PEN for a domestic flight to SZB?

Someone recently (last 45 days) did a Trip Report re: train KL Penang. Check over in that forum.

FY is the LCC of MH and seems fine (uses MH cast-off 737s and ATRs). Flew PEN-JHB early this year while my wife also flew SZB-XSP with FY 5 years ago). Check-in and security rather efficient so maybe 1.5 to be really comfortable (and some of that is leeway for getting to PEN from Georgetown). Batik is the renamed Malindo which for me in the past usually ran a little but not too late (to/from DMK and HKG).

As for SZB (FWIW the former KUL), there is a train station with rail service to KL Sentral across the road (accessed by elevated walkway) though the walk seems rather... unintegrated 5 years ago. Not sure what the current status is. Rail may work better if the schedule fits and its not rush hour and/or raining.

Travel time is usually not an issue. Say if your train from Butterworth leaves at 15:30, you can get the 15:00 ferry from George Town and you'd have about 10 minutes to spare. Do note that boarding closes 2 minutes prior to the train departure (as in the will not let you onto the platform if you are late). I don't know where you are staying in Penang. Unless you are staying somewhere near Bayan Lepas (near the airport and it's an industrial zone), I think the ferry + train has a slight advantage than Grab + plane + Grab/train. Penang traffic can be pretty bad (by Malaysian standards) during evening rush hours to the airport (the area around the airport has tons of semiconductor factories).

Firefly is the LCC arm of MAG as YVR Cockroach mentioned. But they still provide snacks/drinks and 10kg check in luggage allowance on their flights. Batik I believe doesn't provide complimentary check-in bags anymore. Firefly used to have terrible OTP but have since gotten a lot better now that the cancelled a lot of flights that they know they can't operate due to insufficient aircraft. Batik closes 1 hour prior to departure from PEN where as Firefly close 30 minutes for the AT7 (Prop) jet and 45 minutes for the 737 flights. MH closes 1 hour prior to departure if you choose MH to fly to KUL.

Avoid arriving SZB between 7AM and 10AM or 4:30PM to 8PM Mondays-Fridays if you want to avoid rush hour traffic on both sides. If you are arriving outside of these hours, SZB is a breeze.

No longer running as they are building a new terminal at SZB to cater for regional flights. The current SZB terminal is still as it is but they are building a new terminal next to it and soon the current terminal will be replaced with a new terminal. The KTM service was rather irregular, something like 45-60 minutes for a service to KL Sentral. There are also some construction work that has been going on forever on the Klang Valley KTM tracks. I wished they build a spur line from the green (MRT Kajang line) or the red (LRT Kelana Jaya line) to SZB instead.

Thank you so much for such great information.

I am staying at the Edison. Looking at 16:05 train or a mid day flight on October 20th. Business class seat must have been sold out for the mid day train.

I am looking at the 16:05 train and it's actually sold out on 10/20 (unless you already bought a ticket). It's a Sunday and traffic should be a breeze if you are flying or taking the train but Sunday is a popular day for trains heading back to KL.

I looked at the KTM app and it shows 4 seats available but those 4 seats are reserved for wheelchairs/persons with disabilities until 24 hours prior to departure. You need to look for trains with >4 seats to be able to confirm in advance.

Oh Oh.. No I have not booked yet. The rail website allowed me to choose seats and add to cart. I have not yet click through and pay. My husband and I are healthy looking 70+. Would we quality for person with disabilities? Oh well... I will have to book very soon. Otherwise, flying it will be.

Thank you so much for your help.

Hey, thanks everybody for your help. I decided to fly PEN -- SZB. I have learned a great deal from you'all. Next time, I will plan to get train tickets earlier.

Odd. Maybe it was just sold out when I looked at it. You have to show an ID card to book those wheelchair seats (which means you'd have to go to the station and purchase your tickets, so i would advise against it). But those seats are released to the general public 24 hours prior to departure.

I didn't know your age before but I'd say it might be better to take the plane if you are 70+. There are some walking involved with the ferry + train combo.

You are most welcome. Enjoy your trip to Malaysia and let us know how it goes. Those train tickets are usually quite easy to come by if you aren't traveling on a Sunday afternoon to KL or a Friday afternoon leaving KL. Those early morning train (before 0800) usually has plenty of seats as it's not ideal for most travelers.

Really liked Penang and KL. The flight from PEN to KL was quick and easy. Many thanks for the suggestion of using SZB. Definitely saved a lot of time. Batik Air was a little confusing but it all worked out. We had 3 days at each location and wished we had more. Thank you to all who helped.

Will you be writing a trip report?

Interesting question. I am not a picture person and did not take a single picture. Pictures tell better stories than words. I have to give it some thought for my next trip. Thanks for planting the seeds. I have written a review on TA and Google for the Edison. What a wonderful hotel! I am in the process of writing a review for Ceki, a Permekan Restaurant. Because it is a 2/5, I am taking my time to post. It is so much easier when the review and report are all great.

I loved the chaos, the foods, and the old Chinese shop front of Penang. My husband disliked them. He loved KL for its museums, the Grab rides, the central market, and the Grand Hyatt. I dislike KL because it is difficult to walk from points A to B.

I have done the KL-Penang-KL train last Decemeber and just booked it again for this Decemeber. This year there is a faster train called Express (fewer stops), in additon to the Silver, Gold and Platinum services. Both the Platinum and Express have a Business class carriage. It is a good price for Business class. This year I'm on a Platinum northbound train and then an Express southbound. They give a hot lunch and later on a sandwich/tea service. As PEN airport is in the south and most places to stay are in the north of the island, I don't bother with flying. BTW, the business lounge in KL Sentral is closed until an hour (if I recall correcty) before each train.

Here's the website: https://www.ktmb.com.my/ETS.html, it has not been updated to list Express but it is on the timetable (https://www.ktmb.com.my/TrainTime.html).

One thing that I was not expecting last December was that the ticket for the Butterworth to George Town ferry (purchased at the ferry port) was debit/credit card payment only (not cash) - which is annoying as it is very cheap and gets rid of loose change.