JOHOR BARU - The Sultan of Johor took to the driver's seat of a train on Sunday (Feb 14), driving it from JB Sentral station to Segamat.

The journey of 180km is Sultan Ibrahim Almarhum Sultan Iskandar's ninth time driving a train, with his most recent trip before this on July 28, 2013, Bernama reported.

Two drivers from Malaysian national railway company Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad were with him on the trip.

The Sultan got his class 26 locomotive driving licence in 2010, according to Bernama.

Johor Mufti Mohd Tahrir Samsudin led a prayer before the Sultan started driving the specially rented six-coach train at 9.45am on Sunday.

His journey was set to end about five hours later in Segamat, after passing through about eight stations, Bernama reported.

The Sultan of Johor also drove the last train to set off from the now-closed Tanjong Pagar Railway Station in Singapore on June 30, 2011.

He said he wanted to drive the very last train to leave the station because his great-grandfather had paved the way for the very first one to rumble in when the Causeway was opened, way back in 1923.