All aboard: Hundreds take electric train from JB to KL on first day of service

JOHOR BAHRU – Ms Nau Ay Choo and her two siblings from Johor Bahru had been planning a long-awaited family reunion with their parents and two other siblings in Kuala Lumpur since celebrating Chinese New Year together in February.

They had originally booked seats on the locomotive train to Kluang to meet their parents who reside there, before boarding the electric train service (ETS) to KL – the “old-fashioned way”.

But when the first ETS trip from JB Sentral to KL Sentral went on sale a few days ago, the family bought the tickets in a heartbeat. It turned a more convenient option into a shared historic journey.

“We don’t meet each other often, even though we stay in JB… but finally, we plan this trip to experience the ETS, which gets everyone relaxed. We don’t have to drive, just sit peacefully and then meet my sister in KL.

“I think with this new ETS, we’ll have reunions like this more often,” said the 57-year-old logistics executive.

Ms Nau was among the hundreds of passengers who boarded the

first ETS trip

from JB to KL on the morning of Dec 12, in a milestone for rail travel in Malaysia.

In JB Sentral, the waiting zone was abuzz as passengers arrived as early as 7.30am to take the sold-out train that left the station at around 8.40am. Another service will leave for KL Sentral at 4.20pm.

Passengers were also seen taking selfies and spotted wearing matching T-shirts with train designs. Some queued up for ETS merchandise, and took commemorative photos at a booth.

When the gates opened at 8am, passengers scanned their e-boarding passes at the gantries and were greeted by cabin crew clad in yellow uniform.

Staff of Malaysian train operator Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) handed out goodie bags containing wooden replicas of the train tickets to mark the historic occasion.

The ETS is the latest extension of the Gemas-JB electrified double-track rail project in Johor.

The long-awaited train service by KTM will cut travel time between KL and JB to around 4.5 hours, from five to seven hours by car or bus.

Malaysian business owner May Law, 54, and her seven friends – all in T-shirts bearing the ETS rolling stock that were sold as merchandise in the morning – were among the early birds in JB Sentral.

“We are going to take the train to Kluang and then come back to JB for a short day trip just to try out the new train,” Madam Law said. The group met in a fitness dancing class more than a decade ago.

Singaporean Esnu Halim from Woodlands said the ETS will change the way he travels to KL, where he has another place, as well as return to his family’s hometown in Kelantan. He was with his daughter and son aged 16 and 15.

“Our home (in Singapore) is just in Woodlands so it’s much easier to take the train,” said the 44-year-old. He added that he usually travels via motorcycle or plane.

KTM said that as at 5am on Dec 9, all tickets for the first train out of JB on Dec 12 were fully sold, except for a handful of seats for people with disabilities.

It added that 409 passengers had booked tickets for the train, including 115 non-Malaysians.

A normal one-way fare from JB or KL starts from RM82 (S$27). Business class tickets start from RM153.

Tickets are on sale via the KITS Style mobile app, KTM kiosks and the operator’s official website. Fares for travel up to end-May 2026 are now available.

Another passenger, Malaysian homemaker Ida Marican, 47, felt that the ETS ticket prices may be too expensive for locals compared with taking local express buses or driving a personal vehicle.

“But the ETS will benefit students who study outside their hometowns the most, because they can make use of student discounts,” she said, pointing to how two of her sons are now studying in KL.

One of them will be returning home to Johor on the first train out from KL Sentral on Dec 12.

Monash University student Bryan Chan, who was on his way home to KL from an exchange programme in Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, said the ETS is an affordable alternative compared with taking a plane.

“I was trying to get plane tickets and the price was RM300, RM700. And I still have to take the train from KLIA to the city or take a Grab,” said the 22-year-old, who sat in the business class cabin.

Before this new train service, rail passengers travelling upstate from JB had to take the diesel-powered locomotive to Gemas, a town in Negeri Sembilan, before changing to the faster electric train to Kuala Lumpur.

The JB-Gemas trip typically takes 4.5 hours. Passengers also had to transfer to an electric train to reach KL, with the additional 2.5 hours making the entire journey about seven hours in total.

KTM Train quality inspector, Mr Muhammad Azam Mohd Saleh, 36 told ST operations were smooth on the ride out from JB Sentral except with some passengers who were not yet familiar with the boarding procedures.

Johor’s top official for trade and investment, Mr Lee Ting Han, told The Straits Times that the ETS will be a significant boost for inner Johor districts such as Kluang and Paloh.

“With these towns already along the rail corridor, improved ETS connectivity shortens travel time, expands access to jobs, education and services, and allows people to stay rooted in their hometowns while benefiting from national growth,” he said.

The 192km Gemas-JB extension project, which began in 2017, was initially expected to be ready by 2021. But work was delayed due to the pandemic and complications in the land acquisition process.

With the southern electric line finally complete, Malaysia’s rail backbone on the west coast now effectively runs on electrified double track from Padang Besar in Perlis in the far north to JB.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke in a ceremony on Dec 11 said that it now takes 10.5 hours to travel the entire route from north to south of Malaysia.

The train from JB Sentral reached KL Sentral at 1.10pm.

Meanwhile, on the opposite maiden trip, which left KL Sentral at 7.45am, the train reached JB Sentral at 12.20pm.

Content creator Hassin Hussin, who was on that JB-bound trip, said the ETS will be a game changer for local tourists. He expected tourists will now be motivated to visit smaller towns in Johor, and also extend their journey to Singapore.

“I think for the next five to six months, people from up north will travel on the ETS just to experience the opportunities of travel down south,” said Mr Hassin, who runs the train travel page Jom Naik Keretapi.

Mr Mohamad Farid Yaacob, 37, from the Bangsar suburb in KL, who regularly frequents Singapore, was one example of a Malaysian testing out the trip to Singapore via the ETS from KL to JB.

“From JB Sentral, it's just a short bus ride away to Singapore or, in the future, the RTS,” he told ST when we met him on the train back to JB.

“Travel to Singapore is going to be much easier as I don’t have to go through the jam on the highway, especially during weekends and holidays.”