KL - Singapore Sleeper (Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM Malaysian Railways))

Member Name: ultras67

Product:	Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM Malaysian Railways)
Date:	14/09/01 (1459 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap Travel, Chance to meet people

Disadvantages: Broken sleep, Not much luggage space

I travelled from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore on the overnight sleeper train taking around 9 hours in total.

The departure time for the sleeper is usually around 22:30 arriving at 07:30 the next morning. The cost of the train depends if you are in the lower or the upper berth. The lower one costs a few ringit more - 40 instead of 37.50.

The train ( and bed ) turned out to be quite comfortable. There are 3 classes - 1st which are compartments that sleep 2 people, 2nd which is a carriage with permanent beds ( although during the day they are turned back into seats ) and 3 rd which is just seats. I was in 2nd class as I always find that there is a better chance of meeting fellow travellers and making new acquaintances.

The train was certainly clean, as was the bed linen and the toilet was surprisingly not bad either. One drawback is the lack of any storage space, there is very little room for your belongings under the lower berth and none in between the beds. If you are on the upper berth, best bet is to move it all to the end of the bed. This has the obvious drawback of shortening an already not overly long bed. Anyone over 5’10” is going to feel the pinch.

The train leaves from the brand new central station that is still being built around it. Although still covered in scaffolding and builders it looks an impressive sight. Albeit not quite as romantic and full of old world colonial charm as the old station. This new station is planned to be the central travel hub for KL connecting with the metro / skytrain and commuter trains. The Old station is still confusingly being used for some lines, although this is due to cease by the end of the year. A line is due to be opened in 2002 that connects with the international airport.

The beds are already made up giving you an excellent excuse to try and get some sleep. The snag is, around 30 minutes into the journey the ticket inspectors will ask for your ticket
. Even so, the gentle rocking of the train will soon have you asleep. Although most of the journey will be in darkness, the last section from Johore Bahru will be in early dawn light giving a first ( and I will be honest, dull ) glimpse of Singapore.

As this is an international trip you have to stop at Johore Bahru on the Malaysian side then Woodlands on the Singapore side for customs and immigration. Unfortunately on the overnighter, this means waking up around 5am to hang around for 30-45 minutes to passports stamped etc. On the way back, the reverse procedure is applied.

If you can, bring your own food. The price on board is high compared to outside.

Once you get there the station is a few miles away from the centre of Singapore city, so a taxi is recommended unless you are travelling light and like walking or are just too short of money ! One quirky feature is that you only touch Singapore soil once you have left the station. The station itself is still owned by Malaysia.

To sum up. If you have the time, this is definately a recommended way to travel. If not, fly and save the time. I am told though that the scenary you pass during the day is nice although not a must see.

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