KL Sentral Station - Waiting Lounge
Coaches at Tanjung Pagar Railway Station, Singapore
I love trains. My late father was with the Malayan Railways or Keretapi Tanah Melayu and he saw service for more than 35 years. My siblings and I grew up in small and big towns from Pasir Mas to Singapore. We used to stay in Johor Bharu, Tampin, Rantau Panjang and at least 2 other towns which I could not recall ( memory is failing me again ). During our school holidays, our father would without fail took leave and journey home to our kampong in Melaka via the train. We would travel from Rantau Panjang to Gemas along the east coast line and change lines
northwards along the west coast line to Tampin where we would disembarked and proceeded by taxi to our grandfather's house in Semabok ( a village, just outside Melaka Town ). That was our idea of a vacation then. Although I have been on the TGV but nothing beats the slow ride from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore which my better half and I took recently on our way to visit our grand daughter in Singapore. We went via the Senanadung Malam departing Kuala Lumpur around 10pm I think, and arriving Singapore ( Tanjung Pagar Station ) at around 8.20 am the following morning. The slow narrow gauge express lullaby us to sleep on our second class berth coach before even reaching Seremban station, about an hour and a half away south of Kuala Lumpur. What was more appealing was the special fare we got for being senior citizens with 50 percent discount for tickets. The rest did not matter !
My father was stationed in Singapore for 4 years as an ASM ie Assistant Station Master and during those years our trips were from Tampin to Singapore via the Express Rakyat, the day express train. It was considered super-fast then.
Although people have been complaining of our trains being slow, frequent delays and poor service, I cannot complain. How fast can a train travel on a narrow gauge ? If speed is the issue, then take the plane or the many express buses that are available now. For a senior citizen like me, travelling by train is ideal. One can stretch one's legs and move around freely in the compartment with minimum stress. It's the way to travel if you have time in your hands and a grandchild to visit.
PS : The senior citizen card entitles the bearer a 50 percent discount on train fares ! )
