KERETAPI Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) has announced a new timetable for its Electric Train Service (ETS) services will be implemented that will be rolled out starting Aug 1. Tickets for trips between Aug 1 and Nov 30 go on sale beginning today (May 30).
According to the national rail operator for Peninsular Malaysia, the KL Sentral-Ipoh-KL Sentral and KL Sentral-Butterworth-KL Sentral routes will each have 10 trips daily.
The KL Sentral-Padang Besar-KL Sentral route will offer eight trips daily while the Gemas-Butterworth-Gemas and Gemas-Padang Besar-Gemas routes will have two trips per day.
“This schedule adjustment considers the completion of the Klang Valley Double Track (KDVT) Phase 1 upgrade on the Rawang-KL Sentral segment,” revealed KTMB in a statement.
“Additionally, the ETS service’s connectivity with other train services like Komuter Utara, Ekspres Selatan and Ekspres Rakyat Timuran at key stations has influenced the new schedule.”
KTMB also announced the launch of six new ETS Ekspres services within the 32 existing services on the KL Sentral-Ipoh-KL Sentral, KL Sentral-Butterworth-KL Sentral and KL Sentral-Padang Besar-KL Sentral routes.
“These express trains will only stop at major stations with the KL Sentral-Ipoh route taking two hours, KL Sentral-Butterworth (three-and-a-half-hours) and KL Sentral-Padang Besar (four hours and 50 minutes),” KTMB further noted.
“The revised schedule and new express services aim to reduce travel time and encourage the public to use rail-based transportation comfortably and safely.”
Great news but …
This piece of news was also shared on X (formerly Twitter) by user Slainthayer (@slainthayer) who explained that there will be still the same number of trains plying the routes.
BREAKING NEWS!!!
ETS had added a new service called ETS Ekspress that is 40m faster than existing ETS Platinum for all of these routes:
KL – Ipoh
KL – Penang
KL – Padang Besar, PerlisService starts this August and tickets will open tomorrow pic.twitter.com/ECoq45e5iz
— Slainthayer (@slainthayer) May 29, 2024
Nevertheless, travel times are faster due to the completion of construction works at certain sections of the line.
This news was greeted enthusiastically by some commuters.
More than one compared the new travel times with days gone by when travellers would still be stuck on some trunk road.
Some hoped that the service will remain true to its promise and not add stops in the future slowing down the travel time. One disgruntled netizen pointed to another KTMB service where prices were raised but not subsequently adjusted to reflect travel times.
Some lamented that the departure times were not conducive, pointing out that most trains left in the late afternoons.
All said and done, any news of “improved” and “faster” services from KTMB are to be welcomed. This is most certainly preferable to being in the spotlight for hosting rave parties and other activities that promote “moral decay”. – May 30, 2024
