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Kuala Lumpur to Butterworth (Penang) on the ETS

April 27, 2016 By James Clark 25 Comments

Kuala Lumpur to Butterworth (Penang) on the ETS

In 2015 the electrification of the train line between Kuala Lumpur and Butterworth was completed. On this modernised track the ETS (Electric Train Service) reaches a speed of 140 km/h.

The ETS is one of the fastest trains in Southeast Asia. The remarkable thing about the ETS is that it runs on a metre gauge track, while most modern trains operate on standard gauge (which is 1435 mm wide). It is one of the fastest trains in the world that runs on a metre gauge.

Trip Review

The ETS begins in Gemas (southeast of KL) and ends in Padang Besar on the Malaysia-Thailand border. The service I was on runs between KL and Butterworth.

The train doesn’t go to Penang Island but stops at Butterworth, on the mainland opposite the island. Butterworth is in the state of Penang though, so technically you can say it’s the train to Penang.

ETS Services

The ticket says to get to the station 15 minutes before departure. This is good advice if you are beginning from KL Sentral and you have never been there before. The station is a confusing mess with a separate metro platform, airport line, commuter train, and long-distance trains at different parts of the station.

There was a big crowd in a small waiting space, but when the gates opened it was orderly and the train departed at the scheduled time.

ETS at KL Sentral

Getting back to the track gauge, the wider the gauge the wider you can make the train. With only one metre of gauge, the carriage was noticeably skinnier than the intercity trains I have travelled on in Europe.

A wider track also means a smoother ride. Having spent a month on European trains last year I could feel the difference. It feels just a bit more rickety.

Having said that it’s a comfortable journey and still much better than getting the bus.

ETS Seats
[ETS seats – comfortable but skinny.]

I’ve been in Southeast Asia long enough to know how to dress for public transport. As with bus travel, the trains have the air conditioning set for a level suitable for transporting lettuce. Wear jeans and long sleeves because you will freeze.

Food section

There is a snack bar onboard which offers a limited selection of meals and snacks. It didn’t look very appealing but it is cheap and there if you need to eat.

On-board menu
[On-board menu.]

I got a 3-in-1 coffee for 2.70 MYR (.70c USD).

Coffee
[Try getting a hot coffee on a bus.]

A train is always better than a bus because of onboard toilets. On the ETS they have merged the best of west and east by having a western toilet with a bum gun. My friends in Southeast Asia know what I’m talking about here.

Western toilet
[When I become Prime Minister every house in Australia will have a bum gun.]

There is onboard entertainment, or perhaps better described as onboard torture. There are screens at the end of each cabin and in the middle. You can’t escape it unless you have headphones, and I forgot to charge my iPod (rookie mistake.) To make matters worse on this trip the TV was playing a loop of Transformers and Kung Fu Panda previews. I was waiting for the movie to begin only to realise after half an hour that there will be no movie service; the previews were stuck on repeat. I asked an attendant to fix it but he said he couldn’t reset the TV.

Entertainment
[“Entertainment.”]

The train arrived almost to the minute on time at Butterworth. The ferry pier to Georgetown is next to the train station, though it is not well set up for pedestrians so you have to have to walk over a couple of overpasses.

Arriving at Butterworth

At 3 hours and 52 minutes, this is a great improvement on the bus which used to take 5, sometimes 6 hours. Hopefully, more services are added as there is already a demand for it. Turn down the air-conditioning and play an actual movie and this is a great service.

Booking Online

It occurred to me two weeks before the trip that I should see if you can book tickets online as I wasn’t going to have much time to buy tickets in KL. It turned out to be a good move as the train was nearly booked by the time I bought a ticket.

The ticket from KL Sentral to Butterworth cost 59 MYR + 2 MYR internet banking charges ($15.50 USD total).

I booked on the official site at ktmb.com.my but it is not the most user-friendly site and I had to print out a ticket. A more user-friendly site is 12go.asia, which sells tickets at the same price.

Read more about train travel in Malaysia and trains in Southeast Asia.

Filed Under: Travel Blog Tagged With: butterworth, kuala lumpur, malaysia, penang, southeast asia rail, train

Comments

  1. Neale says

    April 27, 2016 at 2:13 pm

    Thanks for the report. This is very good to know. I’m with you on the bum guns. We are so backwards in the west it is unfathomable how we can not see this as a plus. Seems like the trend here is to westernize in the newer hotels an mals. I pretty much stopped using Ibis because of this. Next time your in northern Thailand come stay for a while in Chiang Rai have plenty of space and decent coffee.

    Reply
  2. Sway says

    July 17, 2016 at 5:58 am

    Bum guns rule..

    Reply
  3. NIRIENDER KUMAR says

    July 25, 2016 at 5:11 am

    How about parking our vehicle at parking lot at the train station in butterworth for one @ two days.Is it safe .

    Reply
  4. John Dickinson says

    August 5, 2016 at 10:08 am

    Very informative ad well observed. I have been travelling to Malaysia for 30 years and keep meaning to write something helpful for travellers so many thanks James. Yes the train air con is absolutely freezing. We have used the train and bus many times and have flown back to KL on the odd occasion. The last time was with Malindo Air and cost £8.40 single with 30kgs of luggage (amazing).

    The bus is no place to be if you’ve got Delhi Belly from eating at the hawker stalls at Gurney Drive or Batu Ferringhi. I can personally vouch for that. We will probably take the train on our next visit in a couple of months time. Will stay at the Rasa Sayang or Park Royal as a treat.

    Anyone going to Penang should spend at least one night in a decent hotel as a treat even as a backpacker. They are relatively inexpensive and make sure you book “with breakfast” as the food is usually fantastic and you will keep you going all day. A must if you have children. Please dont head for the western food, omelettes, beef sausages etc. Try some Nazi Lemak with Roti or noodles. It never fails to amaze me that people will head for the western dishes. Why bother to go on holiday if your not going to try something different.

    The food on board the Train is usually ok. Maybe not as good as on Air Asia but passable and unlikely to give you an upset tummy. It can be spicy though.

    Reply
    • amit shri says

      January 6, 2018 at 7:44 pm

      You make me laugh with ur words”[When I become Prime Minister every house in Australia will have a bum gun.]

      Reply
  5. Mutahir Waheed says

    September 8, 2016 at 1:59 pm

    Very useful information, thank you very much! It helped me plan the trip so much better. Cheers!

    Reply
  6. Mike Stankavich says

    October 24, 2016 at 11:51 pm

    Hell yes on the bum gun – got really used to having those during my 2 years in Penang.

    Glad to see they finished the train. It was still under construction when I left in 2013. The really crazy thing is that RM 59 is hardly any more than the expressway tolls. I don’t recall exactly how much it was, but I recall it being something like RM 50 each way. I’ll definitely try out that train next trip.

    Reply
  7. Mo says

    November 20, 2016 at 3:53 am

    Thanks. Just bought my return ETS ticket from KL to Butterworth (to then take the ferry to George Town) in December. I am set to go!

    Reply
    • Asha Female Shetty says

      October 26, 2017 at 6:05 am

      Hey through which site you.booked the tickets as I unable to book it through the site mentioned above

      Reply
  8. preet says

    December 14, 2016 at 3:31 am

    Very detailed article James. Am right now on train i.e. etc from Kuala Lumpur to Butterworth.
    Very interesting poster at Buffet corner advertising Christmas specials and my grandchildren were excited. Only to be told its not available…only light snacks displayed in counter.

    Reply
  9. Albert says

    December 29, 2016 at 7:54 pm

    I just tried to book the ETS online, KL Sentral to Butterworth, but it seems fully booked all the way through March 2017 (and beyond, perhaps). Not much use if you can’t actually get a seat… Or am I missing something?

    Reply
    • James Clark says

      December 30, 2016 at 12:28 am

      Hi Albert, I just tried the booking site 12go and the KTM site and I couldn’t find tickets for any train trip so something is not right.

      Reply
      • Wan Osman says

        December 31, 2016 at 10:56 pm

        Hi James, try BusOnlineTicket.com. Bought bus and train tickets. Very convenient. Good luck.

        Reply
  10. K Smith says

    January 30, 2017 at 12:15 pm

    Just a tip on booking online… when I tried to book from ‘Kuala Lumpur’, there were no tickets. When I revised my search to KL Sentral, suddenly there were many options. Same might be the same if you put Penang instead of Butterworth.

    Reply
  11. Jeremy says

    February 22, 2017 at 7:50 pm

    Oh this is great news as I always prefer a train to a bus.

    Reply
  12. Angeline says

    April 18, 2017 at 12:17 am

    Very informative article, totally what I was looking for.

    Reply
  13. Magdeline says

    April 23, 2017 at 2:17 am

    Took the ETS 9203 from Butterworth to KL Sentral. The trip was a total disaster. The cable broke down further along the track was stuck at Ipoh for over 2.5 hrs waiting for a shunt. No apologies or updates from KTM. Arrived in Kl after 9pm after departing at 1.30pm. Train master signed ticket for token refund, however KTM ticket office refused to provide refund due to ticket being purchased online as a foreigner. Bad service for a platinum seat. Get a bus or hire a car, you will be better off

    Reply
  14. Rajendra B. Aklekar says

    June 5, 2017 at 1:35 pm

    India now has a train that runs at 160kmph. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gatimaan_Express

    Reply
  15. Paul Ott says

    July 25, 2017 at 7:31 pm

    We are considering this train for a trip in late August. When looking at the fares they only ask how many persons .We have two children, one adult, one infant and a senior. Are there different rates for children, infants and seniors?

    We will probably have 5 pieces of luggage and a baby stroller. Can this be put in the overhead shelf or will need to check our items? If so, how is this done?

    Thanks for the article and info.

    Reply
  16. Sandi says

    February 14, 2018 at 2:32 pm

    Thanks so much for your great review of the train. We usually fly from KL to Penang but by the time you get to the airport (2 hours) wait in the airport (2 hours) fly (1/2 hour) wait for luggage (1/2 hr) and take the taxi to Georgetown (1 hour) it’s much faster and more interesting to take the train and the same amount of time and less money in the long run.

    Reply
  17. Izzat Yazin says

    March 3, 2018 at 11:30 am

    as a malaysian, bum gun is part of everyday life because of its useful cleanliness. what shocked me though some malaysian malls prefers not to have bum gun in the toilets. i really want to ask those mall managers about the cleanliness of their butt

    Reply
  18. Bobby says

    August 9, 2019 at 1:29 am

    I’m extremely pleased to discover this great site.

    Reply
  19. Krishna kaza says

    October 3, 2019 at 1:37 pm

    Very well articulated to the detail. Like many, I am currently oN the way to butterworth

    Train departed only 5 mins late from KL SENTRAL (5:36 pm) and I am scheduled to reach (10:05 pm)

    The average speed is good , clocking 120 kph most of the journey. Seats and toilets are clean and attendants are friendly

    Nuggets for kids at 7 RM a box and coffee close to 2.70 RM

    LOVE THE JOURNEY #KTMINTETCITY

    Reply
  20. Philip Kirkham says

    September 11, 2020 at 11:13 am

    Late to the party but is there any chance Vietnam might adopt this kind of service for all or part of the Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh City route.

    Reply
    • James Clark says

      September 11, 2020 at 3:13 pm

      They still haven’t decided what to do in Vietnam. The last announcement was for a high-speed train on a standard gauge railway (currently metre-gauge), so it would be a completely new track.

      Reply

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James Clark from Nomadic Notes

Hi, I’m James Clark, and I've been travelling the world since 2003 while running a location independent travel business. Nomadic Notes is a travel blog featuring travel guides and notes from my travels.

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