Travelling by train is an excellent way to see the Malaysian countryside and many towns in West Malaysia. However if you are pressed for time, you may find the journey by rail from town to town rather slow. There are few services per day for inter city travel

Trains from Kuala Lumpur International Airport      From Kuala Lumpur International Airport, a fast train, the KLIA Express, takes you to the Kuala Lumpur city centre (KL Sentral terminal) in less than 30 minutes. At KL Sentral, the main railway terminal, there are connecting trains operated by Malayan Railways (KTMB) to Butterworth (Pulau Pinang), Alor Setar (Kedah) and to Arau (Kedah). The journey by train to Butterworth takes more than six hours from Kuala Lumpur and about 12 hours from Singapore.

Trains in Malaysia     In peninsular Malaysia, the KTMB operates 12 intercity express services daily on weekdays, 18 intercity express services on weekends and eight local train services daily. (most are commuter services with Selangor) There are also services operating from Bangkok, which stop at major towns such as Haadyai (Thailand), Alor Setar, Padang Besar, Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, Seremban, Johor Bahru and Singapore . You can also travel from KL to the east coast of West Malaysia, right up to Tumpat in the state of Kelantan.

From Bangkok, Thailand.      The International Express (or Ekspress Antarabangsa), operated by the State Railway of Thailand, is a daily express train that runs between Butterworth and Bangkok. The luxurious ‘Eastern & Oriental Express’ also runs once a week between Bangkok, Butterworth and Singapore .  

From Singapore    The station is at Tanjong Pagar, Singapore. You can travel up to Thailand (Bangkok, Hatyai, etc) and this train passes several towns in the Malaysian Peninsular - Padang Besar, Alor Setar, Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, Seremban, Johor Bahru, Tumpat, Gemas, Gua Musang.

Railway and train websites