How to travel from Butterworth to Kuala Lumpur by train

After visiting Penang Island, many travellers return to the mainland by ferry and catch a train from Butterworth. The most common onward destination is Kuala Lumpur, with trains arriving at the modern KL Sentral station.

With seven ETS trains running each day, the journey is extremely popular with both locals and tourists, so it’s best to book in advance if possible.

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Route map and details

Butterworth Station is reached via a 10km branch line from the West Coast Main Line. After joining the main line near Bukit Mertajam, trains continue south to KL Sentral, passing through Taiping and Ipoh along the way.

Timetables

There are seven trains per day from Butterworth to KL Sentral: one Express service, one Gold service and five Platinum service.

Express trains have the fewest stops and complete the journey in around 3 hours 35 minutes, half an hour faster than the Platinum trains. Gold trains stop more frequently and take roughly 4 hours 20 minutes.

How to buy tickets

The easiest way to buy train tickets in Malaysia is online rather than going to the station. You do pay a very small commission but the ease and convenience makes it worthwhile in our opinion.

Baolau is the best site to use for buying train tickets, they have access to the official booking engine, so you can easily see availability, timetables and prices.

Payment can be made using international credit cards and PDF confirmation tickets are sent to your email address within a few minutes. This is the actual ticket you need to board the train, so there’s no need to exchange it at the station before travel. You may prefer to print the pdf out, but it’s also fine to show it on your mobile phone to the conductor and station staff.

Butterworth to Kuala Lumpur train tickets

How much does it cost?

Tickets for the Express service are slightly more expensive than those for the Platinum trains. The slower Gold service is the cheapest option.

All trains offer Standard and Business Class, apart from the Gold train, which has Standard only.

The prices for each class are:

What to expect onboard

Each train has six carriages in total: five standard class and one business class (the Gold service just has six standard class carriages). In standard class the seating is arranged 2 × 2, while business class uses a 1 × 2 layout with wider seats and a bit more room. Either way, the carriages feel modern, safe and comfortable.

Business class costs noticeably more than standard class, but we’re not convinced the upgrade is worth it. You do get a wider seat and a complimentary meal, although the overall experience doesn’t feel particularly premium. That may be because standard class is already very comfortable and the Bistro Car in the middle of the train serves the same food, with the added advantage that you can actually choose what you want to eat. You can check out a full review of ETS Business Class here.

Standard class seats come with a tray table, armrest, footrest, recline button and charging points (both a three-pin plug and a USB slot). Legroom is generous and there’s a good amount of space between rows, making it easy to stretch out and relax.

All the standard class carriages are broadly the same, although there are a few minor differences:

• Coach D contains the two wheelchair spaces and is closest to the specially adapted toilet reserved for disabled passengers.
• Coach C is nearest the Bistro Car, so it tends to see a bit more foot traffic from passengers heading to buy food and drinks.
• Coaches B and E both have four seats arranged around a table, which can be useful if you’re travelling as a group.

A few tips if you’re travelling in standard class:

• The air conditioning is set to around 19°C and can feel quite chilly at times, so it’s worth bringing a light jumper, blanket or sarong.
• Smaller bags fit easily in the overhead racks, while larger suitcases should go in the luggage racks at the end of each carriage. Space there can be limited on busy services.
• On our journey we saw a few suitcases placed in the corridor between carriages, which suggests the luggage racks do fill up. As this is Malaysia your bags will almost certainly be safe, but it’s still best to pack light and keep valuables close by.
• ETS trains generally run on time and delays are rare.
• You’ll need to scan your ticket QR code at Butterworth to access the platform and again at the ticket gates at KL Sentral to exit the station.

What are the toilets like?

As you’d expect on these brand-new trains, the toilet are modern and everything works as it should. If you’ve travelled around the region on some older trains, you might have a few horror stories, but on the ETS trains they’re kept in excellent condition, with plenty of toilet paper and hand wash available all the way to Kuala Lumpur.

Each carriage has a sign to let you know when they’re occupied. There’s one toilet in Coach B and one in Coach E. Coach F’s toilet is reserved for disabled passengers and is specially adapted to their needs.

Catering options

In business class, a meal delivered directly to your seat, although there isn’t a choice. Standard class passengers have access to a Bistro car, where surprisingly tasty meals are served.

The microwaveable meals might not look very appetising when first served, but they’re good quality and excellent value (around RM12 for nasi lemak, fried noodles, etc). Soft drinks, tea and coffee are also available.

Payment is either by cash or e-wallets. There isn’t anywhere to sit in the bistro itself, so you’ll need to take your food and drinks back to your seat and consume it there.

Journey description

Butterworth Station sits beside Penang’s busy container port, around 10km from the West Coast Main Line on a short branch line. After passing Bukit Mertajam, the train joins the main line and heads south towards Ipoh, travelling through one of the prettiest sections of the route. In particular, keep an eye out for the lake crossing at Bukit Merah, near the home of the orangutans at the Bukit Merah Orangutan Foundation.

After travelling through the lush countryside of Perak, the train enters Selangor and the sprawling urban landscape of Kuala Lumpur. The rural scenery soon gives way to industrial, commercial and residential buildings, before the famous skyline of the capital appears on the horizon. As the train approaches the city centre, it stops at the grand old Kuala Lumpur station, which once served as the city’s main rail hub. That role now belongs to the final stop, KL Sentral, a major transport hub where the service from Butterworth terminates.