How to travel from Butterworth to Padang Besar by train

Butterworth is the gateway to Penang Island and an important station on Malaysia’s West Coast railway line. Many travellers making their way through Peninsular Malaysia include a stop in Butterworth to explore Penang, before jumping back onto the train and continuing northwards to Thailand.

The journey from Butterworth to Padang Besar (at the border with Thailand) is reliable and inexpensive, served by eighteen daily trains.

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Route map and details

While the vast majority of the route from Butterworth to Padang Besar uses the West Coast mainline, the first 10km is on a small branch line that serves Butterworth and its large port area. Once the train reaches the junction just past Bukit Mertajam, it joins the mainline and continues north to the Thai border, 170km away.

Timetables

There are eighteen trains per day from Butterworth to Padang Besar. As this is mainly a commuter service, the frequency of services drops in the late morning and early afternoon.

How to buy tickets

It’s usually easier to buy Malaysian train tickets online using a ticket agency such as Baolau, but the Butterworth to Padang Besar trip is one of the few that can only be booked either at the station on the day of travel or via the official KTMB website (select ‘Komuter’ then ‘Komuter Utara’ from the top menu).

This is KTMB’s Komuter service, aimed at mass-transit commuter traffic, rather than tourists. If you’ve not bought tickets using the KTM website, once you arrive at Butterworth station you’ll need to buy tickets from the ticket windows or ticket machines.

Regardless of how you book your ticket, you won’t be allocated a reserved seat; it’s first-come first-served, although it’s usually possible to get a seat at Butterworth if you board early. Tickets can’t sell out so you’ll definitely be able to board the train, even if you have to stand.

How much does it cost?

Tickets from Butterworth to Padang Besar cost: