How to travel from Johor Bahru to Butterworth by train

There is one direct service per day between JB Sentral and Butterworth, taking eight hours and twenty minutes:

What to expect onboard

Malaysia’s national railway company (KTMB) has invested millions of ringgits into its infrastructure in recent years, and it’s no more apparent than the onboard train experience. The direct JB Sentral to Butterworth service uses the latest ETS (Electric Train Service) train sets, which were designed in China and assembled in Malaysia.

There are six carriages available onboard, with one business class carriage and five standard class. Business class seats are arranged 1 x 2 and offer more space than the standard class carriages, which are 2 x 2. Each carriage feels modern, safe and comfortable.

Business class is significantly more expensive than standard class and, in our opinion, isn’t worth the extra expense. Although you do receive a free meal and wider seat, the experience somehow fails to meet expectations. It might be partly because standard class is such a pleasant experience and there’s an excellent bistro car available in the middle of the train, where the food is exactly the same (and there’s a choice, unlike in Business Class). You can check out a full review of ETS Business Class here.

In Standard Class each seat has a tray table, armrest, footrest, recline button and charging points (both a three-pin plug and USB slot). There’s plenty of legroom and space between the seats, so you can easily spread out and get comfortable (handy if you’re onboard for the entire eight hour journey to Butterworth).

Each standard carriage is essentially the same as the others, the main difference are:

• Coach D has the two disabled spaces onboard and is also closest to the disabled toilet (which is reserved exclusively for disabled travellers).
• Coach C is closest to the Bistro Car and sees a slightly higher numbers of passengers walking back and forth to purchase food and drink.
• Coaches B and E include four seats set around a table, handy if you’re travelling as a group.

A few tips for a more comfortable Standard Class experience:

• Carriages are kept at a consistent 19C but it feels a lot colder at times. Remember to bring a light jumper, blanket or sarong to keep you warm during the trip.
• Smaller backpacks can be placed in the overhead racks. Larger suitcases should be stored in the luggage racks at the end of each carriage but competition for space can be fierce.
• We saw several suitcase left in the corridors between the carriages, confirming there isn’t always enough space in the luggage racks. As this is Malaysia, your suitcases will be safe in the corridor, but (as always) it’s best to pack light if possible and keep your bags close by.
• In general, ETS trains run to schedule and delays are uncommon.
• You’ll need to scan your ticket QR code at JB Sentral to access the platform and again at the ticket gates at Butterworth to exit the station.
• Try to purchase a seat on the left-hand side of the train (e.g. A or B seat letters). As the train is predominantly travelling north throughout the journey, the sun is on the right and everyone on that side closes their blinds, so the view disappears.
• Check out the table below for suggestions on which seats to choose in Standard Class:

What are the toilets like?

As you might expect on these brand-new trains, the toilets 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 about train toilets but these are kept in excellent condition with plenty of toilet paper and hand wash available right up until we reached Butterworth.

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

Unlike in Business Class, Standard Class passengers aren’t provided with any free food or refreshments, nor does a food/drinks trolley get wheeled up and down the train. Instead, passengers need to walk to the middle of the train (Coach C) and order food and drink themselves.

Malaysia is well-known for its cuisine, so it’s fitting that the national railway company are able to offer tasty and affordable meals onboard. These meals are microwaved to order and might not immediately appear appetising when first served, but they really are excellent quality.

There are usually a few different choices including nasi lemak, fried noodles and other local dishes. Costing around RM12, you can’t go far wrong (payment is via cash or e-wallets). They also sell soft drinks, tea, coffee, crisps and biscuits.

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

Departure gates at JB Sentral (Gate B) open around fifteen minutes before departure, giving you plenty of time to take the stairs, escalator or lift down to the platform. There’s a slightly subterranean feel to the platforms at JB Sentral, located under the main station area with only occasional views out to the city, but the train is soon pulling out of the station, through Johor Bahru and into the bright mid-morning light.

After leaving the city skyline of Johor Bahru behind, the train rolls into open countryside and it’s not long until large palm oil plantations appear, filling the countryside with a reminder of how much Malaysia relies on this crop. The first few hours of the journey offer excellent views from the window (especially if you’re on the left-hand side and have managed to keep your window blind open), with mountains, rivers and the ever present palm oil trees for company.

Around three hours into the journey, the train reaches Seremban where the countryside views are replaced with industrial and residential buildings. The next hour brings you into the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur where you might be able to spot the Petronas Towers, KL Tower and the second-tallest building in the world Merdeka 118.

KL Sentral sees a significant change of passengers. The train stops first at one end of the platform to let passengers disembark, then rolls forwards a few metres to allow new passengers to board.

After an hour or so of escaping Kuala Lumpur’s suburbs, the lush countryside views return and it’s this section of the route that is the most impressive. Just past the major city of Ipoh, keep an eye out for the lake crossing at Bukit Merah, which is home to the orangutans at the Bukit Merah Orangutan Foundation.

You’re now into the final stage of the journey with plenty of passengers disembarking at Ipoh and Taiping before the train leaves the West Coast Main line and joins the 10km branch line to Butterworth and its large container port. Have your ticket ready to depart the station and then head in the direction of Penang Sentral Mall, from where ferries to Penang Island are waiting to take you across the water and onto your next adventure.