Past, present and future plans for the Bangkok to Singapore railway line

Bangkok and Singapore are two of Southeast Asia’s true megacities, with millions of tourists visiting them each year. Although a direct train has never truly existed, there’s no doubt the demand is there: Bangkok to Singapore is the ninth busiest international flight route and there’s constant talk online about how and when the two cities might be linked by rail.

Various factors have affected the route over the years, part political, part logistical and part financial. And although it’s never easy for three separate countries to agree on large-scale infrastructure projects, there are tentative signs on the horizon that the direct route could one day become a reality.

Here we explore the history and future development of rail travel between Bangkok and Singapore. For instructions on making the journey today, see our guide on how to get from Bangkok to Singapore by train.

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Historical context: why has this route gone backwards?

Although the route from Bangkok to Singapore has never been direct (aside from a luxurious charter train option we discuss later), the journey was once significantly easier and more joined-up. In the past twenty five years, several factors have affected the viability and effectiveness of the route:

Improvements in Malaysia

For many years, the aptly named ‘International Express’ ran from Bangkok to Butterworth, providing a direct link between Thailand and Malaysia. Immigration and customs controls were handled at Padang Besar where passengers disembarked, completed formalities, and then got back onto the same train to Butterworth.

The International Express used the ageing West Coast mainline for this journey, which was a slow, single-track line that restricted speed and capacity. In the background, Malaysia was busy upgrading its railway network, particularly the West Coast mainline, which was to be electrified and double-tracked. While this delivered a much needed improvement programme, it led to strategic decisions being taken to terminate the International Express at the border.

The new ETS (Electric Train Service) trains were ready to take advantage of the electrification and modernisation works, but the slower moving Thai diesel trains weren’t part of the new system. To compound this, changes were taking place on Thailand’s railway network and they too were content to scale back and only run services to the border. With no political will to retain the full route, by 2016 it was officially truncated and continued only as a shadow of its former self.

Changing ownership of stations and tracks between Malaysia and Singapore

Almost 900km away, at the other end of the line, trains once travelled all the way into the heart of Singapore to the beautiful central station at Tanjong Pagar. From there, immigration and customs checks were carried out, facilitating non-stop journeys from Malaysia to Singapore (and vice-versa).

But, there was a problem…

Dating back to an agreement from the Federated Malay States era, the station, track and associated land running through Singapore were actually owned by KTMB (the Malaysian railway operator), although this was increasingly a source of disagreement and dispute between the two countries.

After many years of stalemate, a new agreement came into effect that superseded the original and, in 2011, the station, railways tracks and land reverted back to Singapore ownership. Almost immediately, the Singapore government announced plans to close the station and railway tracks, moving all customs and immigrations checks to Woodlands CIQ in the very north of the city, where the tracks ended.

The net result is that travelling from Singapore to Malaysia (and vice-versa) is more complicated and much less straightforward than it might otherwise be. Rail passengers must travel by other means (car, taxi, bus or MRT) from central Singapore to Woodlands, and then board a shuttle over the causeway to Johor Bahru Sentral railway station. From there, trains depart north into the rest of Malaysia.

The bit in the middle

Within Malaysia, the inconsistent and piecemeal progress of ETS upgrades led to further delays and complications.

Although the ETS line from Kluang to Padang Besar (via KL and Butterworth) was completed in 2025, the section from Kluang to Johor Bahru was delayed and delayed, and it was only in 2026 that the last section of the line was completed, finally allowing passengers to travel directly from Padang Besar and Kuala Lumpur to Johor Bahru without changing trains.

What might it look like in the near future?

The good news is that improvements are on the way to iron out many of the annoyances of this trip, not least the border crossings. Some of these have already happened, others are confirmed for the near future and some are still in the planning stage.

Cross-border travel

Firstly, the International Express will soon justify its name and once again cross the border from Thailand to Malaysia. The train will still pause at Padang Besar for immigration and customs controls, but the same train will continue onto Butterworth after the border.

This removes the need to transfer onto the dull Komuter service, and offers a joined-up and comfortable journey from start to finish. Expect the new/old service to enter service in 2026.

ETS runs end to end

The next exciting development was that right at the very end of 2025, the entire ETS improvement works were completed from Johor Bahru all the way to Padang Besar via Kuala Lumpur. This now gives two options to long-distance travellers once they cross the border from Thailand to Malaysia:

Option 1: (not yet in operation) Use the ETS service directly from Butterworth to Johor Bahru, then onto Singapore. This will be a much faster journey than at present, and won’t require a change of train in KL.

Option 2: Disembark at Padang Besar and take the direct ETS train to Johor Bahru non-stop, if you’d prefer to miss out Penang and Kuala Lumpur.

Improved connections into Singapore

The final improvement to the route is the Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link that will connect Johor Bahru to Singapore via a Light Rail Transit system. Capable of transporting 10,000 passengers per hour, it’s mainly aimed at commuters and local residents, but it’ll also be a huge plus point for long-distance travellers.

With the implementation of a juxtaposed border, passengers will be able to complete CIQ formalities (Customs, Immigration and Quarantine) for both countries in the same building before departure. Then, when you arrive in either Singapore or Malaysia, you’ll be free to depart the station immediately.

On the Malaysian side, the new CIQ building (at Bukit Chagar RTS station) will only be a 400m walk to/from Johor Bahru Sentral station along a covered walkway, leading to easy access to the Malaysian railway network. On the Singaporean side, the CIQ building is at Woodlands RTS station, itself connected to the Singapore public transport network.

The RTS Link is scheduled to open in 2027.

Long term plans for high-speed rail

Arguably the most sought-after prize in the network is the introduction of High-Speed rail, although this is still only a dream at present. Plans have been discussed and considered for decades to link Singapore and Kuala Lumpur with a high-speed train, reducing the travel time to a mere ninety minutes.

Originally slated to have been in operation by now, the project is back in the tender stage so there isn’t any realistic possibility of it running anytime soon. If it was realised, it would be a true game-changer on the route and, perhaps one day, high-speed rail could run all the way from Singapore to Bangkok.

In the shorter term, it’s more likely that a normal rail service will run direct from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, helping smooth out the first (or final) legs of the entire journey.

Final thoughts

A direct Bangkok to Singapore service could the jewel in the Southeast Asian railway network, linking three of the largest and most important countries in the region. Looking from afar, it seems that many of the usual problems affecting cross-continent networks have already been solved: the track is in place, there is an affluent population keen to travel, and political will is (largely) onside and supportive.

Recent improvements on the network and associated infrastructure are welcome signs that progress can be made and this feels like a significant moment in the history of the railway in the three countries.

For rail travellers, this all points to a time in the near future when it’ll be possible to board a train in Bangkok, settle into a comfy seat, watch Malaysia pass by through the window, before arriving serenely into Singapore, all on the same train.