Kuala Lumpur – Seremban;
via Electric Train Service (ETS)
by Jason Anom
The double-tracking of Malayan Railways: progressing,
finally, one step at a time, and done almost 100 years since the British first
laid the tracks! And what does this mean for rail aficionados? The potential
for more express trains!
 |
| Old Kuala Lumpur Station |
When the new Ipoh and Seremban tracks were double-tracked,
railway operator Malayan Railways, or Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM), introduced
new electric trains to ply limited stop routes, and hence the Kuala Lumpur – Ipoh and – Seremban limited
stop routes were born.
So of course I jumped on the opportunity to get
on board the new trains.
As is custom, I boarded the train at the Old
Kuala Lumpur Railway Station, and edifice serving as a reminder of the grandeur
of the colonial days and of travel long gone by. All trains stop at this
station, though officially, the new (but gloomy) KL Sentral station services as
the main stop and terminus for many lines.
All ETS services to Seremban originate from
Ipoh, 2 hours north, and call at Kuala Lumpur before continuing south. There is
nothing quite like waiting in anticipation at your dedicated platform for a
fancy new train while the next four platforms on the other side of the station
wait for their older (but at time of writing, they now have never trains, but
not as fancy as the ETS) train sets.
 |
| Electric Train Service (ETS) train carriage |
Within minutes, we were whisked away towards Seremban,
with a television screen showing cartoons and our current speed. But alas, regulation
stipulated that we had to go at a rather brisk 70km/h within the city limits.
However, once past MidValley, and well past the
heavily used inner-city lines, we zoomed by at a blistering pace, gradually increasing
speed from 70km/h to 120km/h. It was just a matter of time before we reached
the top speed of 140km/h.
 |
| Cenotapth, Seremban |
The complimentary high speed (by Malaysian
standards) wifi was an added bonus, and that helped me while away the time.
There was a buffet car, but as this was just a quick 1 hour train ride, there
wasn’t much selection apart from biscuits, coffee, tea and bottled water.
Within just under an hour, we were in Seremban
station, a major stop along the commuter and inter-city routes. It was a modest
station, but one centrally located, and ideal for a quick day trip to explore
this former boom town during the British days.
There are two train departures on the All Stop (Silver) service,
arriving at Seremban one hour from Old Kuala Lumpur Station, departing Kuala
Lumpur at 0920 and 1620, departing Seremban at 1050 and 1750.
Prices are RM 9, from both KL Sentral and Old Kuala Lumpur Station. It
is under RM 3 on the regular commuter trains.
