NATIONAL rail company, KTM Berhad recently launched the electric train service (ETS) between Kuala Lumpur and Padang Besar in the northernmost state of Perlis. Friends who have been on the spanking new train service said the journey lasted about half-a-day, about the same with, if not faster than, what it takes to drive. But surely, compared with having to drive all the way, the train journey should be more relaxing and, to a certain extent, perhaps safer.
Although the ETS is expected to be preferred more by normal passengers such as those who went back to their hometowns in the north during the recent Hari Raya break, the existence now of a complete double-tracking rail network to the north has also opened up the possibility of introducing services that will cater more for leisure travellers who would want to take trains just to see the country without the hassle of having to drive. The train is, without a doubt, a good way to do so.
As a keen train rider, the longest train ride I have ever taken was when I got onto the Amtrak train at the Penn Station in New York city, for a three-day journey across America, terminating at the Union Station in Seattle on the Pacific coast some years ago. It took me about 18 hours to reach Chicago from New York with the Amtrak train passing through much of upstate New York before turning westwards into Ohio and then alongside the Great Lakes before reaching the American mid-west’s largest and very windy city. From there, I hopped onto Amtrak’s Empire Builder service which took me further west to Milwaukee in Wisconsin before crossing the mighty Mississippi River in La Crosse in the same state. Then the train rolled on across the states of Minnesota, North Dakota and Montana before leaving the Prairie to climb the Cascades towards Washington and eventually the city of Seattle two days later.
Along the way, I saw parts of America I had either seen only on television or read in books before. The vast farmlands in the Prairie, the barren land where Indians and bisons once roamed and the small frontier towns all seemed like they were trapped in time. Certain coaches on the train were actually viewing cars with very large glass windows where one may sit and enjoy the view while sipping coffee. The family cabin I was in was spacious enough for the four of us. It had four bunk beds which doubled up as seats during the day and at the end of the coach was a shower. Meals were provided in a restaurant car with charges already included in the fare.
I have also taken the night train from Amsterdam in Holland to Zurich in Switzerland. The eight-hour journey passed through Germany although since it was a night service, I spent most of the time in the bunk. Always somewhere in my mind, would be to one day take the Trans-Siberian rail service from Moscow in the western part of Russia to Vladivostok in the east. I was informed that the journey would take about a week, with a possible stop at the world’s largest freshwater lake, the Lake Baikal. I did some research, too, on what was once considered one of the most exotic train routes, the Trans-Andean rail, with the route snaking through the Andes in South America. Unfortunately, I read that a major part of the network has ceased operations due to the treacherous nature of the route which makes maintenance costly. Or perhaps hop on the train from Beijing, China to Lhasa in Tibet. People who have been on this train spoke of the rapid change in altitude as being one of the challenges facing passengers.
As a train enthusiast, I hope the southern part of the double-tracking rail project in Malaysia will be completed soon, and that a similar venture will be undertaken for connections along the east coast thereafter. It will then be possible for KTM to promote services other than those solely to cater for passengers wanting to get from one place to another in the country. Such services may cater to tourists who prefer the more laid-back way of seeing Malaysia. The journey around Peninsular Malaysia may not be as long as the New York-Seattle route I took or the Moscow-Vladivostok super long distance train service in Russia, but it should be exciting nonetheless. It is worth noting that the Amtrak Empire Builder is one of the company’s most profitable services.