The efficient KTM Komuter service beats the hassle of road travel, writes Alan Teh Leam Seng
IT is difficult to explain the feeling. It feels a bit like going on a first date. The bus has been my comfort zone for too long and now I am stepping into a new frontier.
I am about to experience the KTM Komuter service. “Why don’t you just take the train? It is cheaper and very fast,” my friend Sim had said in response to my suggestion for him to drive from Bukit Mertajam to Butterworth to meet me.
Sim, a fellow vintage movie enthusiast, had earlier invited me to his hometown.
I reluctantly agreed to his train suggestion and started making preparations. I even went to the station to buy tickets a day in advance only to be told that it could only be done on the day of the journey.
But my trip to the Alor Star KTM station was not totally in vain as I got to explore the new station and check out the timetable.
Well, it looks like I will be on the 8.08 am train the next day.
ON TRACK
The next morning, I arrive at the station at half past seven. I leave my motorcycle at an overcrowded parking area and join a long snaking queue at the ticketing counter.
While waiting my turn, I double-check the time on the electronic notice board. Good! Everything is on schedule.
I tell the clerk that I am going to Bukit Mertajam.
“RM6.40 one way,” she replies. I decide to buy the return ticket as well when she tells me that the return leg is open.
About 10 minutes before departure, an attendant opens the gate leading to the platform. I walk straight ahead and stand behind the yellow line as advised by the announcer over the PA system.
Suddenly I get a strange feeling that I am alone. I quickly turn around and I am just in time to see the last group of people walking up a flight of stairs.
I feel unsure but there is no one to ask. So I decide to follow the group. I soon realise that commuters have to climb two flights of stairs to reach a connecting walkway leading to the opposite platform. Ahhh..I understand now. Trains heading south arrive on Platform 2.
My experience with the Singapore MRT has taught me to wait at either one of the extreme ends of the train. These two places usually have the least number of passengers. Most people habitually wait at the middle section, making the carriages in the centre most crowded.
The KTM Komuter arrives on time and I am glad to see that first carriage still has plenty of empty seats.
I choose a seat on the left so that I will not be facing the morning sun and avoid the glare during the journey.
I am pleasantly surprised to find the place very clean and the seats are comfortable. I notice several passengers nodding off within minutes of sitting down.
ARRIVING AT BM
It only takes an hour for me to arrive at Bukit Mertajam (or fondly called BM). I meet Sim who immediately takes me for a hearty yam rice brunch.
Our conversation quickly skews towards our mutual interest — vintage cinemas. Sim shows me some old movie leaflets.
“These belonged to my father-in-law. He watched all these shows and kept the leaflets for remembrance. He is 85 this year and has given the leaflets to me to enjoy. During his youth, cinemas were the main entertainment source in Bukit Mertajam. There were three cinemas in total — Cathay, Cheok San and City Light,” Sim explains as I take my first sip of the salted vegetable soup.
I spend the rest of the hour touring Bukit Mertajam. Sim drives me to the three cinemas which were closed down in the 1990s when modern cineplexes started to make their appearance.
Cheok San Cinema, located near the old market place, used to be the most popular as it screened classic Chinese movies. Each morning the cinema workers would walk around the market distributing leaflets to promote new films.
Sim drops me back at the Bukit Mertajam Station which is just a five-minute drive away from the town centre.
QUICKIE IN SP
The return journey is just as pleasant. I enjoy looking at the cars along the North South Expressway which runs parallel to the tracks. It is obvious that the train is moving much faster than the average car.
I suddenly develop a craving for beef noodles just as the train approaches the Sungai Petani station. I remember the clerk telling me that the return ticket is open and I am free to make brief stops along the way as long as the stations that I alight at are between Alor Star and Bukit Mertajam.
I look at my watch. I have about an hour to spare so I alight at Sungai Petani.
Fortunately the Sungai Petani KTM station is conveniently located in the middle of town. The beef noodle stall is within walking distance. Before that, I decide to visit two of Sungai Petani’s iconic buildings — the Lim Lean Teng clock tower and the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank building.
The former was built by a rich Penang tycoon who made his fortune by investing in rubber estates around Sungai Petani.
The Moorish inspired bank building always reminds me of the old Kuala Lumpur Railway Station. Together, they represent the definitive colonial era architecture in Malaysia.
I make a quick 10-minute walk in a southerly direction to reach the town’s only taxi stand. A smile slowly appears on my face when I turn the corner. The beef noodle stall is open. The 72-year-old proprietor is the third generation manning the stall.
I used to come here regularly with my father and uncles during my childhood days. Back then, my paternal grandfather’s house in Kuala Ketil was just a short drive away.
Tucking into my RM10 bowl of delicious noodles and piping hot soup, I realise my folly for not using the KTM Komuter service earlier.
In between mouthfuls of tender tripe and liver, I text Sim and thank him profusely for encouraging me to make the change.
I still remember his words. “Our Federal Government has given us something that is so good and convenient. We will be silly not to use it.”
Thank you, Sim. No more buses for me when I travel alone again.
TRAVEL FILE
THE KTM Komuter service from Butterworth to Padang Besar started running on Jan 1, 2016. There are a total of 13 stops along this 157.8 km route. The time taken for the entire one way trip is 105 minutes.
Passengers will encounter the Butterworth, Bukit Tengah, Bukit Mertajam, Tasek Gelugor, Sungai Petani, Gurun, Kobah, Alor Setar, Anak Bukit, Kodiang, Arau, Bukit Ketri and finally Padang Besar stations when they take the train towards Thailand.
After a year of overwhelming success, the KTM Komuter frequency has now increased, with one leaving at the top of every hour.