KTM launches Butterworth-Padang Besar train service

Travelling made easy: Passengers alighting from the KTM Komuter train arriving from Padang Besar at the Butterworth Railway Station.

PETALING JAYA: A new northern KTM Komuter service will make travel from Butterworth to Hatyai in Thailand a breeze.

The Komuter service will run from Butterworth to Padang Besar – a 157km trip – in less than two hours.

From there, commuters can hop over to the twice-daily shuttle from Padang Besar to Hatyai, jointly run by Malaysia and Thailand, which was launched on Dec 21.

A statement posted on KTM Komuter’s Twitter handle @ktmkomuter said the new train servcie would stop at 13 stations through Penang, Kedah and Perlis.

The 105-minute ride, which started yesterday, is the second commuter rail service to be launched in north Malaysia.

It comes three months after the national train company KTM Berhad (KTMB) launched its Komuter Utara service, linking Kamunting in Perak to Gurun in Kedah.

The new train ride will stop in Bukit Tengah, Bukit Mertajam, Tasik Gelugor, Sungai Petani, Gurun, Kobah, Alor Setar, Anak Bukit, Kodiang, Arau and Bukit Ketri.

One-way tickets will be priced from RM1 to RM11.40 for adults, with a 50% discount for senior citizens, the disabled and children aged four to 12.

There will only be six trips in a day – three will depart from Padang Besar for Butterworth at 5.45am, 10.45am and 3.30pm, and the other three from Butterworth to Padang Besar at 8am, 12.50pm and 6.30pm.

The service will be using an Electric Multiple Unit trainset, with three coaches.

Previous reports suggest that similar trains would have a seating capacity of 185 and enough standing space for 290 people.

The statement also said the Butterworth-Padang Besar Electric Train Service (ETS) had been discontinued as of yesterday.

For more information, log on to KTMB’s website at www.ktmb.com.my, call its hotline at 03-2267 1200 or view posts on its Twitter page @ktmkomuter.