First time on the ETS

Peace be upon you all. Recently me and family made another trip to southern Thailand. So as usual there are stories to be shared starting with this.

The trip was started Thursday morning 9th March 2023 by driving to the town of Tanjung Malim then leaving our car at a local office. Then we walked to the train station.

We wanted to take the ETS (Electric Train Service) of KTMB (Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad).

This electric trains service was started in 2010. But this is the first time we took it.

Previously we have only taken the Komuter electric train which plies limited parts of the west coast Malaysian rail track.

The ETS on the other hand cover the route from Gemas in the south till Padang Besar towards the furthest north Peninsular Malaysia. That is over 700 km distance.

We were going to Padang Besar which should be about 450 km or so from Tanjung Malim...

Personally I have been on the railway through every available route in Peninsular Malaysia.

I have even took the train from Kuala Lumpur directly to Hatyai in southern Thailand and KL directly to Tanjung Pagar in south of Singapore.

But that was on the old train service, before the ETS was introduced in 2010.

So imagine the excitement of taking the ETS after almost 13 years it is in service...

Within that time frame the closest to ETS I have taken was the northern Komuter service which plies the same rail tracks but only from Padang Rengas in Perak to Padang Besar and back.

Like the ETS the Komuter can go up to a top speed of above 140 km/h.

But the Komuter stops at every station and thus have to slow down often.

The ETS on the other hand can continue going fast more as it only stops at selected stations...