Gua Musang to Dabong

OK. At Gua Musang we were supposed to switch to a local train as the one we took from Gemas should end its trip here. However change in plans were made as this train continued to be used as a local train.

Being now a local train it made stops at practically all the small stations afterwards, stations that an express train would just pass by without giving much notice...

At one stop schoolchildren in uniforms came by the drove.

This was at Sri Mahligai, a stop I wouldn't have noticed at all if I were to say take the Wau Express train from Kuala Lumpur on to Tumpat.

Soon we crossed a part of Galas river, a major one in Kelantan. Just like Jelai near Kuala Lipis forms the major Pahang river, this one forms the river of Kelantan.

At Kemubu, another station off the express radar, the view began to get very scenic.

Actually since before Merapoh we started passing through pristine jungle but this parts have the added bonus of having views of the Galas river supported by a superb backdrop of mountains.

At the next station the schoolchildren came down.

Welcome to Dabong where lies a big half-boarding school. For the record, an express train would have travelled straight from Gua Musang to Dabong without making any stops in-between. Note, this is the 500th article in this blogspot.

Kuala Lipis to Gua Musang...

And so we arrived at Kuala Lipis.

Being a major station on the East Coast route there's many people coming down to be replaced by those coming up...

Thus there is a long stop here...

This allowed me to go on around and take this picture of town from inside the station.

Next comes this stop.

It is at a place called Padang Tengku.

Then there's small stations like this...

Welcome to Chegar Perah a name you could hardly find on maps.

Note that along the route after Kuala Lipis could be found many limestone hills...

Soon we arrived at another small station...

But in a sense, this one at Merapoh could be considered a major stop.

This is because in Pahang, it is the other gateway to get into Taman Negara, the National Park. In fact this is the closest point to reach and climb Gunung (mount) Tahan, which at around 7,200 feet high is the highest mountain in Peninsular Malaysia.

Another major stop is Gua Musang which is after Merapoh.

This is the biggest town at inland Kelantan and our train is supposed to end its trip here.

Anyway the words Gua Musang literally mean "Caves of foxes". This town is surrounded by limestone hills like this one situated right in front of the train station and its caves used to have many foxes. At least that is what the locals said...

The scenic route after Batu Sembilan

Continued from From Gemas to Jerantut.

After Jerantut we reached this small station...

The signboard says this is in Mela... and there should be a station called Tembeling before it.

Then I learned from the locals that this train does not stop at Tembeling. In fact no train does since the local mail service was stopped about 2 month ago. Here we were at another station which is after Mela.


While I made the mistake of snapping this picture slightly late as the train started moving again, I know this is at Kerambit as it is right after Mela.

However it seems you can't totally trust the signboards 100 per cent.

This one shows we are at Batu Sembilan which is totally correct. However the signboard at the previous station which is Kerambit says the station after it should be Kuala Lipis when the fact is Batu Sembilan stood between Kerambit and Kuala Lipis. Note the use of timber for the platform...

Do take note that after Batu Sembilan is one of the most scenic route at any part in Peninsular Malaysia rail network.

For here the tracks are very close to the river Jelai, a main river of Pahang. In fact Jelai actually forms the Pahang river. To see how look at the old article Foray to idyllic Kuala Medang in Pahang....

It is about 14 km from Batu Sembilan to Kuala Lipis and all the way you could see the Jelai river meandering idylically through the landscape. Anyway here we have arrived at Kuala Lipis. The story-telling will continue in another article...

From Gemas to Jerantut

After sometime waiting in Gemas it's time to get onboard the train heading for the East Coast.

For the record this train started from Singapura. It seems there's more passenger in this one maybe because it was already daytime...

We soon reached the town of Bahau, also in the state of Negeri Sembilan.

Ah. There is its cute station. Have a look at the earlier article The unique station at Bahau.

Next stop is Kemayan which is in the state of Pahang.

Then it's Triang.

After that we came to the first main town of Pahang along the route, Mentakab. For the record Mentakab lies near the main road from Kuala Lumpur to Pahang's capital, Kuantan...

Next is Kuala Krau which the maps show as the stop nearest to the river Pahang.

While the tracks from Triang and on are actually laid along the Pahang river, I just could not catch a glimpse of the river from this train.

We next passed through the small station at Jenderak.

Then it's Jerantut where lies another main station along this route.

For Jerantut is the main gateway to get into Taman Negara, the Malaysian national park famous for its virgin rainforest jungle said to be millions of years old!

On to Gemas

After the stop at Seremban the train continued its journey down south...

Along the way one could see the double-tracking project which would make train travel along Peninsular Malaysia's West Coast faster progressing well...

Next stop is the Tampin/Pulau Sebang station...

This is followed by Batang Melaka...

Now time to move on to the last station for this train service, the Langkawi Express.

Welcome to the Gemas station which is situated in the state of Negeri Sembilan, at a part bordering the state of Johor...

From here we would take another train to head for the East Coast. You could see more pictures of this station in the earlier article Train station of Gemas.