From KL to JB by train

I planned to blog every hour on the train but I could not not.The main reason is the connectivity to Internet.From KL to Seremban was a bliss but after that,I lost my patience when I had intermittent connection until I arrived at Kluang-most time no connection at all).By then,my mood was not there any more as I was getting hungry.Hungry men are angry men;-) I am using Celcom broadband with 3G wireless card.

Another reason that I did not proceed with blogging was due to lateral movements of the train as I type on the keyboard with my two fingers. Last but not the least was I am worried the vibration from the train may cause damages to some parts inside in pc.So I chosed to update using Twitters via my Treo680 smartphone-as and when I could get connected to Digi.

By the way, when it comes to writing/blogging on the train, the old fashion way of a notebook and a pen will do just fine. That was what I did along the way...

One interesting discovery I made is the direct distance from JB Railway Station  to KL Sentral is about  329km but the real distance I travelled by railway is 376km.This figure shows that the route constructed is only 14.3% longer than the straight line. Considering our railway lines were done more than 50 years,it was an good engineering work done by the engineers at that time.

Using my GPS device to track the travel,here are some figures:

Max speed                   101km/hr
Moving average speed     55km/hr
Travel time                      6.5hrs
Ttotal time for Stops          25min
Distance covered              376km

At Tampin and Gemas railway stations,I saw a few old trains and old buildings being left to rot away. What a waste..I could write more but nothing is good to report about. In a sentence,our KTM needs a major overall overhaul in order to keep it relevant and modern.

Here is something to smile about:

When I bought the ticket for KL/JB, the ticket officer told me I have made the right choice compared to travelling by plane or bus.When I enquired why, he told me that I can enjoy the ride much longer for every ringgit I paid compared to travelling by plane or bus!

Note on the photo:The photo showed how people sleep on the train.I saw one with a plastic bag to cover his head!

Comments

[Carneyz]

Salam Mr Adib,

It's been some time I dropped a comment in your blog :) I am one of the people who enjoy train rides, especially travelling in sleep coach. It is more comfortable than taking economy long-distance flight because we can lie down flat on the bed bunk and get a good, restful journey!

Plus, the jostlings of the train as it speeds by lull me to sleep and remind me of the time long ago when I was a toddler in the net cradle as my mother rocked me to sleep. Ah, the peace I feel when travelling in a train...

[KNizam]

Great write up abedib. I really like this kinda travel log. Takde roti bakar pic ke?
K810i

[Adib]

Carneyz,
I agree with your views.On the way,I slept like a baby all the way until Seremban.
KNizam,
I had my breakfast at KL Sentral on the way to JB and returned with Senandung Malam and slept all the way.Only my Garmin GPS is alive to record the journey and I managed to record the track and major stations on the way to JB with Sinaran Pagi.No chance for roti bakar and kpoi kaw:-)

[KNizam]

assalamualaikum again abedib

check this out - http://www.keretapi.com/

[Adib]

Wassalam KNizam,
Thank you very much for the link. I have just registered myself under the name of berisman.

[drtamil]

Dear All,
You can view the tracks of his journey at http://www.malsingmaps.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=1599&p=15210#p15210

[anonymous]

Why 55 kk/h at certain stretches? Why can't the average speed raised to 130 km/h?

[Adib]

The railway line alignment,geometry and conditions do not permit higher speed at some stretches.To get 130km/hr average, I think we need to upgrade to the whole railway network and system.That cost billions!