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ETS - The Stress-Free Way To Travel
Kuala Lumpur, 9 August 2010 – It has been ages since I last boarded an inter-city train from the Kuala Lumpur Railway Station. Since all KTM intercity travel has been shifted to KL Sentral Station nearly a decade ago, the crowd has quieted down considerably to just the regular KTM Komuter passengers. However, things are starting to liven up at the historic railway station with the electric train services (ETS) between Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur starting operations officially on the first week of August. The spanking new RM40 million train with 6 coaches is able to ferry a maximum of 350 passengers to Ipoh at an average speed of 140 km/h (and a maximum of 160 km/h) in about 2 hours. Previously, the journey took 3 hours. My colleagues and I boarded the distinguishable yellow and blue train at Platform 1, and embarked upon one of the most comfortable rides up north ever. For one, we could walk up and down the roomy coach to stretch our legs. We could even hop from one coach to another to visit the clean and spacious disabled-friendly toilets that operate like the airline ones. And if we want a snack anytime during the 2-hour ride, we could just grab a bite at the cosy F&B counter* in one of the coaches.

The ETS train pulling up at the Ipoh Railway Station

The friendly ETS stewardesses are on hand to assist you

The dedicated ETS driver doing what he does best

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KTMB ETS Chief Operating Officer Azizullah Kinayatullah who welcomed us onboard said that rail travel is one of the safest modes of transportation. “ETS offers safety features such as closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras for passenger safety and the train is programmed to slow down to a stop when it detects zero activity from the driver. This ensures no untoward accidents should anything happen to the driver.” Road warriors would appreciate the convenience of having a WiFi connection* while tapping away industriously on their laptops. The ride was so smooth and relatively bump-free that I could read my book without feeling any motion-sickness. There are overhead luggage compartments for the convenience of passengers and window shades for those who dislike having the sun shining directly onto them. It can get rather chilly in the coaches with the powerful air-conditioning, so bring a sweater or shawl along if you are afraid of the cold. Friendly and helpful stewards and stewardesses dressed in cheerful yellow tees are on hand should you require assistance

I couldn’t help but feel how similar this was to taking a flight minus the bumpy air pockets and being asked to switch off your hand phone and electronic devices. 2 hours and 15 minutes later, our train pulled up at the quaint Ipoh railway station and we disembarked feeling #######ed and stress-free. If we had driven from Kuala Lumpur, we would have been frazzled by the traffic jams, tolls and potentially reckless drivers on the road. ETS departs from Kuala Lumpur Railway station to Ipoh 8 times a day (from 6.02am), and from Seremban 2 times a day (from 9.59am). The train departs from Ipoh from 4am. Tickets are priced at a promotional rate of RM30 one way. For more information, visit http://www.ets-train.com.my.[/left]

*The Food and Beverage services, and WiFi connection will be made available in the near future