Experience riding ‘Forest trains’ on the east coast of Malaysia
‘This ‘Forest Railway’ will soon be out of date, but its journey across the heart of the Malaya Peninsula is still nostalgic, exploring forgotten cities and rich in colonial history.
The light of dawn peered through the window of my bed above and made me wake up when our train shot on the tracks.
Outside, purple rays broke through the blanket of clouds that hung low and melted dew in the window of the train, showing winding and foggy hills covered by canopies of trees.
Suddenly, two concrete walls approached, almost touching the side of the train. I gasped, but the train kept going without blisters. I got out of bed and down the metal stairs, grabbed my shoes.
I took the train Pekuranese Express on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.
Despite its name, this train never really touches the coastline, but rather passes through the oldest rainforest in the world in the interior of the Malaysian forest.
Because of this, this historic path is better known as “Jungle Railway” or the Forest Railroad.
People’s Express Timuran is the last train in Malaysia to use a diesel-powered locomotive.
This train is clearly different from the fast and modern electric-powered trains, West Coast Line, which connects Singapore and southern Thailand with a distance of less than nine hours.
However, with news about the East Coast Railroad (East Coast Rail Link) which is faster along 665 kilometers, which will open a new route along the east coast of Malaysia (starting in 2026), a slow Forest Railway, which takes more than 16 hours, might soon become obsolete.
So, I bought a one-way ticket – for 56 Malaysian Ringgit or around Rp. 184,000, with bed facilities below – and rushed to experience one of the biggest historic train trips in Southeast Asia.
For those who like slow travel, the Forest Railroad takes you into local history, and is the most romantic way to reach islands surrounded by corals such as Perhentian Island and Redang which are scattered off the northeast coast of Malaysia.
The Forest Railroad connects the southernmost tip of Peninsular Malaysia with the Thai border in the northeast.
The best way to explore it is to start in the city of Johor Bahru, near the Singapore border and head north.
The train departs at 20:35 local time, allowing you to sleep throughout the first part of the trip.
As the train passes through cities in the southern plains, wake up so you can see the amazing view of the ancient rainforest in the interior of the country.
In the morning, after moving out of bed, I headed for a restaurant car in the middle of a series of trains, where a number of passengers who woke up earlier had sipped local strong coffee (Malaysian coffee).
A number of veiled young women sit next to one family and elderly couples enjoy the panorama while the scent of toast, which is smeared with coconut jam. The aroma fills the air.
I sat on an empty bench and looked out to see zinc-roofed houses surrounded by forest plots and dramatic karst rock formations in tropical morning light.
Since the 19th century, the Forest Railroad has been the main route that crosses the interior of British Malaya, connecting remote villages with former colonial posts such as Kuala Lipis, the remote capital of Pahang state between 1898 and 1955.
The British colonial government began building the route in 1885 to help move goods throughout the country.
They inaugurated the train with the “Gold Inflatable Pipe” ceremonial (Golden Blowpipe) to respect the weapons of the natives or Native People which was used to hunt in the wilderness that was once impenetrable.
It took decades before Britain could build a 530-kilometer path across dense primary forests, while settlements grew around several stop locations.
This train service finally began in 1938, connecting the Tumpat region near the Thai border in northeast Malaysia and the City of Gemas in Negeri Sembilan.
After breakfast, the first major stop is the Weasel Cave in southern Kelantan. I got off the train to look around, seeing hand-painted wooden signboards from colonial times still hanging by arrows pointing to two opposite ends.”After dinner, I often walked with my family to the station to see the passing train. We count the stars and wait for the monkeys to come, do nothing, then we walk back, “said Ong Siou Woon, who grew up in the Weasel Cave, where large limestone formations rise above the middle station of the Forest Railroad like a giant stone turtle shell.
Forest Railroad is not designed to go fast.
“Sometimes the train has to stop and wait for the elephant to cross, or the wood [which has fallen] is sidelined from the tracks,” Ong said, remembering how dangerous it was to ride the train 30 years ago, when he used it to go to school in the southernmost state of Johor.
Even today, this service still runs on one railroad track, forcing opposite trains to be timed so as not to cross each other at certain stations.
Shortly thereafter, we passed through Dabong Village, where there was a large limestone cave of Fish and Kris (famous for being “Light of the Gods” which filters light through gaps in the rock complex ceiling).
The train also passes through the 305 meter high Jelawang waterfall, one of the highest in Peninsular Malaysia. This point is the ideal stop location on this long journey.
Next, the path turns east along the turn of the Galas River and then rotates southeast, leaving the forests and returning to the fields filled with rice fields, traditional Malay houses, and rows of tall coconut trees. However, the most amazing journey takes place about an hour before stopping at Waqf Bharu, the second to last station on this line.
There, we passed the black steel wall of the historic Guillemard Bridge, a historic work of the British colonial government that crossed the Kelantan River.
Built in 1925, the 600-meter single track bridge (the longest railroad bridge in the country) was partially destroyed by the British during World War II to prevent the presence of Japanese troops who finally succeeded in occupying colonial Malaya between 1941-1945. It was repaired as it is today in 1948.
The train kept going through the plains, making me amazed at the success of building and maintaining railroad tracks that pass through tiger and elephant habitat areas, and how important the Forest Railroad is in connecting remote settlements in the interior.
Finally, with one last whistle, the diesel locomotive stopped at the small Tumpat station, the north end of the line, taking me back to the real world. Only 10 kilometers from here, the Golok River marks the border of Thailand. Down with some of the remaining passengers, I walked to the exit and looked at the ancient diesel-powered train car, can’t believe how the car managed to take us across the country.
Behind it, I could see golden Buddhist statues and temples sparkling in the afternoon sun, not the mosques we passed along the route.
I think it would be very difficult if the East Coast Railroad track (East Coast Rail) the new one can cover the charm of slow travel in the remnants of Malaysia’s sturdy past.
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