Officially the East Coast Railway line, it branches of the West Coast Trunk line at Gemas on the border of Johor and Negeri Sembilan and goes through the forested heart (hence the nickname "Jungle Railway") of Peninsular Malaysia to Tumpat, a small town on the East Coast near Kota Bharu, Kelantan.
The Jungle Railway is an interesting way to get from Kuala Lumpur or Singapore to the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It can certainly be used to get Overland from Singapore to Bangkok, but it is not a continuous train journey as you will have to catch buses or taxis at the northern end of the line (either from Pasir Mas or Kota Bharu to connect to Thailand's railway network at Sungai Kolok.
Although not an epic train journey like the Trans-Siberian, it nevertheless offers an insight to the life of the hinterland of the more rural East Coast states. For many years, people in little hamlets along the railway relied on the train to get to bigger towns like Pasir Mas or Gua Musang in Kelantan as no roads were able to reach such remote areas. While the name evokes a journey through thick rainforest, the reality is that the forest in many parts of Peninsular Malaysia is disappearing. You will still see stretches of thick jungle and the railway track goes over several impressive rivers, but you will also see many oil palm and rubber plantations along the way. In particular south of Jerantut the influence of man on what was once rainforest is obvious.
Taman Negara National Park, Malaysia's oldest national park, lies along the Jungle Railway. Other attractions include the Kenong Rimba Park in Pahang, Stong waterfalls and limestone caves in Gua Musang, Kelantan.
Despite it being called the East Coast Line, it does not go anywhere near the coast except at its terminus in Tumpat. It goes through the center of Peninsular Malaysia.
There are no large cities along its route. Most stations are in remote, jungle-surrounded villages and many stops are nothing more than a platform in the middle of the jungle. The bigger towns along the line are Mentakab (on the Kuala Lumpur-Kuantan main road), Jerantut, Kuala Lipis (former capital of Pahang state), Gua Musang and Kuala Krai.
The first stretch between Gemas and Bahau, both in Negeri Sembilan was opened in 1910, while from the north, the first stretch from Tumpat to Tanah Merah in Kelantan was completed in 1914. The entire length of the railway was opened in 1931. The link to the State Railways of Thailand in Sungai Kolok from Pasir Mas was completed in 1921. About 240km of tracks were removed by the Japanese during World War Two and used in the construction of the Death Railway between Thailand and Myanmar and had to be replaced after the war.
The new Lambaian Timur express, launched in January 2007, has opened up the chance for daytime travel along the Jungle Railway on faster express trains. The other express trains unfortunately travel at night, preventing you from seeing the jungle.
The real attraction along the line is of course the '''Jungle Train'''. There are in fact three trains and they will give you a true taste of rural Malaysia train travel. All of them only have Third Class coaches and besides passengers, you will possibly be sharing coaches with livestock and tons of merchandise. They stop at almost every station along the way -- and there are many -- and will almost certainly run late.
The three daily services are:
Check Keretapi Tanah Melayu's (KTMB or Malayan Railways) [http://www.ktmb.com.my website] for latest details.
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" align="center" ! station !! Tumpat !! Wakaf Baru !! Gua Musang !! Jerantut !! Gemas
Again, check KTMB's [http://www.ktmb.com.my website] for latest fares.
Trains depart very early at both ends, and will almost certainly run late. The trains are also not as well maintained as express trains, and the toilets may be a little shocking for the uninitiated. All sorts of bugs and critters come out from their hideouts as soon as the train comes to halt at a station and disappear back when the train continues. In the early morning, your journey may be in total darkness as the lights in the coaches do not always work.
Also, be prepared to share your coach with huge amounts of merchandise and agriculture products (like the smelly durian and the occasional livestock) and crying babies. The trains are however rarely full. If you can handle local food, then sustenance will not be a problem as people will sell food onboard or from platforms when the train stops at stations. Even the third-class trains have a restaurant car, selling chips, soft drinks and bottled water among local delicacies.
Despite all this, many say the experience is extremely enjoyable and more than makes up for all the shortcomings.
Most people take the Jungle Railway from the north - mostly from '''Wakaf Bharu''' station which is near '''Kota Bharu''', Kelantan. The station is 5 km. from the city center and can be reached by bus or taxi. As the trains leave extremely early, please make sure that you have your transportation to the station sorted out the night before.
'''Tumpat''' is of course the start of the line and about half an hour north of Wakaf Bharu. It can be reached by bus from Kota Bharu and Pengkalan Kubur on the Thai-Malaysian border across the Golok River from Tak Bai in Narathiwat province. However, there is no accommodation in Tumpat, making it very difficult to catch the 05:00 mail train.
For those coming from southern Thailand via Sungai Kolok and Rantau Panjang, '''Pasir Mas''' station is the nearest station. There may also be accommodation in Pasir Mas.
'''Gua Musang''', the frontier town in southern Kelantan, is the end of two jungle trains and is a convenient place to end or start your journey, although the area to the south towards Pahang is also interesting and thickly forested. Gua Musang has accommodation and is easily accessed by road from Kota Bharu and Kuala Lumpur via bus, taxi or express train.
Jerantut in Pahang is another popular access point as it is the station to or from Taman Negara National Park. Jerantut is also a stop for all express trains serving the East Coast Line, and is also served by by bus or taxi from Kuantan and, with a few changes, from Kuala Lumpur.
'''Mentakab''' is a possible access point as it is on the main road linking Kuala Lumpur and Kuantan. It is however quite a long way from the more interesting parts of the railway which lies further up north in norther Pahang and Kelantan.
'''Gemas''', the southern end of the Jungle Railway, is on the Butterworth-Kuala Lumpur-Singapore railway line and can also be easily accessed by road. Gemas station has benches which afford sleeping, a proper waiting room and an all-night restaurant -- all convenient to those arriving late at night to catch the morning northbound mail train. Although the journey going up north is interesting, it is a long way before you get to the interesting parts in Pahang and Kelantan.
At '''Kusial''', the railway crosses the wide Kelantan River. The Guillemard Bridge is the longest railway bridge in Malaysia, built by the British in 1925, destroyed during World War II to hold back the invading Japanese Imperial Army, and rebuilt in 1948. The line now runs through rubber, oil palm plantations and secondary forests and if you are on the local "jungle trains", you will be stopping every 10 to 15 minutes at little stations along the way.
After '''Kuala Krai''', the line starts moving into hilly country and into truly isolated spots far away from Federal Route 8, or the main East Coast inland trunk road, which links Kota Bharu and Bentong in Pahang. You will start seeing the jungle which gave the line its nickname. Still, the stretch is quite heavily populated with little towns located along the line. On the early south-bound train, you will be joined by school children catching the train to school in the larger settlements along the line.
You will know that '''Gua Musang''' is drawing near when you start seeing limestone outcrops. Gua Musang station itself is located at the base of a steep limestone cliff. The town, once totally unreachable except via the Jungle Railway, is a convenient place to break the journey as there are several accommodation options. You can also return to Kota Bharu or go directly to Kuala Lumpur by bus from here. Two of the three Jungle Trains also terminate here.
After numerous tiny villages and more jungle, the train draws into '''Kuala Lipis''', the former capital of Pahang. The town is surrounded by hills and is quite charming. The tracks then run roughly beside the huge Pahang River. The '''Batu Sembilan''' halt, about half an hour south of Kuala Lipis is the access point for the Kenong State Park.
You will pass '''Mela''', the nearest scheduled stop to Kuala Tembeling where you can catch boats to Taman Negara National Park. Tembeling halt, which is south of Mela, is nearer Kuala Tembeling but trains do not stop there anymore. Taxis may be available to shuttle you from Mela to the jetty at Kuala Tembeling or vice-versa.
Jerantut, the next stop after Mela, is a more popular getting-off point for Taman Negara, simply because there are more facilities than tiny Mela. Jerantut has many places to stay and eat and public transport to Kuala Tembeling for the boat, or directly to Kuala Tahan opposite the Taman Negara park headquarters can be easily arranged. For those leaving the Jungle Railway, there are buses to Kuantan and Temerloh.
The railway line crosses the main east-west trunk road between Kuala Lumpur and Kuantan at '''Mentakab''', where there are bus and taxi connections to both cities. You can also get to the Kuala Gandah Elephant Rehabilitation Center from Mentakab.
Between Mentakab and Gemas on the Johor-Negeri Sembilan border, plantations dominate the scenery. You can get off at '''Triang''' and try (with great difficulty) to reach the Tasik Bera wetlands area, a Ramsar site. Before Gemas, the train passes through '''Bahau''', where there are transport connections to Seremban.
'''Gemas''' is the southern end of the Jungle Railway and final stop of one of three jungle trains. It is a major railway junction where the East Coast and West Coast railway lines meet. Keretapi Tanah Melayu (Malayan Railways) has a huge yard here and one of its old steam engine is kept here. From Gemas, you can catch trains south to Johor Bahru and Singapore or north to Kuala Lumpur. There are also numerous bus services to other destinations. Gemas also has accommodation for you to break your journey.
Pack some food if you have a sensitive stomach and cannot handle the local stuff sold on trains and at stations. You do not really want to use the toilets on the trains, although your diarrhea may vanish immediately once you try using them.
Making detours: