Padang Besar railway station

The Padang Besar railway station (Stesen Keretapi Padang Besar) is a railway station located at and named after the town of Padang Besar, Perlis in Malaysia which is located at the Malaysia-Thailand border.

Padang Besar
KTM_ETS_Logo KTM_Komuter_Logo
Inter-city rail and Commuter rail station
Platform 1 of Padang Besar station
General information
Other namesปาดังเบซาร์ (Thai)
LocationPadang Besar, Perlis
Malaysia
Operated byKeretapi Tanah Melayu
Line(s)West Coast Line
Platforms4
Tracks5
Train operators
Construction
Structure typeAt-grade
ParkingAvailable, free.
AccessibleYes
History
Opened1 July 1918 (1918-07-01)
RebuiltJanuary 2013
Electrified25 kV AC, 50 Hz
Services
Preceding station Keretapi Tanah Melayu
(Komuter)
Following station
Terminus Padang Besar–Butterworth Line Bukit Ketri
towards Butterworth
Preceding station Keretapi Tanah Melayu (ETS) Following station
Terminus KL Sentral–Padang Besar (Express) Arau
KL Sentral–Padang Besar (Platinum)
Padang Besar–Gemas (Gold) Arau
towards Gemas
Preceding station State Railway of Thailand Following station
Padang Besar (Thai) Southern Line
Padang Besar Branch
Terminus
Location
Padang Besar is located in Malaysia
Padang Besar
Padang Besar
Padang Besar station in Malaysia

It is the northernmost station of the west coast line and the line connects to the State Railway of Thailand's rail network via its Southern Line here.

Location

edit

This station is located in Padang Besar, Perlis in Malaysia, about 200 metres south of the actual border between Malaysia and Thailand. This station should not be confused with another station, named Padang Besar (Thai), which is located on the Thai town of Padang Besar and fully operated by SRT. The two stations are about 400 metres apart.

Despite being in Malaysian territory, owned by Malaysia's Railway Asset Corporation and operated by KTMB, the station is served by both Malaysian and Thai railway services, allowing for passengers to transfer between the two railway systems. SRT operates a ticket office for their trains operating from the station and accept both Malaysian Ringgit and Thai Baht for ticket purchases. Malaysian and Thai immigration, customs and quarantine checkpoints are also co-located within this station specifically for cross-border train passengers.

Padang Besar railway station also has a freight yard that serves as a dry port for the northern part of Malaysia and Indonesia–Malaysia–Thailand Growth Triangle.

The station can be accessed by road which is linked to Federal Route 7 just outside Padang Besar town. The station can also be accessed via a pedestrian walkway which links the station to Padang Besar town as well as the Malaysian immigration, customs, quarantine and security checkpoint for the road border crossing. Taxis and cross-border van services to the Thai city of Hat Yai are available from the station.

Train services

edit

Padang Besar railway station is served by trains operated by both Keretapi Tanah Melayu and the State Railway of Thailand.

Train services by Keretapi Tanah Melayu[1] serving Malaysian destinations are:

  • KTM Komuter Utara - 16 arrivals/departures a day from/to Butterworth
  • KTM ETS - 4 arrivals/departures per day from/to KL Sentral, Kuala Lumpur
  • KTM ETS - 1 arrival/departure per day from/to Gemas, Negeri Sembilan via KL Sentral
  • KTM Intercity MySawadee 1004/1005 - stop-by for immigration service of train passenger between KL Sentral and Hat Yai. Seasonal trains with irregular dates each month.

Train services by the State Railway of Thailand[2] serving destinations in Thailand are:

  • Train 45/46 Special Express - 1 arrival/departure per day from/to Krung Thep Aphiwat, combined service with Train 37/38 Special Express in Hat Yai
  • Trains 947/948 and 949/950 Ordinary Express - 2 arrivals/departures from/to Hat Yai

Besides the 3 Thai train services, there are currently no regular trains going across the Malaysia–Thailand border with the State Railway of Thailand's International Express no longer serving Butterworth, Malaysia and the termination of Keretapi Tanah Melayu's Senandung Langkawi and later, Ekspres Semenanjung service to Hat Yai.

KTM has introduced a seasonal Ekspres Sawadee between Kuala Lumpur and Hat Yai in October 2022, where passengers disembark at the station to go through cross-border formalities before reboarding the train for the onward journey, similar to the practice for the previous International Express and Ekspres Semenanjung.[3]

Below is the list of train services available as of 11/3/2024.

Electric Train Service (ETS)
Service Train No. Departure Towards Note
KTM ETS 9273 07:30 Kuala Lumpur Sentral station
KTM ETS 9275 09:35 Kuala Lumpur Sentral station
KTM ETS 9277 13:40 Kuala Lumpur Sentral station
KTM ETS 9425 15:50 Gemas, Negeri Sembilan
KTM ETS 9279 16:45 Kuala Lumpur Sentral station
Komuter (Commuter)
Service Train No. Departure Towards Note
KTM Komuter Northern Sector 2941 05:20 Butterworth, Pulau Pinang
KTM Komuter Northern Sector 2943 05:40 Butterworth, Pulau Pinang
KTM Komuter Northern Sector 2945 06:00 Butterworth, Pulau Pinang
KTM Komuter Northern Sector 2947 06:20 Butterworth, Pulau Pinang
KTM Komuter Northern Sector 2951 07:35 Butterworth, Pulau Pinang
KTM Komuter Northern Sector 2955 08:35 Butterworth, Pulau Pinang
KTM Komuter Northern Sector 2959 10:35 Butterworth, Pulau Pinang
KTM Komuter Northern Sector 2963 12:35 Butterworth, Pulau Pinang
KTM Komuter Northern Sector 2967 14:35 Butterworth, Pulau Pinang
KTM Komuter Northern Sector 2969 15:05 Butterworth, Pulau Pinang
KTM Komuter Northern Sector 2971 15:35 Butterworth, Pulau Pinang
KTM Komuter Northern Sector 2975 16:35 Butterworth, Pulau Pinang
KTM Komuter Northern Sector 2979 17:05 Butterworth, Pulau Pinang
KTM Komuter Northern Sector 2981 17:35 Butterworth, Pulau Pinang
KTM Komuter Northern Sector 2985 18:35 Butterworth, Pulau Pinang
KTM Komuter Northern Sector 2987 19:05 Butterworth, Pulau Pinang
KTM Komuter Northern Sector 2991 19:35 Butterworth, Pulau Pinang
KTM Komuter Northern Sector 2997 21:35 Butterworth, Pulau Pinang
State Railway of Thailand
Service Train No. Departure Towards Note
ORDINARY EXPRESS 948 11:15 Hat Yai Junction, Songkhla
ORDINARY EXPRESS 950 16:40 Hat Yai Junction, Songkhla
SPECIAL EXPRESS 46 18:00 Krung Thep Aphiwat, Bangkok
MySawasdee (Seasonal KL-Hatyai direct service)
Service Train No. Arrival Towards Note
MySawasdee EXPRESS 1004 Unknown Hat Yai Junction, Songkhla Seasonal, not allowed to board from Padang Besar.
MySawasdee EXPRESS 1005 Unknown KL Sentral, Kuala Lumpur Seasonal, not allowed to board from Padang Besar.

Railway border crossing

edit

The Padang Besar railway station has Malaysia's only co-located or juxtaposed border crossing checkpoint where customs, immigration and quarantine facilities for both Malaysia and Thailand are housed inside the station which is wholly located inside Malaysia territory (200 metres south of the border).

The facilities for each country operate from separate counters inside the railway station building at the platform level. After disembarking from a train, rail passengers are processed for exiting or entering both countries by walking from one counter to the other before boarding trains travelling into the relevant countries.[4]

While the checkpoints at the station bears the same entry and exit point names as the road immigration checkpoints, the facilities in the station operates separately and is only for cross-border rail passengers. The facilities only open when Thailand trains arrive at and depart from the station, thus making clearance not possible after the last train to Bangkok departs at 6.00 pm Malaysian time.

edit
edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "KTMB Train Schedules". Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  2. ^ "Southern Line Timetable". State Railway of Thailand. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  3. ^ "MySawadee KTM Intercity Hat Yai Seasonal Train". RailTravel Station.
  4. ^ "Padang Besar Railway Station – Train times & tickets". Malaysia Trains. Retrieved 11 June 2019.

6°39′48″N 100°19′14″E / 6.6633°N 100.3205°E / 6.6633; 100.3205