All aboard: Hundreds take electric train from JB to KL on first day of service

Ms Nau Ay Choo and her two siblings from Johor Bahru had been planning a long-awaited family reunion with their parents and two other siblings in Kuala Lumpur since celebrating Chinese New Year together in February.

- Harith Mustaffa

They had originally booked seats on the locomotive train to Kluang district in Johor to meet their parents who reside there, before boarding the electric train service (ETS) to KL - the “old-fashioned way”.

But when the first ETS trip from JB Sentral to KL Sentral went on sale a few days ago, the family bought the tickets in a heartbeat, and the more convenient option turned into a shared historic journey.

“We don’t meet each other often, even though we stay in JB... but finally, we planned this trip to experience the ETS, which gets everyone relaxed. We don’t have to drive, just sit peacefully and then meet my sister in KL,” said 57-year-old logistics executive Ms Nau.

“I think with this new ETS, we'll have reunions like this more often.”

Ms Nau was among the hundreds of passengers who boarded the first ETS trip from JB to KL on the morning of Dec 12, in a milestone for rail travel in Malaysia.

In JB Sentral, the waiting zone was abuzz as passengers arrived as early as 7.30am to take the sold-out train that left the station at around 8.40am. Another service left for KL Sentral at 4.20pm.

Passengers took selfies, some wearing matching T-shirts with train designs. Others queued up for ETS merchandise and took commemorative photos at a booth.

When the gates opened at 8am, passengers scanned their e-boarding passes at the gantries and were greeted by cabin crew clad in yellow uniform.

Staff of Malaysian train operator Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) handed out goodie bags containing wooden replicas of the train tickets to mark the historic occasion.

The ETS is the latest extension of the Gemas-JB electrified double-track rail project in Johor.

Gemas is a town in Negeri Sembilan.