🇲🇾 Country
Train routes in Malaysia
9 routes · classic 3 · night train 1 · scenic 2 · heritage 1 · mountain 1 · luxury 1
9 routes cross Malaysia in the World Train Map atlas. The longest is the Eastern & Oriental Express at 2,000 km; the fastest is the KTM ETS, running up to 140 km/h; the oldest line dates to 1905. Every route links to its facts, photo and story, and to the interactive world map.
Open the world railway map →Classic (3)
- KTM ETS
Metre gauge yet electric at 140 km/h, among the fastest narrow-gauge trains anywhere, racing past Ipoh’s karst hills to the Penang ferry quay.
Wikipedia ↗ - KTM ETS
The world’s fastest metre-gauge service at 140 km/h, running the peninsula’s west coast to the Thai border at Padang Besar.
Wikipedia ↗ - KTM ETS3
Electric at last to the peninsula’s tip: since December 2025 the ETS3 EMUs run Kuala Lumpur–Johor Bahru direct, ending a nine-year rail gap to Malaysia’s second city.
Wikipedia ↗
Night train (1)
- Ekspres Rakyat Timuran
Malaysia’s last sleeper: the overnight “Jungle Railway” through rainforest, limestone gorges and sleepy kampungs from Johor Bahru to the Thai border.
Wikipedia ↗
Scenic (2)
- Jungle Railway
The nicknamed Jungle Railway crosses Malaysia’s rainforested interior past Taman Negara, from Gemas up to Tumpat near the Thai border.
Wikipedia ↗ - Sabah State Railway
Borneo’s only railway, opened to Tenom in 1905: a metre-gauge survivor that squeezes through the roaring Padas Gorge on its jungle climb inland.
Wikipedia ↗
Heritage (1)
- North Borneo Railway
A 1954 Vulcan Foundry engine burning jungle firewood retraces the 1896 British North Borneo line: the only passenger railway corridor on Borneo.
Wikipedia ↗
Mountain (1)
- Penang Hill Railway
Malaysia’s only funicular since 1923: the Swiss-rebuilt line climbs 691 m through what was once the steepest funicular tunnel in the world.
Wikipedia ↗
Luxury (1)
- Eastern & Oriental Express
Cream-and-green carriages gliding past rubber plantations: colonial-era glamour from the Lion City to Siam.
Wikipedia ↗
Photos via Wikimedia Commons — each route page credits the author & licence
What is the fastest train in Malaysia?
The KTM ETS, running Kuala Lumpur to Butterworth at up to 140 km/h. It is one of 9 routes in Malaysia in this atlas.
Are there night trains in Malaysia?
Yes — 1 sleeper service in this atlas serves Malaysia: Ekspres Rakyat Timuran (Johor Bahru – Tumpat).
Can you cross the border by train from Malaysia?
Yes — 1 of its 9 routes continues into another country: Eastern & Oriental Express (Singapore – Bangkok).
Which is the most scenic railway in Malaysia?
Malaysia has 3 scenic or mountain lines in this atlas. The longest is the Jungle Railway, 528 km.
Cross-border lines continue into
- 🇹🇭 Train routes in Thailand 8 routes