Avoid Traffic Jam with the Electric Train Service (ETS)
Last weekend, Saucer and I went back to my hometown in Kampar on the second day of Chinese New Year. Kampar, a small town situated about 160km north of KL is the place where I spent my childhood years in, and the place where my grandparents and parents still reside currently. As usual, Chinese New Year means feasting like there’s no tomorrow, every day! Here are some of the food that we had during one of the dinners:
Delicious home-cooked dinner for the Chinese New Year
All the dishes were cooked by my talented grandmother, who has the amazing skill to whip up fabulous dishes for big groups of people.
Pan fried prawns
Steamed grouper
Sour and spicy cabbage
Anyway, the point of this post is really to share with you my first experience riding the Electric Train Service (ETS) offered by KTM, or our national railway company. The ETS was launched only in August 2010, claiming to provide the fastest way of traveling from KL to Ipoh, with only 3 stops in between. My hometown, Kampar, happens to be one of the stops!
Tickets from Kampar to KL
The tickets for ETS are more than double the price of the normal train tickets. The normal train economy ticket costs only RM11 each from Kampar-KL, but the ETS costs RM26! To be honest, I had to purchase this ticket only because the normal train tickets were sold out. Well, is the price of more than double the normal train ticket justified? You’ll have to read on to find out for yourself. 
Waiting at the station
It was the Sunday after Chinese New Year, and there were notices saying that all the train tickets were sold out, yes, even the expensive ETS! So I was glad to have purchased my tickets beforehand.
Saucer patiently waiting
We saw an oncoming train from the opposite direction, heading north to Ipoh. It looked like the normal train that I usually took, with a blue locomotive and a rather aged, grey body. Now compare this to the ETS.
The normal train
The ETS arrived about 3 minutes after the scheduled time, not too bad for Malaysian standards. It was apparent that the coaches were still new, with bright colours of yellow and blue donning the shiny grey body.
The arrival of the ETS
A total of 6 coaches
The thing about riding a train is that it won’t wait for passengers, unlike the bus. Once it stops at the station, it would only stop for about a minute or so, so even if you’re only 2 minutes late, you would have missed the train entirely! I like this concept as it sort of guarantees that one will reach the destination on time.
Interior of ETS
Inside the train boasts rows and rows of bright red and comfortable reclining seats. One could even still smell the smell of new cushions, while the floor was lined with linoleum. There’s a cabin space on top of the seats for us to put our luggage in, and the windows were huge and wide with adjustable blinds. Comparing this to the normal train, the difference is that the normal train’s seats are old with thinning cushion, the floors are not lined, and the windows mostly have spoiled blinds.
witch and Saucer in the ETS
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Comments (38)
Hi Witch errr… am I supposed to call you that?
Nice infor and pics on the ETS. And between you and motormouth (I presume you know of him), my head spinning with the choice of food around me.
BTW, you and saucer looked really compatible, both your facial construction which is always a good thing
Yes you can call me witch and yes I know MM
Thank you for your nice compliment of me and Saucer dear
I always agree on services such as trains and buses. Good info and nice pictures on the trains. =)
Thanks for the nice compliment!
wah lau . . .
ETS also let you review till so geng . . . cuz that day back to KL my friend suggest me to take it . .to avoiid heavy traffic ..
You should try it one day.. I’m glad I took it because I heard the Sunday jam was terrible!
wah lau…damn nice la….kudos to KTM for the effort!!
wah…ur grandmother can cook some delicious meals! any chance that u inherit her skills? LOL
ericleeh recently posted..Happy Chinese New Year
Ahem.. U have to ask Saucer on that…
OK lar I have to admit I’m no where near her standards yet, but I’m definitely trying hard to improve! 
gotta try this train thing one of these days!
You have to try it before the service deteriorates
Wow I feel like jumping on a train now to Kampar! The time taken is almost the same as when one is caught in a bad traffic jam in KL!
Question: How far is the kampar train station from the main town? can one walk or does one have to drive in? thanks!
P/S I LOVE Kampar
Lyrical Lemongrass recently posted..Chynna- Hilton Kuala Lumpur – Standard Chartered Extravagant 8 Menu
Come Meena! Jump on the train and never look back! Hehe..
The train station is quite near the Kampar police station (walking distance) if you know where that is. It’s roughly less than 1km away from the main streets of Kampar (Jalan Idris) so I guess it’s not that bad? Hehe
whoa! i would love to try that too!
so now on, u n saucer will take that? 
Caroline recently posted..Gong Xi Fatt Chai !
Well, to be honest I would still try to get the cheaper tickets first since this is more than double the price. But if the normal tickets are sold out, I won’t mind paying for this
gotta check this ETS out one of these days lar
Looks comfortable!
ciki/@agentcikay recently posted..8 Things to Do in Ubud
Yea yea come we make an excursion to Kampar for food! Hehe
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Caroline Ng May Ling, iamthewitch. iamthewitch said: Find out how it's like to travel in the first ETS in Malaysia. Is it worth paying the premium?… http://fb.me/zvwkgvWR [...]
hey~~ i saw u and saucer at the station on sunday…=)
ETS is so much better and faster than the normal train….i took it before….and the trip was pleasant…
You did??? Should have come over to say hi! Hehe.. It was really a pleasant ride
This train reminds me of the KLIA Express! Exactly same LCD screen and toilet! Are they the same actually?
foongpc recently posted..2011 Chinese New Year Decorations
Oh really? I am not sure but they could be from the same manufacturer!!
wow! look at the toilet! it’s been SO long since i last took a train, can barely remember. i definitely would not mind to try this ETS now
xin recently posted..Food to warm the stomach – Tang Shifu in One-Utama
I know right! I was impressed too.. well I hope the quality and cleanliness will be maintained for a long time…
I wouldn’t mind taking train elsewhere… as a matter of fact, I used to take train from Pahang all the way down to Singapore where my grandma lived. Those were the days.. she has since passed away few years ago.
Taking train has its advantages but one thing for sure is that you need someone (local) to bring you around as there is no mode of transport
You’re right, you need to rely on other modes of transport once you reach the destination if you take train…
Saw Wenn Blog about this before. Very good service
smallkucing recently posted..The Days Before Chinese New Year 2011
Yum! Yum! Nothing beats home cooked food. Looks really really delicious! Wah…train ride – brings to mind the old song “One way ticket” – choo…choo train! LOL!!!
suituapui recently posted..What I did for love…
I have to agree, nothing beats home cooked food!!
uhh… would like to try this ETS sometimes…
henry^munkey recently posted..My Birthday Celebration at Chilis- Mid Valley Megamall
I’ve been taking ETS whenever I’m going back to Ipoh. I would say RM 30 paid is really well worth it, the cabin is STILL* clean and nice, and it took me only 2 hours
kampungboycitygal recently posted..德成號 Duck Shing Ho – Definitely The Best Egg Roll in Hong Kong
The problem is: I needed a car to visit my relatives. In the end I still had to brave the traffic jam
khengsiong recently posted..Malaysia’s Dumb Politicians Strike Again
wow..looks like the interior of an airplane!
Merryn recently posted..Valentines Heart Stand
i heard that this new ETS is very nice, but i’ve yet to try that.. have been planning a day trip to Ipoh by the ETS for a good food makan trip~~
[SK] recently posted..08022011 朱古媽蜜
kinda cool.. but havent try before.. always drive wan.. haha..
nice insight into the ETS train
ken recently posted..Chicken Burger Patty FAIL
yea.i just heard about it from my uncle. He said relatively convenient for students who studying at UTAR
mommy ling recently posted..Happy Birthday to Everyone!!!
Yes, many students take this train… Thank goodness for KTM!
Nice home cook meal by the way. Those train looks pretty clean & nice too!
Check ets new web site…. best deal RM 6.
WOWWWWW>..
ets-train.com.my