KLUANG: Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad’s new Electric Train Service 3 southern route launched today promises to enhance Johor’s tourism sector and simplify local travel.
Passenger Siti Nornazfah Hasnan expressed excitement about the reduced travel time of approximately three hours from Taiping to Kluang compared to over five hours previously.
She hopes the future service extension to Johor Bahru will maintain punctuality as it becomes a new attraction for tourism.
Student Khairunnisa Abu Seman noted her surprise at the two-hour journey from Politeknik Port Dickson to Sri Lalang in Kluang instead of the previous three hours.
She highlighted that bus travel could take nearly four hours, making the ETS3 a modernisation of public transport that improves Johor connectivity.
Rail enthusiast Lim Ren Jie expressed satisfaction with the modern and comfortable ETS3 facilities including a dining car, toilets and reclining seats.
He described his three-hour journey from Rawang as truly exciting despite boarding solely to experience KTMB’s new service.
KTMB Southern Region senior manager Salim Misdi confirmed the ETS3 operates a two-way service between KL Sentral and Kluang with six coaches.
He reported strong passenger numbers with 280 passengers on the morning trip from KL Sentral and approximately 180 tickets already sold for the evening return service by noon.
Salim anticipated increased ticket sales for the upcoming public holiday while expressing hope that the ETS3 would become the preferred choice for southern route passengers. – Bernama
