This post is about the travel experience onboard the Shuttle Tebrau.
Click here to visit the dedicated Shuttle Tebrau information page.
The dedicated page features the route map, train interior, timetable, fares, travel advisories and a walkthrough of the procedures for crossing the border via the Shuttle Tebrau.
The boarding process commenced when I got to the concourse of JB Sentral from the delayed Ekspres Selatan. Holding my last train ticket ever from London, I went to get it checked and then headed for Malaysian immigration.
The Shuttle Tebrau from JB Sentral to Woodlands CIQ, and my last train ride from London.
Looking back north at Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Mongolia, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, France, Italy and England. Maybe one day I will do the same trip in reverse? I’m not sure.
The last moment in Malaysia…
… and back in Singapore. Usually people will see the PIE or ECP when they arrive back from London. Well, not me this time.
Back in Singapore after 41 days, with the extra 1 day being the flying day to London.
And back to reality at Woodlands Train Checkpoint. No photo-taking is allowed within Woodlands Train Checkpoint, so it’s unfortunate and extremely disappointing that I could not get a photo of the last train hauling me to my last destination railway station. Also, Woodlands Train Checkpoint is a sad, disappointing terminal as compared to the other end of my journey at London St. Pancras.
Price I paid from Johor Bahru to Woodlands (unused ticket thanks to the delayed Ekspres Selatan): RM5 + RM2 surcharge
POSB charged me: S$2.41
Price I paid from Johor Bahru to Woodlands (actual used ticket): RM5 in cash (S$1.66)
Total price I paid from Johor Bahru to Woodlands: $4.07 (ouch.)
But I guess, it’s better than nothing, as after 2018, as part of the Malaysia–Singapore Points of Agreement Supplement 2010, Woodlands Train Checkpoint and the railway track on the Woodlands Causeway may be no more as train services may be cut back to JB Sentral. This is part of the same package with the closure of the railway line from Woodlands CIQ to Singapore (Tanjung Pagar) effective 1 July 20111.
With the Singapore-JB Rapid Transit System still without much news after more than 6 years since the announcement of the project in 2010, future travellers may have to name this journey as “From London to JB Sentral” then. And possibly a ride on SBSTransit 170 or Causeway Link CW2 as the last leg from London to Queen Street Bus Terminal.
And please don’t count in the Singapore – KL High Speed Rail – it runs on a separate track, breaking the complete rail journey. What do I mean by that? From London to Ho Chi Minh City and from Aranyaphrathet to Woodlands CIQ, the tracks are all linked to each other, with no breaks in between.
That was my goal for this trip – a complete unbroken railway link as much as possibly achievable, from London St. Pancras to Woodlands Train Checkpoint.
And I achieved it.
This post is about the travel experience onboard the Shuttle Tebrau.
Click here to visit the dedicated Shuttle Tebrau information page.
The dedicated page features the route map, train interior, timetable, fares, travel advisories and a walkthrough of the procedures for crossing the border via the Shuttle Tebrau.
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