KTM Ekspres Rakyat Timuran 26up Train from JB Sentral to Kuala Lipis

Heading up to Kuala Lumpur for a long day trip, the usual midnight express bus may not get me enough rest to be energised for the full day ahead since I won’t be getting good sleep on a bus seat which will arrive in KL too early. Booking an additional hotel night in KL 1 day before will also earn me a longer trip which I did not need. As such, I decided to make a detour via another KL in the east, Kuala Lipis, to get a proper bed for the overnight train journey on board Ekspres Rakyat Timuran 26up, before crossing over to KL by bus in the morning after arrival and breakfast.

Johor Bahru Sentral Railway Station (JB Sentral)

The façade of Johor Bahru Sentral Railway Station (JB Sentral), with a bit of RTS Link construction progress seen on Jalan Tun Abdul Razak.

Waiting at Gate B for boarding. Boarding for the Ekspres Rakyat Timuran 26up only commences after the Ekspres Selatan 45dn and Shuttle Tebrau 90up passengers have exited from Gate B, which leaves just about 15 minutes from entering the gate till train departure.

Heading down to Platform 2.

KTM 25 Class Locomotive 25102 Pulau Besar leads my Ekspres Rakyat Timuran 26up from JB Sentral.

ADNS (Air-conditioned Day/Night Second)

Heading to my booked ADNS coach at T6 which is near the escalator.

The interior of the KTM ADNS (Air-conditioned Day/Night Second) sleeper coach. 4 ADNS coaches were attached for this peak school holiday period.

My ADNS lower berth at 20, which is facing the wrong direction of travel for this northeastbound train. This was fixed easily by undoing the blanket and changing the pillow over to the right direction.

The overall proper bed space available on the lower berth of the ADNS.

The upper berth of the ADNS is slimmer with a small window.

The overall space on the upper berth of the ADNS.

A rope basket is available on the upper berth of the ADNS for storage.

ASC (ICF-Padu Sedia)

1 ASC (ICF-Padu Sedia) is attached on board as the extra T5 coach.

ASC (Hyundai-Padu Sedia)

The remaining 3 are the usual ASC (Hyundai-Padu Sedia) coaches.

AFC (Air-Conditioned First Class)

1 AFC (Air-Conditioned First Class) is attached at the rear of the train, with this coach still bearing the original Mugunghwa seats with a refurbished seat cover.

ABC (Air-conditioned Buffet Coach)

1 ABC (Air-conditioned Buffet Coach) is attached in the middle of the train for food and drinks sales.

Kempas Baru Railway Station

Most Ekspres Rakyat Timuran 26up passengers from JB boarded at Kempas Baru Railway Station as usual, since Kempas Baru is closer to residential areas without the need to backtrack into the city first.

After departing from Kempas Baru, I headed over to the ABC to get a meal and drink with an empty table before the crowd starts to pour in after everyone has settled their bags around their seats and berths.

I ordered a Nasi Goreng and Iced Milo for my on-board dinner, which costed RM11.50 in total. The menu was not displayed at the counter, so I assume that the Nasi Goreng costs RM8 and Iced Milo costs RM3.50.

The Nasi Goreng was a salted mush which Gordon Ramsey would throw on the floor and yell at the chef to get out, but because of the high salt content in the fried rice, Uncle Roger would be much pleased. The only rather normal tasting thing here is the fried egg.

On top of the mush, some further-mushed rice clumped up into cold cubes of rice.

Iced Milo is Iced Milo.

Kulai Railway Station

Making a brief stop at Kulai Railway Station.

Kluang Railway Station

Making a longer stop at Kluang Railway Station as the Ekspres Rakyat Timuran 26up was running early.

The night scenery of Kluang.

I took an early rest after departing from Kluang Railway Station since I would be waking up early for my early arrival at Kuala Lipis, so I want to get as much sleep as possible for the long day ahead.

Kuala Lipis Railway Station

My Ekspres Rakyat Timuran 26up arrived at Kuala Lipis Railway Station at 6.07am – 6 minutes delayed.

Ekspres Rakyat Timuran 26up at Kuala Lipis Railway Station, still in the darkness of the early morning.

After a crew change, the Ekspres Rakyat Timuran 26up departed from Kuala Lipis Railway Station at 6.14am – 3 minutes delayed. This train will continue on to Tumpat Railway Station where it terminates.

As it was an early arrival, some other passengers who had also alighted from the Ekspres Rakyat Timuran 26up waited in the station before heading onwards to their destinations.

The façade of Kuala Lipis Railway Station.

The Selamat Jalan arch in front of the old Kuala Lipis Railway Station.

There is a locomotive and coach hybrid mock-up thing in front of the old Kuala Lipis Railway Station under installation.

The KTM Kuala Lipis mural painted on a shophouse leading to the road to Kuala Lipis Railway Station.

Jalan Tan Sri Abdul Razak

Despite the early arrival time, the food stalls along Jalan Tan Sri Abdul Razak are already open for business. No problems of finding food here.

Conclusion

The Ekspres Rakyat Timuran 26up was a time-effective ride to travel from through the night on a proper bed. While it’s not a proper sleep like at home or in a hotel, with passengers chatting and smoking, it is still much better than a bus seat, and I woke up at 5.30am not too tired, and made it through my day in KL without the feeling of napping.

Too bad the only KL that the Ekspres Rakyat Timuran 26up serves is Kuala Lipis and not Kuala Lumpur, hence this huge detour in order to get on board the ADNS to KL.