Padang Besar KTM Pedestrian Bridge To Reopen November 2023

The pedestrian overhead bridge linking Padang Besar Railway Station with Padang Besar Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security (ICQS) Complex and Padang Besar town will reopen on 30 November 2023. Contrary to knee-jerk news reports here and here suggesting that the pedestrian overhead bridge has already reopened with misleading headlines, the Padang Besar pedestrian overhead bridge remains closed while a temporary fenced walkway is being built on the Padang Besar ICQS side.

This information was first spotted on 1 May 2023, on a notice posted on the closed gate of the pedestrian overhead bridge at Padang Besar Railway Station, stating that the pedestrian overhead bridge will reopen in September 2023.

This information has been updated with another visit on 21 September 2023, on a notice posted on the closed gate of the pedestrian overhead bridge at Padang Besar Railway Station, stating that the pedestrian overhead bridge will reopen on 30 October 2023.

This information has been updated with another visit on 15 October 2023, on a notice posted on the closed gate of the pedestrian overhead bridge at Padang Besar Railway Station, stating that the pedestrian overhead bridge will reopen on 30 November 2023.

Padang Besar Railway Station Pedestrian Bridge

As of 1 May 2023, the Padang Besar pedestrian overhead bridge remains closed.

The Padang Besar pedestrian overhead bridge has closed since 1 September 2020 due to security reasons pursuant to the Protected Areas and Protected Places Act 1959 by order of the Ministry of Home Affairs of Malaysia (Kementerian Dalam Negeri Malaysia).

Padang Besar Railway Station Pedestrian Bridge Reopening in September 2023 (Outdated)

However, a new A4 laminated paper sign to the right of the big red closure sign indicates that the pedestrian overhead bridge linking Padang Besar Railway Station with Padang Besar Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security (ICQS) Complex and Padang Besar town will reopen in September 2023.

This comes after more accurate news headlines here and here of the Railway Assets Corporation (RAC) agreeing to build a new fenced walkway without crossing the Padang Besar ICQS Complex area to ensure the safety of users and to ensure that there is no intrusion by foreigners into Malaysia through Padang Besar Railway Station.

As usual with the common confusion, even though the news clearly reports that Railway Assets Corporation (RAC), the asset owner, will be building the new fenced walkway, the logo on the sign signs off under KTM Berhad instead, which does not own the bridge asset.

Padang Besar Railway Station Pedestrian Bridge Reopening on 30 October 2023

A new updated sign on the Padang Besar pedestrian overhead bridge spotted on 21 September 2023 indicates that the pedestrian overhead bridge will reopen on 30 October 2023.

Padang Besar Railway Station Pedestrian Bridge Reopening on 30 November 2023

A new updated sign on the Padang Besar pedestrian overhead bridge spotted on 15 October 2023 indicates that the pedestrian overhead bridge will reopen on 30 November 2023.

When will the Padang Besar pedestrian overhead bridge actually reopen?

Conclusion

I look forward to the day when I can see the Padang Besar pedestrian overhead bridge instead of new A4 papers being printed, and I can walk over to Padang Besar town again with the newly-fenced Padang Besar pedestrian overhead bridge between Padang Besar Railway Station and Padang Besar town, bypassing Padang Besar ICQS Complex, without the need to pay for an overpriced Kereta Sewa for a 10-minute detoured car ride of 2.4 kilometers instead of a 5-minute 500 meter walk.