Shuttle 61dn: Gemas to Woodlands CIQ
Shuttle 61dn was created on 15 August 2014 as a new early morning Shuttle train from Gemas Railway Station to Woodlands Train Checkpoint (Woodlands CIQ), although its said to be a truncated Shuttle 91dn as per the KTM press release.
The truncation of the super long distance Shuttle 91/92 between Woodlands Train Checkpoint (Woodlands CIQ) and Tumpat Railway Station is due to the partial day closure of the railway between Gemas and Gua Musang – an operation which remains in place today since the published Ekspres Makmur was retracted but still very much alive on the internet today on KTM’s website if you know which link to go to.
On top of the truncation, the new Shuttle 62/61 was operated by a rake of BSCs, formerly operating for the Malayan Tiger Train.
Having arrived with the Shuttle 62up from Johor Bahru Sentral Railway Station (JB Sentral), I returned back on the same rake, but this time, directly back to Woodlands Train Checkpoint (Woodlands CIQ), Singapore.
Getting my ticket on the spot from the ticketing counter easily, since this was a Shuttle train.
The Shuttle 61dn is formed of 3 BSC coaches with a conductor room facing the south.
The schedule of the Shuttle 62/61 was set to cater to returning Malaysian (JB) workers from Singapore, and for these student and workers to enter Singapore the next morning. As such, the Shuttle 62/61 is heavily used only between Woodlands Train Checkpoint (Woodlands CIQ) and Johor Bahru Sentral Railway Station (JB Sentral), and runs almost empty between Johor Bahru Sentral Railway Station (JB Sentral) and Gemas Railway Station.
3 types of BSC coaches are attached on the Shuttle 62up. More details in the BSC page.
25112 Pulau Tioman leads the Shuttle 61dn from Gemas Railway Station to Woodlands Train Checkpoint (Woodlands CIQ).
As it was an overnight journey, or rather, super early morning journey, I spent the whole journey catching up on sleep for the night I have, and woke up only with immigration done on board.
Once done with on-board Malaysia exit immigration in a jiffy, since I’m like the only passenger on board, I made my way to the door to prepare for taking pictures on the Causeway, since I know that there’s going to be a swarm of people soon.
And true enough, the Shuttle 61dn was stuffed throughout, filled with Malaysian workers and students wanting to beat the Causeway jam.
And here’s my prized shot of the Shuttle 61dn with Blue Train coaches making its way finally into Singapore.
The Blue Train coaches were not clear to enter into Singapore due to the two truss bridges, Bridge 1861 and Bridge 1871, but now that the railway had been cut back to Woodlands Train Checkpoint (Woodlands CIQ) since 1 July 2011, it didn’t matter since those 2 obstacles are out of the equation.