KTM Berhad has been having fun banning people recently, from the initial launch of the new KTM Shuttle Tebrau Ticketing System only accepting users with Malaysian Internet Banking accounts to the more recent ban on almost all (and sometimes random) foreign IP addresses except Malaysia to the KTMB E-Ticket System.
In KTM’s latest stage in their banning game, with support from comments on RailTravel Station yesterday and today, and my own research with friends in other countries, KTM Berhad has now seem to have banned all foreign IP addresses, with the exception of Singapore and Malaysia, to the KTM Shuttle Tebrau Ticketing System.
Ever since the IP ban on the KTMB E-Ticket System, I used Opera to access the KTMB E-Ticket System to check for tickets as their free VPN seems to work to bypass the ban on my Singapore IP address to the KTMB E-Ticket System. Using this as a test, I used the VPN to try to access the KTM Shuttle Tebrau Ticketing System.
Opera VPN Accessibility Status for KTM Shuttle Tebrau Ticketing System
Americas: NOT Accessible
Asia: NOT Accessible
Europe: NOT AccessibleIf you are outside of Singapore and Malaysia, consider using the Hola Free VPN Proxy Unblocker browser extension to Chrome and choose a Malaysian IP address to access the KTM Shuttle Tebrau Ticketing System.
Accessing the KTM Shuttle Tebrau Ticketing System using a VPN with a generic Americas IP address
The KTM Shuttle Tebrau Ticketing System cannot be reached.
Accessing the KTM Shuttle Tebrau Ticketing System using a VPN with a generic Asia IP address
The KTM Shuttle Tebrau Ticketing System cannot be reached.
Accessing the KTM Shuttle Tebrau Ticketing System using a VPN with a generic Europe IP address
The KTM Shuttle Tebrau Ticketing System cannot be reached.
Accessing the KTM Shuttle Tebrau Ticketing System with a Singapore IP address (without VPN)
The KTM Shuttle Tebrau Ticketing System works perfectly.
Since this finding is rather similar to the recent IP ban on the KTMB E-Ticket System, I’ll just say similarly again what I want to say similarly over here:
After the latest Shuttle Tebrau saga which simply involves the payment mode, and now after the IP ban on the KTM E-Ticket System, I’m not sure what KTM Berhad is trying to prove this time enforcing the blockage of global users with an IP ban, which is clearly intentionally meant to exclude non-Malaysians from using their booking services.
On top of banning the IP addresses of foreign devices outside of Malaysia, many ticket sales through agents have now failed in the bookings as well. Foreigners who wish to purchase tickets from agents such as 12Go Asia, Baolau, BusOnlineTicket or Easybook now have a high chance of their tickets going through for sale but is not issued to the agent by KTM Berhad. Thankfully, Easybook’s refund processes are automated and you’re pretty much assured of getting your money back, unlike if you book your ticket through the KTMB E-Ticket System and it fails.
KTM Berhad is the only railway operator in the world which does not want to embrace technology or progress in general. Despite plenty of railways in third-world countries trying to improve themselves, KTM is simply only going backwards by making everyone use their physical ticket counters.
I’m not sure what excuse KTM Berhad will give regarding this now, but I would like to just wish them all the best. I’m not sure for what, but just all the best. But remember not to complain about their services to them on their Facebook page, or else you’ll be banned on their Facebook by them, just like what happened to RailTravel Station. Tell them only the good stuff, if you can find any.
Click here for the bus guide to cross the Johor–Singapore Causeway during public transport operation hours.
Click here for the bus guide to cross the Johor–Singapore Causeway after midnight.
Some possible booking methods for Malaysian domestic and international (to and from Singapore and Thailand) buses are:
- Online from 12Go Asia
- Online from Baolau
- Online from BusOnlineTicket
- Online from CatchThatBus
- Online from Easybook
Hotel Booking
Tempahan Hotel
Attractions Booking
Tempahan Tarikan
- Klook (Get FREE S$5/RM15 voucher for your first purchase when you sign up here! *subject to exchange rate)
How do I book tickets online?
Bagaimanakah saya menempah tiket dalam talian?
- Click here for a step-by-step guide for 12Go Asia.
- Click here for a step-by-step guide for Easybook.
I am wondering how far they will go. Wondering if tickets booked by foreign passport holders will be blocked at the payment level.
I have raised the matter with the Malaysian tourist bureau in Sydney Australia as many ( including us ) are now staying in JB and day tripping to Singapore. If the bandwidth is such a problem then surely foreign passport holders could be blocked at the payment page if they were ( lottery ) lucky enough to grab a seat during peak hours.
It ‘appears’ that online bookings for non-Malaysian residents is now available again at easybook.com
Can anyone confirm this ?
Easybook was always accessible worldwide. Whether or not they could retrieve KTM tickets is another issue.
Easybook.com was accessible from worldwide but the Shuttle Tebrau timetable was not accessible and Easybook had a notice posted that Shuttle tickets were not available through their site.
Now the Shuttle Tebrau timetable and available seats are visible again and tickets can be selected.
Yes it might be related to the IP ban period.
The IP ban is still in effect so the ‘period’ so far appears indefinite.
I can’t get a clear answer from Easybook.
Ultimately it doesn’t matter because I will still be able to book directly with the official site by ‘cheating’…lol
Shuttle Tebrau tickets are like any other product so I can’t understand why the IP ban can’t simply be applied to peak hour tickets only.
I can buy it from Easybook.com from Thailand. But Another website can’t buy it.
30 days out I will book via easybook.com. If I don’t receive the official tickets then I will use ‘another angle’ and book direct with ktmb. The Australian office of Malaysian Tourism has confirmed an IP block is in place but can’t help change the mind of a mindless bureaucracy.
I tried to go on the Shuttle Tebrau ticketing website from an Australian IP address, and didn’t work. The regular KTM ticketing website does work though. There’s a free Chrome extension called Hola which has a Malaysian VPN and used it and it works. Random side note, New Zealand’s trains (greatjourneysofnz.co.nz) also use IP blocking to block the cheapest possible train fares, so if you want the cheapest NZ train fare, use a NZ VPN.
Thanks for the tip.
Way to go Dean. I still can’t figure why they can’t just block attempts at peak hour trains. It’s understandable that workers’ seats should really be held for locals but off peak trains should be open to all.
Double way to go Dean. Thank you as I have been stressing about this as travelling to Singapore mid March and the Chrome Extension Hola worked! Phew
Yeah, I went in October 2018 and went bus and train each way. Never would I take another bus to cross that border. We had to wait like 3 hours to get our passports stamped. It wasn’t even a line, it was a sweaty hall basically full of the whole population of Singapore. The train was a breeze!