Jungle Railway | Gemas to Kuala Lipis
I was running out of time and my plans to ride the Jungle Train all the way to Tumpat on the Thai border were scuppered. Chinese New Year and fully booked trains were to blame, so after spending an hour or two pondering my best options I had no choice but to overnight in Kuala Lipis and take the early morning train the next day all the way to Singapore, Where i could spend a night and day before flying on to the Philippines.
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- indian mother and child
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- jungle railway workers house
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- rail workers house behind menkarak station jungle railway
The train was full. Most of my fellow passengers were noisy Indian Malaysians returning to their villages after the holidays. The train made numerous stops along the way and it was quite a while before we passed anything that remotely looked like jungle. Much of the rain forest that should have been visible from the train has been cut down to make way for Palm Oil plantations.
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- jungle railway track and signals
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- Jungle cleared. palm oil planted
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- Train to Kuala Lipis door tied open letting in plenty of fresh air
The train line is only a single track line with sidings where one train pulls over to wait for the train coming from the opposite direction to pass. These were sometimes at regular station stops or dedicated passing tracks along the way. Since the aircondition wasn’t working these stops were much welcomed by passengers who alighted on station or track until the train had passed.
welcome breath of fresh air.waiting for down train to pass
Stations with little wooden platforms and railway workers wooden bungalows lined the route, as well as old colonial bungalows, giving the whole route a somewhat historical feel to it. At Mengkarak a new Hindu Temple was being built.
New Hindu Temple at Menkarak with a colourful interior
The train passed close enough to some dwellings you could almost touch their belongings.
kitchen utensils hanging from window shutters
The closer we got to Kuala Lipis the more jungle there was and i was disappointed to have to break my journey there. Whether the remaining jungle will still be there if i am fortunate enough to visit Malaysia again only time will tell.
Malaysia railway map
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Jungle Railway |
Gemas to Kuala Lipis
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Meandering train rides couldn’t get any more romantic than this.
I am also planning the trip on this line and want to do as much as possible during daytime. There is one thing I can’t find out: is there only onebtrain connection from Kuala Lipis to Gemas (night train around 2 o’clock) or are there also other trains? Would be great if you could help me. Thx!
As far as i know there are several trains a day to Kuala Lipis. Maybe check malaysian rail website to seeif there are timetables
Thank you for your answer. Of course I’ve checked the timetables. 😉 I’ve done the trip a few weeks ago – and unfortunately there is only the night-train.
It looks like a cool train ride and a unique adventure
This looks like a really fantastic train ride. I have never been on a train that actually passes through villages like that! I would imagine it was quite the memorable experience!
Slow trains are the best as they stop at local stations along the single track line, so you really can observe local life while waiting for a down train to pass 🙂
Sounds like a real adventure! Save travels and good luck!
Way to turn a possibly-boring train journey into a memorable adventure. Happy travels and keep sharing 🙂
Train journeys in Asia are never boring. So much is happening around you if you only pat attention 🙂
Sounds like the train ride was quite an adventure in itself! I’m not sure I could have lived without air conditioning, though. So it’s so nice that they had the doors open (though I think that would have scared me!).
Thats the fun part of travelling…… just go with the flow. you take whatever comes and learn to cope. Its great standing by the open doors too and being able to get off the train when it pulls into a siding to wait for the downline train to pass.