Keretapi Tanah Melayu
Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad or colloquially referred to simply as KTM, is the main railway operator in Peninsular Malaysia. The railway system dates back to the British colonial era, when it was first built to transport tin. Previously known as the Federated Malay States Railways, the Malayan Railway Administration, and the Malayan Railway, KTM acquired its current name in 1962. The organisation was corporatised in 1992, but remains wholly owned by the Malaysian government.
History
In 1948, the FMSR was renamed the Malayan Railway. The railways had been devastated by the Japanese invasion of Malaya, and efforts were taken to rebuild the two main lines, but many branch lines were abandoned in the process.The MR began to modernize the equipment with the ordering of diesel locomotives and railcars to replace steam-hauled services, and the first diesel locomotive entered service in 1957. The railcars entered service in 1960, initially on short-haul services. Rapid services were introduced later, cutting travel times from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur down to six hours, which was competitive at the time. MR and later KTM continued ordering more diesel locomotives through the decades, rendering the old steam locomotives redundant. The last steam locomotive was withdrawn from service in 1974.
Malayan Railways also operated an air service from 1954 to 1958, known as Federation Air Service. The service was transferred to Malayan Airways in March 1958.
The 1970s saw the closure of many branch lines, such as the Batu Arang branch in 1971 and the historic Taiping to Port Weld branch in 1972. The Port Dickson branch was converted to freight-only operation in 1972, although seasonal passenger service did continue for a short while. However, construction did continue for a new line to the Subang Airport used to transport fuel, which opened in 1980.
Railbuses were introduced in the 1980s for short-haul commuter services. They were deployed in the Klang Valley, on Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh, Ipoh to Butterworth, Gemas to Mentakab and Kulai to Singapore services. On certain routes such as Kulai to Singapore, the railbuses were faster than conventional trains, and in this instance saved travel time of 15 minutes. They lasted until the introduction of KTM Komuter in 1995, which took over commuter services in the Klang Valley except for Kulai to Singapore, where the service from Johor Bahru to Singapore was supposed to be separated into the commuter train service utilising electric multiple units, but the decision was destroyed in 2010 with the relocation of the railway terminus to Woodlands Train Checkpoint.
KTM was corporatised in 1992, with all assets now under the ownership and management of the Railway Assets Corporation. The company runs as a private enterprise although owned and subsidized by the Malaysian government. There were attempts by private companies to take over the operations since then, but such proposals were rejected by the Malaysian government.
The 1990s saw the start of another modernization programme. Proposals were made to electrify and double-track the West Coast Line, which started with the Klang Valley area. Electric trains made their debut on 3 August 1995 with KTM Komuter, with services from Port Klang to Sentul and Rawang to Seremban. Under this programme, existing stations were renovated or rebuilt, and new stations were built.
The programme was faced with delays throughout the 2000s, with the government postponing many electrification projects. However, from 2007 onwards there was a renewed effort to electrify the rest of the West Coast Line. The completion of such electrification projects from to to date has allowed the commencement of electrified intercity services in the form of KTM ETS. As the projects were completed in stages, the KTM Komuter and KTM ETS services were expanded over the years to take advantage of the upgraded lines. The East Coast Line, which had not seen upgrades for many years, saw upgrades in the form of rehabilitated track, new Diesel multiple units. and many refurbished and rebuilt stations.
Railway network
The 1000mm gauge network consists of two main lines and several branch lines.West Coast Line
The West Coast Line runs from the Malaysia-Thailand Border, where it connects with the State Railway of Thailand, to Woodlands Train Checkpoint in Singapore, serving the West Coast states of Peninsular Malaysia. The line runs through most of the major stations in Peninsular Malaysia, such as JB Sentral, Gemas, KL Sentral, Ipoh, Butterworth and Padang Besar railway station.Branch lines
There are several branch lines running from the West Coast Line. Some are mixed traffic, catering to passenger and freight traffic while others only cater to freight trains.- Kuala Lumpur - Port Klang, with further branches:
- * Subang Jaya - Terminal Skypark
- * Port Klang - Pulau Indah
- Putra - Batu Caves
- Butterworth - Bukit Mertajam, with a further branch:
- * Butterworth - North Butterworth Container Terminal
- Kempas Baru - Tanjung Pelepas
- Kempas Baru - Pasir Gudang
East Coast Line
Branch line
There is only one branch line on the East Coast Line, between and in Kelantan which was completed in 1921. However, since 1978, this branch line has not been in use.Infrastructure
The total network spans. The total length of the network was, however due to the closure and subsequent removal of the section of tracks between Tanjong Pagar railway station and Woodlands Train Checkpoint, the network is now shorter.The West Coast Line is double tracked and electrified between Padang Besar and JB Sentral, along with all branch lines used for passenger service along this stretch. As part of the upgrades, all level crossings have been removed and modern signaling installed.
The stations along this line are a combination of heritage stations from the colonial era, such as and stations, and modern stations that were built when the line was double-tracked, such as,, and stations.
The East Coast Line is single tracked and not electrified. Having not seen many upgrades over the years, the line is considerably less modern than the upgraded sections of the West Coast Line. Level crossings are still prevalent, and the traditional token signaling system is still used. The stations along this line are older and smaller. Although the line will remain single-tracked, worn track has been replaced, and many stations also being upgraded.
Most of the lines use concrete sleepers, which replaced wooden sleepers from 1982 for the Kerdau-Jerantut and Sungai Yu-Tumpat lines and became more widespread after upgrading works in recent years.
The network now exclusively use concrete sleepers.
Rolling stock
| Class | Image | Manufacturer | Year built | Built | Numbers | Type | Status |
| 20 |  DepotsNorthern Depot
KTM IntercityKTM Intercity is the brand name for long-haul passenger trains that connect cities and major towns served by the KTM rail network.The service is provided using conventional locomotive-hauled coaches and newer diesel multiple units. Services span the length of East Coast Line, and a small portion of the West Coast Line network. Current daily services include: Locomotive-hauled coaches:
KTM Intercity has also been involved in various types of collaborations, joint-promotions, and cross-promotions with all state-level tourism bodies, travel agencies and travel-related industry players in developing rail packages for group travellers. KTM ETSThe KTM ETS, an abbreviation for Electric Train Service, is a higher-speed rail intercity train service that uses electric multiple unit trainsets on the same metre-gauge like the rest of the railway. The service originally started 2010 and has currently expanded, with the last extension opened on 12 December 2025. The trains travel up to on electrified lines, although they are designed to be capable of up to.It currently operates on the main West Coast Line from, Johor to, Perlis as well as the branch line to, Penang. The train service was recently extended down south towards JB Sentral, providing connections onward to Singapore via the KTM Intercity's Shuttle Tebrau service and the RTS Link in the future. These services have reduced travel time as compared to the previous intercity services which ran on diesel, with a considerably lower top speed at around, and have brought a revival to intercity rail travel, which was previously beaten out by faster road and air options. Ridership for intercity rail service has more than doubled in the past decade to over 8.75 million in 2024. |