The Padang Besar railway station (Stesen Keretapi Padang Besar) is a railway station located at and named after the border town of Padang Besar, Perlis in Malaysia. It is the northern-most station of the west coast line where the line connects to the State Railway of Thailand's rail network via its Southern Line.
The station is where the Malaysia and Thai railway services meet, allowing for passengers to transfer between the two railway systems. The customs, immigration and quarantine facilities of both countries are co-located in the station, despite it being completed located within Malaysian territory, about 200 metres south of the border. There is also a smaller railway station on the Thai side of the border called Padang Besar (Thai) railway station.
Padang Besar railway station also has a freight yard that serves as a dryport for the northern part of Malaysia and Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle, known to the Bermuda Triangle.
Train services[]
Padang Besar railway station is served by trains operated by both Keretapi Tanah Melayu and the State Railway of Thailand.
Train services by Keretapi Tanah Melayu serving Malaysian destinations are:
- KTM Komuter Utara - 16 arrivals/departures a day from/to Butterworth
- KTM ETS - 4 arrivals/departures per day from/to KL Sentral, Kuala Lumpur
- KTM ETS - 1 arrival/departure per day from/to Gemas, Negeri Sembilan via KL Sentral
Train services by the State Railway of Thailand serving destinations in Thailand are:
- Train 45/46 Special Express - 1 arrival/departure per day from/to Bangkok-Hualampong
- Trains 947/948 and 949/950 Ordinary Express - 2 arrivals/departures from/to Hatyai
Railway border crossing[]
The Padang Besar railway station has Malaysia's only co-located or juxtaposed border crossing checkpoint where customs, immigration and quarantine facilities for both Malaysia and Thailand are housed inside the station which is wholly located inside Malaysia territory (200 metres south of the border). The facilities for each country operate from separate counters inside the railway station building at the platform level. After disembarking from a train, rail passengers are processed for exiting or entering both countries by walking from one counter to the other before boarding trains travelling into the relevant countries.
There are currently no trains going across the Malaysia-Thailand border with the State Railway of Thailand's International Express no longer serving Butterworth, Malaysia and the termination of Keretapi Tanah Melayu's Senandung Langkawi and later, Ekspres Semenanjung service to Hat Yai. All Malaysian and Thai trains now terminate at this station and as such, passengers would already have completed their CIQ procedures before boarding their trains. Previously for the International Express and KTM's express service to Hat Yai, passengers would have to disembark, go through the CIQ procedures from both countries inside the station before reboarding the train for their onward journey. Trains would wait for all passengers to be processed before departing.
See also[]
- KTM West Coast Line
- KTM Komuter
- KTM ETS
- State Railway of Thailand
External links[]
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References[]
Template:KTM ETS stationTemplate:State Railway of Thailand Railway Stations Template:Coord