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BPMG 3063
INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT
BY
LOK PIK YIN
226849
PREPARED FOR
DR. SUHAILA BINTI ABDUL HANAN
Report on Train Ride from Aloe Setar to Butterworth
On 11th September 2016, I boarded on the train from Alor Setar KTM station and aligned at
Butterworth station. Then, I took a bus ride back to Alor Setar from Penang Central bus
terminal. Butterworth is the 7th station from Alor Setar. The train passed by Kobah, Gurun,
Sungai Petani, Tasek Gelugor, Bukit Mertajam and Bukit Tengah before reaching
Butterworth. The whole journey from Alor Setar to Butterworth via train service took 1 hours
and 12 minutes.
The Alor Setar KTM station is situated at the city centre of Alor Setar. However, it is situated
behind the main road which unable the public to locate it easily. The terminal is of side
platform type. The terminal is equipped with special track for the disabled community. It is
accessible by person who is using a wheelchair. The terminal also has an air-conditioned
waiting room for the passengers, toilets, lift, ticket-counter, parking lot and prayer room. The
terminal shows direction of taxi station and bus stop as well. There are two platforms in Alor
Setar KTM station where Platform 1 is for those who go to the Padang Besar direction and
Platform 2 is for those who bound for Butterworth direction. ETS ticket is also available at
Only passengers with tickets are allowed to wait at the platform. Therefore, the KTM station
manager only opens the white-coloured gate when the train is about to arrive. Then, the
passengers who need to wait at Platform 2 had to cross a link to reach Platform 2. Yellow
lines are drawn on the platform to prohibit any passengers to stay inside the yellow line near
to the rail track to prevent accidents. The signs regarding passengers safety were clearly
displayed.
The Butterworth KTM station is the terminal station of the Padang Besar-Butterworth route.
It is an intermodal station where the passengers can easily find taxi stations, Penang Central
bus station and ferry service around Butterworth KTM station. There are 4 platforms in the
Butterworth KTM station. One of the platforms is for train bound for KL Central station.
Different from the train station, the Penang Central bus station hosts many bus companies
under one roof where the passengers can purchase tickets from different bus company
according to departure time, destinations and price of the tickets. There are more than 24
platforms which allow the bus from different bus companies to park. All destinations and
name of the bus companies are clearly mark at the platform. Passengers are advised to wait at
the platform 15 minutes before the bus depart. There is only one driver and the driver will
check the tickets as well. There is no seating number in the bus although it is stated in the
ticket. Passengers sat freely according to their preferences. The bus station lack of facilities
that is suitable for the disabled community. The bus is air-conditioned with capacity of 41
people.
There will be one train for every one hour to Butterworth. The punctuality of the train is very
high because the train arrived exactly as the scheduled time. The train stopped at 6 stations
before reaching Butterworth. For each station, the train will stop for 30 seconds for
passengers to align. The operator will announce the name of the station when the train is
about to reach that station. However, the route identification announcement is not clear
enough most of the time as the sound of the moving train is too loud due to wheel friction. It
can be a problem for the people with hearing disability. The one way ticket price for the ETS
is RM22 but it is sold out due to public holidays. The commuter only cost RM 7.10 per single
However, the proof of payment which is the KTM tickets can be very easy to be forged as
there is lack of authentication features on it. There is no machine to check the validity of the
tickets. There is only a station manager and white gate to restrict the access of passengers.
The bus ticket costs RM 10.90 for one way from Penang Central to Shahab Perdana bus
station, Alor Setar. The bus is of gold class which means they provide more comfortable seats
than usual bus. The ticket provided by the bus company contained much more information
The train unit is electric multiple unit (EMU). It is KTMB 83 class EMU numbered 32. It is a
3-cars formation train manufactured by Hyundai Precision in 1996. The KTM class 83
consists of two motor cabs at either end of the set and a single trailer car in between, the
trailer car in between is equipped with a double-arm Z shaped pantograph for electric pick up.
There are 3 coaches and the middle coach act as the power car.
The transformer and pantograph which is used to collect current from the 25kV alternative
current, 50Hz catenary is located above of the middle coach making it the power car. Power
car of an Electric Multiple Units is often the lead vehicle of the train or the vehicle that
supply electrical power to the other parts of the train. Pantograph is the apparatus installed
above the train to collect electricity from the catenary through continuous contact with the
catenary. Meanwhile, catenary is the cable which carries current. It is supposed to form a U
shape similar to a parabola but in order for the pantograph to obtain stable and continuous
electricity supply, the catenary will be supported to ensure that it is parallel to the train at all
time.
The rail track is metre gauge which is 1000mm between two steel rails. The rail track is made
without falling. There are priority seats for pregnant women, elderly and women carrying
children in each coach. The doors are electronic sliding doors which open automatically for
30 seconds whenever the train align at each stop. Beep beep beep sound can be heard to
warn the passengers when the sliding doors are about to close. The passengers were also
According to the train schedule, the commuter is supposed to reach Butterworth by 8.16p.m.
However, the commuter only arrived at the terminal station at 8.20p.m.which was 4 minutes
late. Despite of that, the punctuality of the train was still high.
There are 14 trains per day travelling from Padang Besar to Butterworth at every one hour.
The first train depart from Padang Besar at 5.25a.m. On the other hand, the last train depart
from Padang Besar at 10.25p.m.and will reach Butterworth at 12.16a.m.on the next day.
There is one interchange station at Bukit Mertajam for those who want to go to Padang
The bus travelled in different speed along the way from Butterworth to Alor Setar due to
traffic lights, tolls and road condition. The bus ride took almost 1 hour and 25 minutes which
was faster than the predicted time by Google Map. Google Map predicted 2 hours from
The light inside the bus is very dim. The bus engine created a noisy sound which prohibited
the passenger from listening to music. The seats in the KTM were very basic. They were
made of plastics and covered with velvet. The passengers cannot adjust the seats. The
coaches were installed with many steel poles to support the standing passengers. The seat was
very comfortable similar to a sofa at home. The passenger can adjust the angle of the seat to
have a better sitting position. The bus stopped at one station before aligning at the Shahab
Perdana bus station. Compared to the KTM ticket, the bus fare is more expensive. Since the
bus was operated by only a bus driver and he was driving very fast sometimes, the passenger
felt unsecure and had doubt about their safety on the bus. It became worse when the bus was
travelling at night. The ticket vendor of the bus told the passenger that the duration of the
whole journey is 1.5 hours without telling them the exact time to reach the destination. The
bus ride was much more unpredictable than the train ride as the road condition varied.
Overall, the seat was very comfortable but the safety of the bus was questionable.
The bus can accommodate up to 41 people only. Meanwhile the train can accommodate 61
seats per coach and the coaches were spacious for other passengers to stand. In other words,
The train has a regular schedule. There will be one train for every hour in peak hours. During
non- peak hours, the train arrives every 3 hours. The train service follows a schedule which
The bus service does not have such high frequency. It is impossible to buy a bus ticket
without booking during peak season. The passenger must buy the bus tickets beforehand to
Train service is more environmental friendly than bus service as the Electric Multiple Units
produce less sound pollution and air pollution to the environment since they need only
electricity but not locomotive to generate the power. Bus which is very old has exhausted
engine which cannot burn the fuel very well causing air pollution to the environment.
It is better to take a train as the bus service operator will not tell you the exact time to reach
provide up to 4 trips during weekdays and up to 8 trips during weekends, public holidays or
public holidays eve depending on the demand. Different bus companies provide services at
The Shahab Perdana Terminal in Alor Setar has facilities such as convenience shops, toilets,
ticketing counter and payer rooms. However, there is no proper taxi station as taxi drivers can
The pedestrian infrastructure in Penang Central is under construction. This has caused public
the inconvenience to walk from the Butterworth KTM station to the bus terminal. However,
both pedestrian walk ways from KTM station and bus terminal to the ferry service are quite
The bus service provides online ticket service while the KTMB only sell ETS tickets online.
Those who want to buy regular commuter tickets need to go to the station before boarding
The bus can be trapped into very bad traffic jam during day time or during festive seasons.
The safety and punctuality of the bus need to be improved in order to increase the public trust
Bus service in Malaysia is operated by private sector but the operating licenses are given by
government while the train service provider KTMB is a corporate which needs to report to
the government. Government do not interrupt the operation and business decision making of
KTMB.
In conclusion, the train service is better than the bus service based on this experience. The
train service is punctual, safe, and reliable. It also has higher frequency. The train service can
be further improved by providing more comfortable seats to the passengers. On the contrary,
the only advantage bus service has over the train service is the comfort of seats provided. The
bus service fails to provide safety arrival, high punctuality and high frequency to the
passengers. However, it is hope that the government can build a busway system like the one
in Brisbane, Australia so that the passengers can feel the ease of public bus transport.