Along The Chugging Track - Singapore To London By Train: Part 1

Singapore to Malaysia

1/2 Singapore

2/2 Tanjong Pagar Railway Station interior - public hall (1)

First, we move from Singapore to Malaysia. Singapore, being a rather tiny city-state, doesn’t have any states or regions for you to navigate from within the country. Just one short ride past the border will take you to the state nearest to the border, Johor Bahru. There used to be a famous KTM station here, but unfortunately, the delightfully art-deco style station closed down back in 2011 and isn’t taking any rides anymore. Instead, take the public train (MRT) to Woodlands MRT station. From Woodlands MRT, walk down to the Woodlands Bus Interchange and take 903, 911, 913 to Woodlands Train Checkpoint. Take the Shuttle Tebrau from Woodlands Train Checkpoint to Johor Bahru Sentral.

Malaysia to Thailand

Here, we travel from the laidback towns and cities of Malaysia to the bustling markets of Thailand. Three major places to visit and pass through- Johor Bahru, Gemas and Padang Besar. The train from Johor Bahru to Padang Besar is one that’s peppered with sleepy small towns, old malls and stretches of tropical trees. It’s a quiet route through some of the less occupied areas of Malaysia, a great starting point to clear your mind as you get ready for the voyage ahead.

JB to Gemas

The route from Johor Bahru to Gemas is about 4 hours and 20 minutes long. It passes through districts and towns such as Kempas Baru and Segamat. It uses slower, older models of trains. Your destination, Gemas, is a small town which is at the intersection of the Malaysian east and west coast lines.

Gemas to Padang Besar

The route from Gemas to Pedang Besar runs on a new Electric Train Service line, a faster model that can travel at speeds of up to 160 km (99.4 mi). It passes through states like Kuala Lumpur and towns like Ipoh in Perak. Padang Besar lies near the Malaysia-Thailand border.

Padang Besar to Hat Yai

The border is easily crossed by a 55 minute long shuttle train ride.

Alternative routes

You can actually hop on the train to Kota Bahru at Gemas, and enjoy what is called the jungle route. It is a scenic, rustic experience and gives you some views of the jungle in undeveloped, central malaysia. It’s a good experience if you want to see some of the smaller, local towns and go off the beaten track.

From here, it may look more convenient to enter Thailand through Sungai Kolok. However, by entering Thailand through Sungai Kolok, you’d be entering and travelling through the eastern through the South-Eastern provinces of Thailand (Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat) which have seen a lot of unrest these few years. The Thai government actually issued a warning advising tourists not to go through these provinces. For this reason, if you really want to see the jungle route, we’d suggest getting to Kota Bahru and transferring on another train back to Padang Besar for a safer journey.

Thailand to Laos

The road from Thailand to Laos is one that passes through palm trees, more towns and crowded, tourist-popular city centres. Here, some stations are especially worth a detour, but food wise, many of the trains have a specific buffet carriage. Don’t go into this thinking the trains will be as balmy and warm as the country! The air conditioning is cranked up pretty high, so it’ll be wise to take a jacket along.

Hat Yai to Bangkok

The journey from Hat Yai to Bangkok is a 16 hour long endeavour- which might seem long now, but considering what other track lines and routes you’ll be traversing, this is just getting started. It departs towards the late afternoon at 4:16pm, 5:34pm and 6:05pm.

Bangkok to Nong Khai

The journey from Bangkok to Nong Khai takes 10-11 hours, depending on which train you decide to go on. Train Number 75 is the only train available in the morning, departing at 8:20 am and the rest of the Bangkok-Nong Khai trains are sleeper trains.

Nong Khai to Vientiane

Take a bus from Nong Khai across the Thai-Lao Friendship bridge into the Laos border. When you get out of the Laos immigration area, there is a public bus - no. 14- that can take you to Vientiane. It’s a short 50 minute ride.

Alternative routes

If you can afford it, step off and take a 2-3 hour ride to the province of Kanchanaburi. It is is worth a detour because it is the site of the famous River Kwai and the infamous Death Railway. Locals know it as one of Thailand’s most beautiful provinces with numerous waterfalls and lakes. You can transfer back to Bangkok from there.

Laos to Vietnam

Here, we have a wrench thrown into the tracks- or rather, a lack of one. Laos, unfortunately, does not have a railway connecting itself to Vietnam and Thailand- though there is talk of one that connects the country to even China being built in the works.

Vientiane- Hanoi

There is a 24 hour sleeper ride you’ll have to take from Vientiane to Hanoi. Some travellers warn that the bus ride will be loud, crowded and uncomfortable, but it makes for a good story. Some things that people report include local pop songs playing in the bus in the middle of the night. During the day though, you’ll pass through a lot of beautiful fields and natural scenery, so there’s things for you to look forward to on the ride.

Vietnam to China

Hanoi (Gia Lam station) to Nanning

There is a single sleeper train that departs at 9:40pm from Hanoi that will arrive in Nanning at 9:05am the next day. The border station on the Vietnamese side is named Dong Dang and the one on the Chinese border is Ping Xiang.

The first half of the fun

Now that you’ve made your way through the length of Southeast Asia and the balmy emerald city of Nanning, it’s time to wrap up and prepare for the northern regions of the world connected by track. In the next instalment, we will be moving through the countries of Mongolia, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany and France to get to England. You’ll get to see all sorts of beautiful sceneries and landmarks, such as the deep Lake Baikal and the Gobi Dessert. Wrap up tight and get ready to eat a lot of instant mashed potatoes.