Hat Yai to Ipoh

You currently need to take two separate trains, and buy two separate tickets, to travel by train from Hat Yai to Ipoh in Malaysia. The interchange station is Padang Besar Railway Station, which is located in Malaysia a short distance from the border with Thailand.

1st Train: Hat Yai to Padang Besar

The first train to take is from Hat Yai to Padang Besar.

• Please Note: Departure times are in Thai time and arrival times are in Malaysian time.
• Tickets: Tickets for Train #947 and Train #949 are available for purchase at Hat Yai Railway Station on the day of travel.

2nd Train: Padang Besar to Ipoh

The second train to take is from Padang Besar to Ipoh.

• Tickets: Buy tickets from Padang Besar to Ipoh.

Location of Hat Yai Railway Station

Train services to Padang Besar depart from Hat Yai Railway Station.

Location of Padang Besar Railway Station

Padang Besar Railway Station is where passengers need to change trains to continue their journey to Ipoh.

Location of Ipoh Railway Station

Ipoh Railway Station is located conveniently close to Ipoh Old Town.

About Train Travel to Ipoh

Travel by train from Hat Yai to Ipoh involves one short train journey from Hat Yai to Padang Besar (45 to 55 minutes) and a second slightly longer train journey from Padang Besar to Ipoh (around 3 hours). The total journey time, however, is going to be over 5 hours because of the connection between trains at Padang Besar.

Passport Control

Passengers travelling by train from Thailand to Malaysia need to pass through passport control at Padang Besar Railway Station.

When Thai train services arrive into Padang Besar Railway Station in Thailand two sets of immigration counters open inside the train station itself. Passengers first need to visit the Thailand immigration counter to complete exit procedures for leaving Thailand and receive an exit stamp. Once in receipt of an exit stamp from Thailand, passengers can then go to the Malaysian immigration desk to complete entry procedures for Malaysia.

Depending upon how busy the train from Thailand is, it can take up to an hour to complete both sets of immigration procedures. We recommend that travellers bear this in mind when they book their connecting train from Padang Besar to Ipoh.

Arrival in Ipoh

Ipoh Railway Station is conveniently located close to the parts of Ipoh City which are popular with leisure travellers. Ipoh Railway Station is 350 metres walking distance from the Birch Memorial Clock Tower. Within 500 metres walking distance of the Birch Memorial Clock Tower is a wide variety of hotels, guesthouses, restaurants and bars.

Taxis are available at Ipoh Railway Station. However, visitors who are able to walk with their bags for up to 1 km may not need a taxi to get them from the train station to their accommodation.

Ipoh Old Town

Ipoh’s main attraction is its Old Town, which is a compact area within the city located to the east of the Birch Memorial Clock Tower. As the same suggests, the Old Town is where Ipoh’s historic buildings are located.

During a century long period from the mid 19th Century to the mid 2oth Century, Ipoh was a very prosperous city which attracted lots of immigrant workers from India and China, as well as considerable investment from the British Empire. This prosperity came from the mining of tin ore in the Kinta Valley.

British, Chinese and Indian settlers constructed a series of impressive public, private and religious buildings in the city centre which have become tourist attractions. The city also has lots of long running cafes and restaurants serving some unique dishes in traditional ways. For many Malay visitors the food in Ipoh is one of the main visitor attractions.

Ipoh Old Town also has an impressive range of street art. The street art movement in Ipoh reached prominence in 2014 with the creation of 8 wall murals by artist Ernest Zacharevic. Since 2014 many other artists, local and international, have added further works of street art throughout the Old Town area. These wall murals are now popular tourist attractions with visitors often queuing to have their photograph taken in front of the artwork.

Caves Close to Ipoh

Beyond the Old Town, another popular set of attractions in Ipoh are its caves. Visitors need transport to visit these caves as they are located on the outskirts of the city.

Some of the earliest evidence of people living in Kinta Valley has been discovered in the caves near Ipoh. Gua Tambun, which is a cave 9 km by road to the east of Ipoh Railway Station, has a series of cave paintings which are believed to be over 3,000 years old.

There are also more than 10 large Buddhist temples which have been established in the caves around Ipoh during the 20th Century. The most visited of these temples are Sam Poh Tong, Perak Tong, Ling Sen Tong, and Nam Thean Tong.

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