Koh Phangan to Kuala Lumpur

To complete the journey by train from Koh Phangan to Kuala Lumpur travellers first need to take a joint ferry and bus service to Surat Thani Train Station, and then to take two connecting trains.

Ferry & Bus Times from Koh Phangan to Surat Thani Train Station

The first part of the journey by train to Kuala Lumpur is to take a joint ferry and bus service from Koh Phangan to Surat Thani Train Station.

• Buy joint ferry and bus tickets from Koh Phangan to Surat Thani Railway Station.

Train Times from Surat Thani to Padang Besar

The second part of the journey by train to Kuala Lumpur is to take the once a day train service from Surat Thani to Padang Besar in Malaysia.

• Buy train tickets from Surat Thani to Padang Besar.

Train Times from Padang Besar to Kuala Lumpur

The third and final part of the journey to Kuala Lumpur is by train from Padang Besar to Kuala Lumpur.

• Buy train tickets from Padang Besar to Kuala Lumpur.

Location of Koh Phangan Ferry Pier

Joint ferry and bus services from Koh Phangan to Surat Thani Train Station depart from Koh Phangan Ferry Port in Thong Sala.

Location of Surat Thani Train Station

Travellers then board the train to Padang Besar at Surat Thani Railway Station.

Location of Padang Besar Train Station

On arrival Padang Besar Railway Station travellers then need to take a second train for the final part of the journey to Kuala Lumpur.

Location of KL Sentral Station

KL Sentral Station is the main railway station in Kuala Lumpur.

About Train Travel to Kuala Lumpur

By train the journey from Koh Phangan to Kuala Lumpur takes at least 21 hours, possibly longer depending upon which ferries, buses, and trains you take. More than a quarter of the total journey time is spent in a sleeper berth.

Travel from Koh Phangan to Surat Thani Train Station

Depending on which joint ferry and bus service you take the journey from Koh Phangan to Surat Thani Train Station is scheduled to take from 3 to 8 hours. Most of the services complete the journey in around 4 hours. The service which takes 8 hours is an overnight service on the slow moving ‘night boat’.

Because of the very late night departure of Train #45 (01:52), most travellers will choose to take one of the late afternoon services with Raja Ferry to minimise the amount of time they need to wait at Surat Thani Train Station. There are 2 stages to the Raja Ferry service from Koh Phangan to Surat Thani Train Station:

• First, a 2 hour 30 minutes long ferry journey from Koh Phangan to Donsak in Surat Thani Province.
• Second, a 1 hour 30 minutes long journey by road from Donsak Raja Ferry Port to Surat Thani Train Station.

Waiting in Surat Thani

Surat Thani Train Station is not located in Surat Thani City. It’s located about 16 km by road to the west of Surat Thani City in a small town called Tha Kham. Tha Kham has a small number of facilities which will still be open for travellers arriving late in the evening. These include some late night food stalls and a 24 hour convenience store, all within a 2 minute walk from the entrance to the train station.

There are also two inexpensive hotels within 200 metres of Surat Thani Train Station. Some travellers book these hotels just to stay for a few hours between arriving at the train station and the departure of late night trains such as Train #45:

• Queen Hotel
• Phunphin Station

Both hotels are available on major booking websites, and they also accept walk-in customers if rooms are available. As well being able to have a shower and some rest, travellers booking these rooms can also recharge their phones and other electronic equipment before they board the overnight train.

Train to Padang Besar

There is only 1 seat type available on Train #45, 2nd Class A/C Sleeper. Train #45 originates in Bangkok and by the time it arrives in Surat Thani all the seats will have been converted into flat beds. Travellers joining the train in Surat Thani can therefore go straight to sleep as soon as they have located their berth.

The journey by train from Surat Thani to Padang Besar is scheduled to take 6 hours 13 minutes, arriving in Padang Besar at 08:05 Thai time, which is 09:05 in Malaysia.

Immigration

After disembarking from Train #45 at Padang Besar Railway Station the first thing that travellers arriving from Thailand need to do is to visit the immigration centre on the ground floor of the train station. There is both a Thai immigration desk and a Malaysian immigration desk inside the same immigration centre.

Travellers need to visit the Thai desk first to complete immigration exit procedures for Thailand, and then to visit the Malaysian immigration desk to complete entry procedures to Malaysia.

Train to Kuala Lumpur

The journey by train from Padang Besar to Kuala Lumpur takes from 4 hours 50 minutes to 5 hours 39 minutes depending upon which train you take.

Unlike standard long distance trains in Thailand, train services on Malaysia’s West Coast Mainline are electric train services. These services travel at approximately twice the speed of standard train services in Thailand and the carriages are generally much more modern.

Sleeper berths are not available on any of the trains from Padang Besar to Kuala Lumpur, however, depending on the train you take you have a choice of up to 3 different seat types:

• Premier Seat
• Business Seat
• Second Class Seat

All train services from Padang Besar to Kuala Lumpur are scheduled to stop at KL Sentral Station which is the city’s main train terminus for both long distance trains as well as suburban train services. From KL Sentral Station most parts of Kuala Lumpur are easily and inexpensively accessible via the city’s excellent local public transport system.

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