A laid-back Sunday train ride in Sabah

We live 150 metres away from the Sabah State Railway (SSR) or Jabatan Keretapi Negeri Sabah (JKNS) train track. I hear the train’s rumble and whistle everyday—four times a day.

Despite the proximity to the track, I have only been on the JKNS train once prior to a recent trip in June 2018! Even my first ride was not a planned one: It was during a Kota Kinabalu (KK)-Beaufort cycling trip in 2013. My bicycle tyre went flat several times and when I eventually ran out of inner tubes to continue the journey back to Kota Kinabalu, we decided to take the train and thus, that made it my maiden journey on a Sabah train.

And so, a ‘proper’ Sabah train ride was made on a Sunday in June 2018 to Papar just for the experience and to see how our young children, Boboy and Gugurl, would react to a short train journey before we take on the longer route to Tenom.

The railway system in Sabah started during the colonial time. Built in 1896 and started operating in the early 1900, its initial purpose was to transport raw rubber and tobacco produce from the interior of Sabah to the coast for export.

There are two lines operating on the Sabah State Railway track—the one for regular commute, called the SSR or JKNS line; and the colonial-themed tour steam train, called the North Borneo Railway Tour Line. The JKNS line runs everyday and they have a Monday to Saturday schedule, and a Sunday schedule. The North Borneo Railway Tour runs on Wednesday and Saturday only. It is managed by the 5-star Sutera Harbour Resort and therefore, any bookings and enquiries need to be directed to them.

We started our journey from the Putatan station because it is only 1.5KM from our house (12.5KM from Kota Kinabalu city centre). Many of the passengers embarking from the Putatan station had duffel bags, large checkered plastic bag (a.k.a Chinese laundry bag) and backpacks. When we got onto the train, we noticed that there were several other KK locals who were on a Sunday fun ride like us too!

The Putatan train station signboard with the Pan Borneo hotel and some shops in the background.

Frequency

The Sabah State Railway only has one track and therefore, there is a long wait in between train arrivals. We took the 7.54AM train because it is the only one that departs from Putatan to Papar in the morning.

We arrived at the Papar train station at 8.29AM and the next ride back to KK was scheduled at 12.16PM — four hours of waiting.

The Sabah train timetable – the Monday-Saturday schedule is on the left; the Sunday schedule is on the right.

Passengers waiting to board the Sabah train at Putatan station.

Price

It’s cheap! The fare from Putatan station to Papar station is RM1.55 per adult—compared to a car ride from Putatan to Papar, which is about 40KM away, requiring somewhere between RM5 to RM10 of petrol; and a Grab that costs around RM30.

The Sabah train fare is cheap!

Interior

The interior is neat and is equipped with blue cushioned seats and extremely cold air-conditioning. Bring a sweater or even just a shawl because the cold temperature can get unbearable on long rides. My camera lens was fogged up when I stepped out of the 30-minute train due to the drastic change in temperature.

The interior of Sabah train – comfortable cushioned seats but very cold air-conditioning!

A car stops at level crossing to let the train pass.

Looking at a railcar compartment from another.

Route map of Sabah train.

Don’t board the Sabah train with these.

View

The train passes by concrete houses, stilt houses, old wooden shops, schools, mangroves, paddy fields, beaches and goes over the Papar river. I was fascinated to see how close some of the human-made structures were to the train – some house fences looked like it was only two metres away from the railway track!

Sabah train passes by mangrove area.

The train crosses over the yellow railway bridge as it approaches the Papar train station.

After killing three and a half hours in Papar town, we headed back to the Papar train station and waited for the train. There, none of the passengers looked like they were rushing—perhaps because it was on a Sunday and also perhaps because they knew the train was not going to arrive anytime soon. They were sitting lazily on the metal bench—scrolling on the smart phone, having conversation, staring into space—and some were pacing from one end to the other end of the station.

Papar train station.

Wall mural at the Papar train station.

More wall mural at the Papar train station.

Boarding the train from Papar station.

The new Tg. Aru train station, located 500 metres from the old one, was built when the whole Aeropod area was developed.

We took the ride all the way to Tg. Aru station, which is 5.5KM from KK city centre. Boboy and Gugurl enjoyed the train ride, possibly because it was only their second train experience. And being kids, they are just naturally fascinated with trains.

Getting in touch with Sabah State Railway

Telephone: +6088-279 300
E-mail: ict.jkns@gmail.com
Website: http://www.railway.sabah.gov.my

The Sabah State Railway gives updates—in the Malay language—on schedule change or cancellation on their Facebook page.

The Sabah State Railway schedule is published on their website here.

The Sabah State Railway fare chart is available on their website.