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14 - 15 March 2009
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EXPLORIG THE POTETIAL OF JUGLE RAILWAY FOR TOURISMOF THE HITERLAD PEISULAR MALAYSIA
ik Ismail Azlan
 
 Faculty of Architecture Planning and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, MALAYSIAnik_phd@yahoo.com 
ABSTRACTThe jungle railway of the east coast line of Peninsular Malaysia offers tourist an experience he will rarely forgets.The Jungle Railway offers the excitement of old-style train travel. The entire line is a single line, hence the numerousdelays when the mail train is moved to a loop to allow express trains to pass. Key tokens are still used and are passedto drivers by station masters without the train stopping by using pouches. Stations are also not interlocked. While thetrains are diesel and coaches modern (although a bit short on maintenance), journeys on these trains are still full of atmosphere. The train route travel through amazing jungle scenery from Gemas to Tumpat. The train has beennicknamed the jungle railway as it runs through the jungle and the national park. The journey itself is beautiful and provides a rare tourism experience. This paper will discuss the specialty of this trip and the views and opinions of the passengers. Several recommendations to make this mode of experience an interesting feature of the railway tourismwill be suggested.Keywords: Jungle Railway, excitement, jungle scenery, tourism experience
1. ITRODUCTIO 
The Jungle Railways is the railway line serving the East Coast states of Kelantan and other related places.It also called forested heart (hence the nick name Jungle Railways) of Peninsular Malaysia from Gemas toTumpat , a small town on the East Coast near Kota Bharu (Figure1). For many years, people in littlehamlets along railways relied on the train to get the bigger towns like Pasir Mas or Gua Musang inKelantan as no roads were able to reach such remote areas. While the name evokes a journey throughthick forest, the reality is that the railway track goes over several impressive rivers, and many oil palmand rubber plantations along the way of jungle journey. For the example, Jerantut is the influence of manon what was once rainforest obvious. Most stations are in remote jungle surrounded by many villages andmany stops are nothing more than a platform in the middle of the jungle. The real attraction along the lineis of course the Jungle Train. There are in fact three trains and they will give you a true taste of ruralMalaysia train travel. All of them only have Third Class coaches and besides passengers. They stop atalmost every station along the way. To get on the train can be accessed at various points. As the line isalso served by express trains, you can board the jungle train at the many stations along the way. For train buffs, the Jungle Railway offers the excitement of old-style train travel. Key tokens are still used and are passed to drivers by station masters without the train stopping by using pouches. Stations are also notinterlocked. While the trains are diesel and coaches modern (although a bit short on maintenance), journeyon these trains are still full of atmosphere
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The Jungle Railways may go through thick rainforest but youwill be hardly far way from civilization, with station and settlement coming up regularly (Figure 2). Also, be prepared to share your coach with huge amounts of merchandise and agriculture products (like thesmelly durians and the occasional livestock) and carrying babies. The trains are however rarely full. If youcan handle local food, then sustenance will not be a problem as people will sell food onboard or from platforms when the train stops at stations. Even the third-class trains have a restaurant car, selling chips,soft drinks and bottled water along local delicacies.
 
 
C S S R 0 8’ 0 9
 
14 - 15 March 2009
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Figure 1. The Jungle Railway LineA beautiful scenery which used to be the favourite of olden day Kelantan painters was of the JungleRailway steaming and smoking as it emerges through a tunnel alongside the swift Sungai Galas during themonsoons. Folks in Kelantan say
kohor-kohor 
, meaning slowly. It is a word that perfectly encapsulatesthe leisurely lifestyle in the east coast state. In the Kelantan interior, development travels at the pace of thediesel powered local trains. The local train is slow and spartan, a faithful heritage of its steam predecessor.The best experience while travelling to the East Coast was the stunning panorama along the track whenmorning comes (Figure 3). The train passed through a few bridges, said to be more than 100 years old anda couple of tunnel alongside the lush green jungle. The morning light sets a mysterious and dim ambiencewhen it shines through the mist between the hills. From Kuala Lipis, the train moves along the pristineSungai Pahang, nestled in the thick rainforest. The great panorama extends to villages, outback towns andtowards approaching Kelantan, wide paddy fields await your eyes.
1.1
 
Issues and Problems
There are several of issues and problems existing in these jungle railways. The conditions of the coachesleave much to be desired, the trains are running late and do not follow the time schedule. There are allhaving Third Class coaches and besides passengers, you will possibly be sharing with livestock and of merchandises. Vendors bring their goods by main and set up as soon as they get off the trains andsometimes even inside the train. The entrance line is a single line hence the numerous delays when the
 
C S S R 0 8’ 0 9
 
14 - 15 March 2009
C
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C I E N T I F I C
&
 
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7 
mail train is moved to a loop to allow express trains to pass. Train journeys in Malaysia are very safe. Nevertheless, as there may be some pushing when boarding trains, do keep an eye on your wallets or bags.There are pickpockets even in these parts, especially in the bigger stations. Pack some food if you have asensitive stomach and cannot handle the local stuff sold on trains and at stations. You do not really want touse the toilet on the trains, although your diarrhea may vanish immediately once you try using them.
Figure 2. The Jungle Railway stopping at Gua Musang Station
1.2 The Study Site
The Jungle Railway is 526 km long from Gemas to Wakaf Bharu that will take about 10-12 hours tocomplete. Gemas, the southern end of the Jungle Railway, is on the Butterworth-Kuala Lumpur-Singaporerailway line and can also be easily accessed by road. Although the journey going up north is interesting, itis a long way before you get to the interesting parts in Pahang and Kelantan. The East Coast line runs between Gemas in Negeri Sembilan and Tumpat in Kelantan. Gemas is the rail junction between the WestCoast and East Coast lines. Like the West Coast line, it is called the East Coast line because it serves twoof Peninsular Malaysia’s East Coast states, namely Pahang and Kelantan. In fact, it does not run along thecoast at all and only meets the South China Sea when it terminates in Tumpat. It runs through the interior,often through deep jungle, thus earning the nickname “Jungle Railway”. Foreign backpackers had dubbedthe rail track from Gemas to Tumpat, the Jungle Railway, especially the stretch from Jerantut to Dabong.Preferring to travel on the local day train (without air conditioning), they had described the journey assurreal, as the train traverses mountainous, forest-clad interiors, stopping at every little kampung to pick up locals armed with all manner of goods. The chatter in a strange dialect, the smells and colours that areamusing to some can prove irritating to others. Some travellers would stop at Jerantut, Kuala Lipis or Merapoh for the onward journey to Taman Negara, at Gua Musang to go to Kuala Koh National Park or Dabong to climb Gunung Stong and view South East Asia’s highest waterfalls with seven tiers.
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