Shuttle Timur – the lifeline to Kelantan’s interior

All aboard: The Shuttle Timur waiting for passengers at it’s final stop in Gua Musang, Kelantan. — Bernama

GUA MUSANG: Every morning at 4am a local train service called Shuttle Timur departs Kelantan’s Tumpat station and makes its journey across the heartland to the last stop at Gua Musang.

The one-way journey covering 227km, with 22 stops in between, takes eight hours to complete.

Managed by over 100 employees of Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB), Shuttle Timur was allowed to continue throughout the movement control order (MCO) period as it was a lifeline for hundreds, if not thousands, of villagers who live in the interior of Kelantan.

“This mode of transportation is an essential service for those in the remote areas, allowing them to go to towns to get their daily supplies, as well as to the Kuala Krai and Gua Musang hospitals.

“Shuttle Timur is a very important service for these people, who do not have easy access to land transport as they are only served by dirt roads, making travel difficult, ” said KTMB eastern region manager Redzuan Abdullah.

The Shuttle Timur service is also popular among teachers and students to commute to school daily.

“The Shuttle Timur service has four coaches, and can carry over 200 passengers at one time, but since the MCO, the number of passengers has reduced significantly, ” said Redzuan.

During the first phase of the MCO, there were as few as five people on board, but the number has since increased to about 50 with the easing under the conditional MCO.

“We understand the situation because people adhere to the standard operating procedure (SOP) and only go out to get their basic needs, ” he said.

Redzuan said KTMB workers were proud to serve the country, even during the MCO period.

Since the MCO was implemented, he said passengers were required to have their temperatures scanned, as well as wear face masks and use hand sanitisers before boarding.

“We also practise social distancing by halving the number of passengers in one coach. We only allow 30 passengers in a 60-passenger coach, ” he said.

Meanwhile, a KTMB railway guard, Zakaria Hitam, who has been with the Shuttle Train service since 1986, said working during the MCO was a special experience.

“While others could work from home, we are happy to work from dawn to dusk to serve the interior areas, ” he said.

He said throughout his 34 years of service, there was never a time the train was not full.

“During the early stages of the MCO, there was a day when there were only five people, and it was the lowest number of passengers I have seen, ” he said.

Redzuan said he missed the normal atmosphere in the train, with the noise of students and traders and hoped the Covid-19 pandemic would end soon.

A passenger, Fauzi Mat Daud, 62, said he felt safe boarding the train because of KTMB’s SOP for passengers.

“Passengers are also required to sit apart from each other. So, I feel safe, ” he said. — Bernama