Traveling is made extra fun if you travel by train. Most people may not use trains nowadays for traveling, but trains remain a unique and useful mode of transportation. They consist of several features that make them essential and especially useful when traveling.
Traveling by train also provides you fun and interesting journey, as you can see different landscapes and enjoy breathtaking sceneries along the way. One amazing route you can take by train is the Bangkok to Singapore train route. If you want to travel and stay for even just three days in Singapore, you may love a good train ride for extra fun and excitement.
However, traveling from Bangkok to Singapore will not be possible with only a single train. There is only one train that allows you to travel from Bangkok to Singapore without stopovers, and this train is the Eastern & Oriental Express. This train service only operates from time to time, so you do not have a choice but to take other train services with several stopovers during your travel from Bangkok to Singapore.
The Eastern & Oriental Express
The Eastern & Oriental Express does not operate frequently – it only operates at least once or twice a month. They usually allow travel from Bangkok to Singapore from February to December. The journey from Bangkok to Singapore when riding this train service would last three nights and four days.
The Eastern & Oriental Express gives the most amazing services to its passengers. This train will allow you to visit the Bridge on the River Kwai and give you a short tour of Kuala Kangsar, a royal town in Malaysia. However, note that the Eastern & Oriental Express can also be extremely expensive. The fare starts from $3,100 to $6,165.
However, if you like to spend less on a train ride, several train services have Bangkok to Singapore train routes. You should note that they do not offer a direct train service, and you will need to take several stopovers before reaching Singapore.
Traveling from Bangkok to Singapore by train
When riding some of the best Bangkok to Singapore trains, you’ll need to have at least two to five stopovers and several changes of trains. However, it is also extra fun since you’ll stop over to different interesting places, and you may also stay a few days and explore these places if you’d like.
For the best and most comfortable train ride from Bangkok to Singapore, you must choose a train departing from Bangkok Hualamphong, arriving at Woodlands Train Checkpoint, a railway station in Woodland, Singapore. You will have three stopovers along the way and will be traveling approximately 1192 miles, which lasts at least 66 hours. You will spend at least 3,500 US dollars on the train fare. However, prices may also vary, so it is recommended that you buy your train ticket ahead of time.
Bangkok to Butterworth train station
Aside from this train service, another train service with the least stopovers and changes in trains is the Bangkok to Butterworth and Butterworth to Singapore train route. There is only one train from Bangkok to Butterworth per day, train No. 35. This train sets to leave Bangkok Hua Lamphong at 2:45 in the afternoon and arrives in Butterworth at 1:30 in the afternoon the next day. Train tickets for this route may cost around 35 US dollars.
Train No. 35 consists of a restaurant car, so you may eat there if you want or order from the train staff going around the train from time to time. They have a lot of great food in their many, so do not worry about starving during the whole duration of your train ride.
For the highlight of your Bangkok to Singapore trip, your train departs from Butterworth and arrives in Singapore via Kuala Lumpur railway station. So this means that you still need to have a short stopover in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, before arriving in Singapore. Before, KL railway station still offered direct train rides to Singapore. However, since they no longer offer direct train routes, you will need to take several stopovers from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore.
A train ride from Butterworth to Kuala Lumpur railway station would take over four hours. For Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, you’ll need to transfer at least twice to other trains. The whole train trip from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore would take at least nine hours. It could be slow and quite impractical. However, if you are a fan of train rides, you’ll most definitely enjoy this trip.
When you arrive in Kuala Lumpur, you need to buy a train ticket from the railway station to Gemas station. After the whole train trip to Gemas station, you will need to transfer to another train. You must purchase a train ticket to Johor Bahru Sentral, which will be your last stop. The train trip will last for over four hours.
After arriving at Johor Bahru Sentral, you will need to take a shuttle to Woodlands Train Checkpoint in Singapore. The good thing is that it would only take you approximately five to ten minutes, depending on the road conditions. Once you arrive at Woodlands Train Checkpoint, you will still need to pass through customs and immigration.
You will still need to buy different train tickets for the whole train ride from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore. You can purchase them online, so you won’t need to experience the hassle of lining up and purchasing train tickets.
Bangkok to Padang Besar train station
Aside from the Bangkok to Butterworth train, you can take the Bangkok to Padang Besar route when going to Singapore. This train journey is quite similar to Bangkok to Butterworth train trip. However, you’ll have more stopovers if you take the Bangkok to Padang Besar route.
From Bangkok to Padang Besar, you’ll need to take Special Express train No. 45, departing from Bangkok at 3:10 in the afternoon and arriving in Padang Besar at 8:53 in the morning the next day.
Then from Padang Besar, you can choose from five different trains to reach Kuala Lumpur, depending on your preferred time. The first train ride to Kuala Lumpur starts at 7:00 in the morning, and the last trip is at 6:05 in the evening. The whole trip from Padang Besar to Kuala Lumpur takes approximately five to six hours.
Then from Kuala Lumpur, you can take another train arriving at Gemas station, and from Gemas, you can take one last train going to Johor Bahru Sentral. Then From Johor Bahru Sentral, you can take a shuttle to Singapore.
So a whole train trip from Bangkok to Singapore would take you over 30 hours.