Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) (; Jawi: ) or colloquially referred to simply as KTM, is the main railway operator in Peninsular Malaysia. The railway system dates back to the British colonial era, when it was first built to transport tin. Previously known as the Federated Malay States Railways (FMSR), the Malayan Railway Administration (MRA), and the Malayan Railway, KTM acquired its current name in 1962. The organization was corporatized in 1992, but remains wholly owned by the Malaysian government.

History

In 1948, the FMSR was renamed the Malayan Railway. The railways had been devastated by the Japanese invasion of Malaya, and efforts were taken to rebuild the two main lines, but many branch lines were abandoned in the process.

The MR began to modernize the equipment with the ordering of diesel locomotives and railcars to replace steam-hauled services, and the first diesel locomotive entered service in 1957. The railcars entered service in 1960, initially on short-haul services. Rapid services were introduced later, cutting travel times from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur down to six hours, which was competitive at the time. MR and later KTM continued ordering more diesel locomotives through the decades, rendering the old steam locomotives redundant. The last steam locomotive was withdrawn from service in 1974.

Malayan Railways also operated an air service from 1954 to 1958, known as Federation Air Service. The service was transferred to Malayan Airways in March 1958.

The 1970s saw the closure of many branch lines, such as the Batu Arang branch in 1971 and the historic Taiping to Port Weld branch in 1972. The Port Dickson branch was converted to freight-only operation in 1972, although seasonal passenger service did continue for a short while. However, construction did continue for a new line to the Subang Airport used to transport fuel, which opened in 1980.

Railbuses were introduced in the 1980s for short-haul commuter services. They were deployed in the Klang Valley, on Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh, Ipoh to Butterworth, Gemas to Mentakab and Kulai to Singapore services. On certain routes such as Kulai to Singapore, the railbuses were faster than conventional trains, and in this instance saved travel time of 15 minutes. They lasted until the introduction of KTM Komuter in 1995, which took over commuter services in the Klang Valley except for Kulai to Singapore, where the service from Johor Bahru to Singapore was supposed to be separated into the commuter train service utilizing electric multiple units (overhead rail variant), but the decision was destroyed in 2010 with the relocation of the railway terminus to Woodlands Train Checkpoint.

KTM was corporatized in 1992, with all assets now under the ownership and management of the Railway Assets Corporation (RAC). The company runs as a private enterprise although owned and subsidized by the Malaysian government. There were attempts by private companies to take over the operations since then, but such proposals were rejected by the Malaysian government.

The 1990s saw the start of another modernization program. Proposals were made to electrify and double-track the West Coast Line, which started with the Klang Valley area. Electric trains made their debut on 3 August 1995 with KTM Komuter, with services from Port Klang to Sentul and Rawang to Seremban. Under this program, existing stations were renovated or rebuilt, and new stations were built.

The program was faced with delays throughout the 2000s, with the government postponing many electrification projects. However, from 2007 onwards there was a renewed effort to electrify the rest of the West Coast Line. The completion of such electrification projects from to to date has allowed the commencement of electrified intercity services in the form of KTM ETS. As the projects were completed in stages, the KTM Komuter and KTM ETS services were expanded over the years to take advantage of the upgraded lines. The East Coast Line, which had not seen upgrades for many years, saw upgrades in the form of rehabilitated track, new Diesel multiple units (DMUs). and many refurbished and rebuilt stations.

Railway network

The 1000mm gauge network consists of two main lines and several branch lines.

West Coast Line

The West Coast Line runs from the Malaysia-Thailand Border, where it connects with the State Railway of Thailand, to Woodlands Train Checkpoint in Singapore, serving the West Coast states of Peninsular Malaysia. The line runs through most of the major stations in Peninsular Malaysia, such as JB Sentral, Gemas, KL Sentral, Ipoh, Butterworth and Padang Besar railway station.

Branch lines There are several branch lines running from the West Coast Line. Some are mixed traffic, catering to passenger and freight traffic while others only cater to freight trains.

Kuala Lumpur - Port Klang (Mixed Traffic), with further branches: Subang Jaya - Terminal SkyPark (Passenger - Not In Service) Port Klang - Pulau Indah (Freight) Putra - Batu Caves (Mixed Traffic) Butterworth - Bukit Mertajam (Mixed Traffic), with a further branch: Butterworth - North Butterworth Container Terminal (Freight) Kempas Baru - Tanjung Pelepas (Freight) Kempas Baru - Pasir Gudang (Mixed Traffic)

East Coast Line

The East Coast Line branches off from the West Coast Line at Gemas, running to Tumpat in Kelantan, serving two of Peninsular Malaysia's East Coast states, namely Pahang and Kelantan. Despite its name, it only meets the coast when it reaches Tumpat railway station. It runs through the interior, often through deep jungle, thus earning the nickname Jungle Railway.

Branch line There is only one branch line on the East Coast Line, between and in Kelantan which was completed in 1921. However, since 1978, this branch line has not been in use.

Infrastructure The total network spans . The total length of the network was , however due to the closure and subsequent removal of the section of tracks between Tanjong Pagar railway station and Woodlands Train Checkpoint, the network is now shorter.

The West Coast Line is double tracked and electrified between Padang Besar and JB Sentral, along with all branch lines used for passenger service along this stretch. As part of the upgrades, all level crossings have been removed and modern signaling installed.

The stations along this line are a combination of heritage stations from the colonial era, such as and stations, and modern stations that were built when the line was double-tracked, such as , , and stations.

The East Coast Line is single tracked and not electrified. Having not seen many upgrades over the years, the line is considerably less modern than the upgraded sections of the West Coast Line. Level crossings are still prevalent, and the traditional token signaling system is still used. The stations along this line are older and smaller. Although the line will remain single-tracked, worn track has been replaced, and many stations also being upgraded.

Most of the lines use concrete sleepers, which replaced wooden sleepers from 1982 for the Kerdau-Jerantut and Sungai Yu-Tumpat lines and became more widespread after upgrading works in recent years.

The network now exclusively use concrete sleepers.

Rolling stock + List of ShuntersClassImageManufacturerYear builtBuiltNumbersTypeStatus15 English Electric Co. Ltd.1948-19492015101-15120Diesel-ElectricDecommissioned. As of 1 October 2026, 1 unit, No. 15101 is preserved at KTMB Sungai Petani Station.16 North British Locomotive Company1955616101-16106Diesel-HydraulicDecommissioned17 Kisha Seizo19641517101-17105Diesel-HydraulicDecommissioned18 Brush HMA19791018101-18110Diesel-ElectricDecommissioned. As of October 2026: No. 18109 is preserved at Johor Bahru Old Railway Station @ Museum and 1 unit preserved at Batu Gajah Depot.19 Hitachi19831019101-19110Diesel-ElectricIn Service. As of October 2026: 4 units active, 6 units inactive. +List of Mainline DieselsClassImageManufacturerYear builtBuiltNumbersTypeStatus20 English Electric Co. Ltd. Associated Vulcan Foundry Locomotive Works19572620101-20126Diesel-ElectricDecommissioned. As of 1 October 2026, No. 20125 preserved at Sultan Alam Shah Museum, Shah Alam and one of the cabs of No. 20116 is on display in front of Victoria Station Restaurant in Jalan Ampang.21 Kisha Seizo1965 19682521101-21115 21201–21210Diesel-HydraulicDecommissioned. As of 1 October 2026: 1 unit, No. 21111 "Sungai Lukut" is preserved at People's Museum, Malacca.22 English Electric Associated Electrical Industries

Metro-Cammell19714022101-22140Diesel-ElectricDecommissioned. As of 1 October 2026: 5 units preserved: National Museum (No. 22121 "Anak Bukit", re-numbered to 22102 "Seri Menanti"),

First Galleria Taiping (No. 22125 Telok Chempedak),

Old Gemas Railway Station (No. 22131 "Limau Kasturi"),

Johor Bahru Old Railway Station @ Museum (No. 22134 "Durian Tunggal),

Pekan Cafe Belibis (Sultan Abu Bakar Museum), Pekan, Pahang, Malaysia (No. 22135 "Geliga") Preserved KTM 22 Class Locomotive and AEC Coaches at Pekan Kafe Belibis (Sultan Abu Bakar Museum) • RailTravel Station,

3 transferred for use by civil engineering contractors (especially by EMRAIL).23 Hitachi Ltd. Japan19831523101-23115Diesel-ElectricIn Service. As of 1 October 2026: 4 unit active, 11 units decommissioned with 1 unit preserved at Istana Sultan Johor24 Toshiba Corporation Japan, associated Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. Japan.19872624101-24126Diesel-ElectricIn Service. As of 1 October 2026: 8 units active, 18 units decommissioned with 1 unit preserved at Mess Sri Kota, Bukit Tunku KL.25 Electro-Motive Diesel1990 20021725101-25112 25201–25205Diesel-ElectricIn Service. As of 1 October 2026: all 16 units active, with 25106 "Pulau Ketam" is still being stored at Batu Gajah Railway Depot.26- Adtranz20032026101-26120Diesel ElectricIn Service. As of 1 October 2026: all 20 units active.29 Dalian Locomotive & Rolling Stock20052029101-29120Diesel ElectricIn Service. As of 1 October 2026: all 20 units active.YDM4 American Locomotive Company199639Diesel ElectricAll exported to India, where then more units was exported to various countries. +List of Electric LocomotivesClassImageManufacturerYear builtBuiltNumbersTypeStatusEL CRRC20152EL001-002ElectricDecommissioned, returned to China +List of Diesel Multiple UnitsClassImageManufacturerYear builtTypeStatus27 Commonwealth Engineering1960Diesel-Electric RailcarDecommissioned As of 1 October 2026, all units decommissioned28 Hitachi1966Diesel-Electric RailcarDecommissioned As of 1 October 2026, all units decommissioned.Railbus Ganz Mavag1988Diesel RailbusDecommissioned As of 1 October 2026, all units decommisioned.61 CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive2019Diesel-Electric Multiple UnitIn service. As of 1 October 2026, all 13 units in service. +List of KTM Komuter Electric Multiple UnitsClassImageManufacturerYear builtBuiltNumbersStatus81 Jenbacher199418EMU 01-EMU 18In service. As of 1 October 2026, 4 refurbished and in service, EMU 01 scrapped, others abandoned at depots and scrapped.82 Union Carriage & Wagon199622EMU 41-EMU 62All decommissioned. As of 1 October 2026, all units has been scrapped.83 Hyundai Rotem199622EMU 19-EMU 40In Service. As of 1 October 2026, 15 units active, 7 decommisioned.84 CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive202712EMU 63-EMU 74EMU 63 arrived in Malaysia on August 14th for fault-free run testing, while the rest will be assembled locally at the CRRC Rolling Stock Center, Batu Gajah.92 CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive201238SCS 01-SCS 38In Service. As of 1 October 2026, 33 in service, 4 unknown, and 1 caught fire and was decommisioned. +List of KTM ETS Electric Multiple UnitsClassImageManufacturerYear builtBuiltNumbersStatus91 Hyundai Rotem Mitsubishi Electric20095ETS 01-ETS 05In service As of 1 October 2026, all 5 units in service.93 CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive2015 201919ETS 201- ETS 210 (Class 93/1) ETS 211 - ETS 219 (Class 93/2)In service