The Sumpitan Emas pulling into Krai Station
[audio available below]
A beautiful scenery which used to be the favourite of olden day Kelantan painters was of the 'Sumpitan Mas / Golden Blowpipe' steaming and smoking as it emerges through a tunnel alongside the swift Sungai Galas during the monsoons. Folks in Kelantan say kohor-kohor, meaning slowly. It is a word that perfectly encapsulates the leisurely lifestyle in the east coast state. In the Kelantan interior, development travels at the pace of the diesel powered local trains. The local train is slow and spartan, a faithful heritage of its steam predecessor.
The rail ride between Gua Musang and Tumpat is a record of sorts somewhat. This section passes through many bridges and tunnels built between 1921 and 1931 to link the many remote villages scattered throughout the hilly region. 7 highland tunnels including the longest in the country, and over 13 iron bridges span wide rivers on which you can see rumah rakits and old mak ciks bathing half clad with timbas on them. The longest iron railway bridge in the country, the Sungai Kusial Bridge, is on this route too.
Some stations have undergone renovation but there are still quite a number which has never seen a coat of repaint since the glorious swinging early fifties. At some areas, a weather worn wooden hut shelters those waiting for the train. At others, like at Ulu Temiang, only a signboard suffice to mark the spot of the station. Strong wooden beams and boards still standing to make up the cafeteria lend an old world charm to the Kuala Krai, Gua Musang, Pasir Mas, and Tanah Merah stations that is all but lost on the west coast. Where there are no stations or platforms, the locals have mastered the art of hauling heavy loads up the high carriage steps and into the train.
The stations along the way between Gua Musang and Tumpat are:
1. Gua Musang 2. Pan Malayan 3. Sungai Koyan 4. Kg. Sungai Sirian 5. Sungai Sirian 6. Limau Kasturi 7. Bertam Baru 8. Bertam 9. Kg. Jerek Bharu 10. Sungai Tasin 11. Sri Bintang 12. Sri Mahligai 13. Sri Jaya 14. Kemubu 15. Dabong 16. Kuala Gris 17. Bukit Abu 18. Kg Baru Bukit Abu 19. Ulu Temiang 20. Kg. Baru Sungai Mengkuang 21. Sungai Mengkuang 22. Manek Urai 23. Pahi 24. Krai 25. Sungai Nal 26. Temangan 27. Kampung Paloh Rawa 28. Tanah Merah 29. Bukit Panau 30. Sungai Keladi 31. To Uban 32. Chica Tinggi 33. Pasir Mas 34. Kg. Machang 35. Bunut Susu 36. Wakaf Bharu 37. Palekbang 38. Kg. Kok Pasir 39. Tumpat
Trains are powerful in the interiors of Kelantan and Pahang. When the train breaks down, the pulse of life stops. Daily activities are planned around the train's time table. School time tables are linked to train schedules. As soon as the train horn is heard, pupils hastily gather their books and pencils to return home, even when classes havent ended.
At various hours throughout the day, six iron horses run from Gua Musang to Tumpat, a distance of over 200 km. For the rural folk who live in the mountainous regions, the local trains are the preferred mode of public transport for reasons of economy, safety and reliability. From an outsider's perspective though, these old trains are a living reminder of the rustic charm of days gone by.
Locals call them Kereto Loka, or M83, M84, M93, M94, M91 and M92. Backpackers call them Jungle Train. School trains usually pull 3 coaches, while the Kereto Ikeen- g or Market Train pulls 5 coaches including one which carries veterinary produce. The school train leaves Tumpat at 0345 and Gua Musang at 0510 while the fish train leaves Tumpat at 0500 and Gemas at 0700. Some passengers still set up a makeshift market on the platform of the station at Gua Musang, in operation between 10am and 12.30 pm daily.
For the Kelantan locals whose lifeline depend on these trains, "early" takes on a deeper meaning. These are people who still take the train to school on the east coast line. Students who live in villages near railway tracks rise before the sun is up to go to school in a neighbouring town. The number has lessened since 2002 when hostels were built to cater to the student commuters. The solution for teachers is not so simple. Mustapha Mahmood, 46, from Pasir Puteh, rises at 2.30 am to catch the 4.54 am train at Kuala Krai to go to work. While his wife teaches in town, Mustapha teaches Bahasa Malaysia in Kemubu, 175 km away. There are six others who ride Train 81.
Many school children live in little villages and take the predawn train to school. Pupils are first seen boarding trains in the mornings at Hulu Temiang to school at Dabong and Kampung Jerek Bharu, where the locals are expecting a Smart School soon. Stations catering to these pupils include Kampung Bukit Abu Bharu, Bukit Abu, Kuala Gris, Seri Jaya, Seri Mahligai, Seri Bintang and Sungai Tasin. [video available below]
When an express mail train going north comes in, the south bound train will have to wait on the sidelines (loopline) till the main line train passes on. A delay caused by one train affects the schedule of all other trains due to the single track system. The locals have learnt to take it all in their stride and chat with each other to while away the time. The locals are friendly, and don't complain much when the trains are delayed, unlike in the west coast.
On the east coast Gemas-Tumpat line, station masters still use tokens to grant train drivers at each passing station the necessary clearance when using the single track railroad system. The token is a metal key held within a leather purse with a heavy steel handle. This painful practice of grabbing the token from a moving train, and can cause red welts appearing at the crook of the elbow, has ceased with the computerisation of the railway system in the west coast. Passing of the token between the engineer and the station master as the train approaches the station is rarely seen nowadays. Here is an exclusive view of the event recorded as the Ekspres Wau approaches Kemubu station. [video available below ]
It is 6.40 on a misty Tuesday morning. The night express train pulls into Dabong. A stout figure dressed smartly in a cerulean blue uniform, greets the sleepy eyed passengers as they tumble into the spartan station. Ibrahim Jusoh is the 50 year old station master. His main responsibility is to oversee the movement of trains between Kuala Gris and Kemubu, the two closest stations to Dabong. Seconds after waving the train off, he returns to his position behind the ticketing counter, a task he manages alongside his official duty. With only one assistant, Ibrahim runs a tight ship at the station which also serves as the hub of Dabong (population 1,000). Selling tickets, providing the train schedule, giving directions, booking local guides for tourists to Gunung Stong, making reservations for accomodation, sweeping the premises and cleaning the toilet, are all part of a day's work.
Old timers recall a bygone era, when, upon seated in the buffet car, steaming hot coffee, warm buttered toast and a half boiled egg would be promptly served. The Hainanese cooks ruled the kitchen then, whipping up colonial favourites such as chicken and lamb chops. Although not KTMB staff, these contract workers were very much part of the railway. Wong Pok Moo, 75, was 28 years old when he first joined the buffet car aboard the Singapore-KL train. He sold Coke and Red Lion bottled drinks for 30 sen each. When the kitchen closed at night, wooden planks would be placed atop the galley table, forming a makeshift bed for four men. These buffet cars are no longer part of the jungle train.
Morning market is active at Wakaf Bharu, Bunut Susu, Kampung Machang, Pasir Mas and Tanah Merah. Market produce frequently originate cheaply from the northern border towns of Tumpat, Pasir Mas and Rantau Panjang. Tok Peraih leaves home strapped only with cash in their money belts. They fill up at stations along the way. Empty spaces between and on seats and in between coaches rapidly get occupied with durian, langsat, duku, jambu, rambutan, etok, beras, buah asam jawa, mangga jeruk, cermai jeruk, kelubi jeruk, keropok goreng, budu, kacang rebus, bawang, lada hidup, pucuk paku, daun kentut, petai, jering, ayam, telur, dapur gas, toto, kangkung, kacang panjang, timun, terung, tembikai, krepet rokok, ikan kering, minuman kotok, laksa, nasi kapit, ketupat, tapai, kerabu, sare, et set teraa et set teraa.
Sales are made on the move, not infrequently by barter trading, and in transit at stations or in bulk volumes at the big stations of Tanah Merah, Kuala Krai, Gua Musang, Kuala Lipis and Jerantut. [ video available below ]. Each Tok Peraih, leaving the children at home early one morning, for example, would make about RM50 clean upon returning home evening the next day. From Tumpat in Kelantan, they may cover the marketing distance as far as Kuala Lipis in Pahang.
During fruiting seasons, durians fill up station platforms to the brim. Baskets of langsats and dukus change trading hands. Mangosteen bunches hang from every hangable point. Vendors ply up and down stationary train sides coveniently pushing up rambutans and steamed maize and kacang rebus to willing hands through train windows. [ video available below ]
Scheduled prayers are timely devoted on train seats, aisles, and in station MUSSALLAs. At the Bukit Abu station, the train makes a 20 min stop to allow Muslims time to perform the Subuh prayers. Village folks share footways, ggateh tracks and spedaar paths with trains on the rail bridge at Kemubu. Elderly women use brooms and sticks to shoo away hens and their broods from rail tracks at Bukit Abu. Roosters scamper away cackling out of the way of approaching engines at Dabong. [ video available below]
Naked slimy bodied young uns wave excitedly at passengers from streams underneath bridges in Tumpat. Tick-stung buffaloes straddled with bangaus, stop ploughing to watch the silvery iron horse snaking through wide padi expanses at Tanah Merah. Sweet-young-things shyly peer from behind window curtains at Pasir Mas, only big round eyes spottable. Middle aged to elderly womanly Tok Peraih heftily drag heavy rice bags from the platform on to coaches at Wakaf Bharu. Wiry grandfathers patiently wait for the apocalypse on station benches with burnt out rokok dauns hanging from dry shrivelled lips at Bertam Bharu. Yellow banners uttering Ambo Nok Ku Li straddle tall coconut trees at Gua Musang. Not so wealthy shopkeepers await their few customers in front of small retails facing rail tracks. The local wakil rakyat makes a much awaited visit to the public school at Limau Kasturi to give a RM23 juto donation for the school field. The adjoining nasi bukkuh and roti cana retailer made a quick kill on that rare day. The ever enthusiastic middle aged local tourist agent eagerly awaits the arrival of an amateur mountain climbing group from Singapore at Dabong.
According to the all-knowing friendly merinyu on M84, the jungle train runs on federal government subsidy as a much appreciated service for the local hinterland folks. It should have been terminated during the 1985 KTM corporatisation exercise. It does not make money. The dilapidated rusty dirty creaky ready-to-fall-apart-any-time coaches are testimony to this. The school children are mercifully charged only RM0.2 sen per ticketless trip. Some Tok Peraih use the train as their sole means of income for the past twenty years, harmlessly evading cuka bako in most of those years. Some used to trade in Golok, the border Thailand town, until KTM authorities terminated the Rantau Panjang Pasir Mas service due to insurmountable petty rice smuggling. No Train, No Trade is the motto of the day. Train trading is cheap and convenient.
Being assigned to Dabong, Limau Kasturi or Kampung Jerek, was capital punishment for new teachers and government officers in the fiftees. The only worthwhile activity of the day was counting trains, they lament. Not any more. The local train community are a happy lot. You dont get to hear sob stories of difficult lifetimes from them. They are a thankful lot to their Maker and Caregiver, Allah Subhaa Nahuu Wa Taalaa.
There is a lot that the Jungle Train can teach you!. Those parts of your lives that you unwittingly or unknowingly sorely missed can be recovered in these trains!!. Go get them!!!.
* JUNGLE TRAIN CD
The entire journey between Gua Musang and Tumpat with associated activities at and in between stations are available on a triple CD set entitled "JEJAK NOSTALGIA", some included in fine digital video and stereo. Kindly get in touch with: Abang Kocik, dzeds1@hotmail.com , or call 012-3923485
Video Clips from the CD are available on this page:
http://pasirmas05.tripod.com/train/
