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SPECIAL
FEATURE
Train
Travel in MALAYSIA
The
Ride - The Stations - The History |
The
well traveled say it�s the journey that matters, not the destination.
When you take a train in Malaysia, both the ride and the stop are exciting.
Even when I was a kid, a train ride was the most exciting one for me. From
the moment the train moved, I was practically glued to the window.
The
Ride
Even
today, the train is the best way to see the real Malaysia � bustling
with activities and yet serene with vistas of rolling hills, unending
paddy fields and lush vegetation. You get to see things from a train that
you miss from a car, bus or airplane. The back alleys of main streets teem
with simple, everyday activities such as cooking and cleaning, even
housewives gossiping. You�ll see
miles and miles of rubber, coconut and oil palm plantations; children on
bicycles chasing the train; walking to school in their blue and white
uniforms or stopping their football or �sepak takraw� game to wave at
you; and women hanging clothes to dry outside their wooden village houses.
The
Stations
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Kuala
Lumpur Railway Station
Built
in 1910, it is a symbol of Muslim heritage and our British colonial
past. It's design combines Moorish inspired domed towers, curved
window arches and Gecian columns. It is however not the first
railway station built on the site. The first, built in 1886, was of
wood, brick walls and attap roof and called the Residency Railway
Station because it was located inside the compound of the
British
Resident. |
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Six
years later, a second station was completed in 1892, also made of wood
with iron roof. The current building was commissioned in 1906 and designed
by Englishman Aurthur Benisn Hubback of the colonial Public Works
Department. Starting work in 1907, Hubback having had budget constraints,
logistics nightmares and design problems, managed to complete the building
six weeks ahead of schedule, allowing the first train to arrive on August
1st, 1910. |
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The
Ipoh Railway Station
Another
landmark which combines Moorish architecture with curved archways
and features with looks that are similar to the Kuala Lumpur Station.
Built in 1935, it has the distinction of being the most filmed
building in the country. Called the �Taj Mahal� of Ipoh, it is
surrounded by a floral garden in which you will find the Ipoh tree
after which the city was named. |
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Taiping
Railway Station
The
original site of the Taiping railway station is situated at what is
now the King Edward VII Primary School.
It
was re-located when the line was extended to Ipoh and Butterworth in
1890 and the early 1900s. This station is significant to the railway
history of Malaysia and is a good place to visit, because getting
off the train there makes you feel as if you have stepped back in
time to a small, quaint town where time stands still. |
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The
country's first train linking Taiping to Port Weld in 1885 |
The
History
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According
to historians, Perak pioneered train travel in then Malaya. The
first railway station in Taiping was built to facilitate the local
British government, which was heavily involved in the tin business. To export tin to Penang, the British
initially had elephants carrying the ore to Port Weld (Port Klang
now). These trips
usually took several days and thus a rail line was built in 1885 to
speed things up. |
The
former train ferry that existed before the Causeway
was
built between Johor Baru and Singapore
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