Keretapi Tanah Melayu

Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB, more commonly referred as KTM) or Malayan Railways Limited is the main rail operator in 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) and the Malayan Railway Administration (MRA), Keretapi Tanah Melayu acquired its current name in 1962. The organization was corporatized in 1992, but remains wholly owned by the Malaysian government.
== History ==
Until the formation of the FMSR, Malaya's railway systems were fragmented and concentrated in the commercially active west coast of the peninsula; none of the systems were originally intended for interstate travel, and were founded to fulfill specific purposes. By the end of the 19th century, Malaya had at least six separate railway companies:
* The Perak Government Railway in Perak, which was primarily tasked to serve tin mines within the state and operated two separate lines: The Taiping line between Parit Buntar and Port Weld (now Taiping), and another between Enggor and Teluk Anson (now Teluk Intan).
* The Muar State Railway, a railway system in the district of Muar, Johore transporting agricultural goods and passengers.
* The Selangor Government Railway in Selangor, which was originally used to transport goods between Klang and Kuala Lumpur. By 1900, an extension of the line to Port Swettenham (now Klang) was only completed the year before, and a branch line through Kuala Lumpur (stopping at Sultan Street), Pudoh and the mining town of Ampang was operating for use in the transport of tin from Ampang.
* The Sungei Ujong Railway in Negeri Sembilan, which operated a line between Seremban and Port Dickson.
* The Singapore Government Railway in Singapore.
* The operator of the Prai-Bukit Mertajam line in Province Wellesley.
* A recommendation by Cecil Clementi Smith was also made in 1892 to link the interior of Pahang via a railway line to render the state accessible for economic development. The state favored railway construction, but it was unable to do so due to the lack of funds.
=== Frank Swettenham and the founding of the FMSR ===
The formation of the Federated Malay States (FMS) in 1896 led to a centralization of Residential power and improved co-ordination of development in the new founded federation. In the same year, the newly appointed residents-general of the FMS, Frank Swettenham, proposed a master plan to extend and connect railway networks within the FMS and Province Wellesley.
Swettenham's proposal encompassed three phases: The first was to be the construction of a "development" line towards the north that would connect Perak's railways with those of Selangor's and the Province Wellesley's, while running through valuable but underdeveloped land in between; the second phase consisted of an extension of the line to Kuala Lipis, Pahang's then administrative capital, to promote the development of the state's mineral industry; the third section was to be a southwards extension from the Selangor Railway's southern terminus in Cheras to Seremban, connecting Selangor Railway to Sungei Ujong Railway and providing direct connectivity from Prai to the north to Port Dickson to the south.
Swettenham's proposal was approved by the Colonial Office under the justification wide-ranging transport linkages would allow access to land for use in agriculture and diversify the region's sources of revenue, while improving administrative efficiency by linking the FMS with the Straits Settlements (widening the scope of the plan to include additional linkages to the Straits Settlements of Malacca and Singapore).
Construction of the connections began in 1897 and concluded in 1903 with the Prai-Port Dickson line completed. The FMSR was founded in 1901 in the process, combining assets of Perak Railway and Selangor Railway as the two railway networks were the first to be connected. Management of stations and railways within the two networks were turned over to the FMSR, while locomotives originally operated by the two companies were absorbed into the FMSR and renumbered in July 1901. The amalgamation of other railway companies into the FMSR would follow in the coming years.
=== Extensions ===
While the Prai-Port Dickson line was completed in 1903, extensions were still required to connect the network with Malacca and Singapore. The extension southwards led to the formation of two short-lived railway companies largely intended to oversee the construction of lines within their state borders.
The Malacca Government Railway (MGR) was awarded a concession by the state government for the construction a railway line between Tampin and Malacca Town, as well as an extension of the main line between Malacca's state border with Negeri Sembilan that leads to Gemas. Upon completion of the lines, the MGR was absorbed into the FMSR in 1905.
In 1904, the Johore state government signed an agreement with Amalgamation.
=== World War II outbreak ===
The outbreak of World War II was marked with the Japanese Empire's invasion of Malaya and Singapore in 1941 and 1942, which saw the entirety of the FMSR network falling under Japanese control. The system suffered minimal damage during the initial invasion and bombing runs, but saw the dismantling and closure of minor branch lines during the occupation for construction materials for the Thailand-Burma Railway. Similarly, several FMSR locomotives were transferred for use at the Thailand-Burma Railway during the period, but were eventually returned after the war.
Following the end of the war, the FMSR continued to operate as an entity for three years under the British Military Administration and Malayan Union, before it is renamed in 1948 as the Malayan Railway Administration (also known simply as the Malayan Railway, or MR) as the Malayan Union is reinstitute as the Federation of Malaya. The Malayan Railway would in turn be formally rebranded with a Malay translation of the name, Keretapi Tanah Melayu, in 1962.
== Network ==
The entire railway network has a total length of 1,677 km (1,042 mi) in the meter gauge.
=== West Coast Line ===
The West Coast Line runs from Padang Besar railway station close to the Malaysia–Thailand border in Perlis (where it connects with the State Railway of Thailand) to Woodlands Train Checkpoint in Singapore (formerly at Tanjong Pagar before 2011). It is called the West Coast railway line because it serves the West Coast states of Peninsular Malaysia.
The 1,151 km (715 mi) line is busier than the East Coast railway line because the West Coast railway line handles a variety of passenger train services such as the KTM ETS services, the KTM Intercity services, the International Express, the KTM Komuter in the Klang Valley and Greater Penang, and freight trains. Of this total length, 759 km (472 mi) is double-tracked and electrified.
The major stations on the line include KL Sentral in Kuala Lumpur, Butterworth in Butterworth, Penang and JB Sentral in the south in Johor Bahru.
The West Coast Line has a number of branch lines:
* Butterworth - Bukit Meterjam
* Tapah Road - Teluk Intan (disused)
* Kuala Lumpur - Batu Caves
* Kuala Lumpur - Port Klang
* Subang Jaya - Terminal Skypark (Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport)
* Seremban - Port Dickson (disused)
* Kempas - Tanjung Pelepas (freight only)
* Kempas - Pasir Gudang (freight only)
=== East Coast Line ===
The East Coast Line runs between Gemas railway station, in Negeri Sembilan and Tumpat railway station, in Kelantan. Gemas in Negeri Sembilan is the rail junction between the West Coast line and the line itself. Like the West Coast Line, it is called the East Coast Line (Malaysia) because it serves two of Peninsular Malaysia's East Coast states, namely Pahang and Kelantan. In fact, it does not run along the coast at all and only meets the South China Sea when it terminates at Tumpat railway station. It runs through the interior, often through deep jungle, thus earning the nickname Jungle Railway. Currently Terengganu is the only state in Peninsular Malaysia not served by the KTM railway network, though it will be so in the upcoming ECRL project.
The line has two branch lines, both are disused as of today:
* Bahau - Kuala Pilah
* Pasir Mas - Rantau Panjang (connects with the State Railway of Thailand)
== List of locomotives ==
=== Steam ===
* A & B Classes
* A2 Class
* C1 Class
* C2 Class
* D Class
* E Class
* F Class
* G Class
* I Class
* J Class
* K1 Class
* K2 Class
* L Class
* M Class
* O Class
* R Class
* S Class
* T Class
* FMSR Steam Railcar
* FMSR Sentinel Railcar
=== Diesel ===
* Class 15
* Class 17
* Class 18
* Class 19
* Class 20
* Class 21
* Class 22
* Class 23
* Class 24
* Class 25
* Class 26
* Class 26 Railcar
* Class 27
* Class 28
* Class 29
* YDM4 (leased from Indian Railways)
* 6800
* Class 61
=== Electric ===
* Class 40
* Class 81
* Class 82
* Class 83
* Class 91
* Class 92
* Class 93
== Liveries ==
KTM's current livery for their locomotives is gray with bands of blue, white, yellow and red. A number of liveries such as maroon and dark green have been used in the past but a few of the locomotives have been repainted into a few retro livery schemes.
The livery for electric locomotives is different. Early generation commuter sets are painted blue, yellow and silver with the newer Class 92 and Classes 91 and 93 in white body and yellow, red and blue fronts.
== Gallery ==
== See also ==
* Prasarana
* Express Rail Link
* Sabah State Railways
== References ==
* wikipedia.org
Category:Asian Railways