KTMB announced on its Facebook page that the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) is resuming the Hat Yai – Padang Besar Shuttle Train on 15 July. This is following over two years of not operating ever since the start of Malaysia’s Movement Control Order back in March of 2020. In the comments of the post, KTMB also posted schedules of connecting trains between the two locations. Worth noting is that, going either direction between Padang Besar and Hat Yai, there are only two trips in a day – one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. A one-way ticket from the former to the latter costs THB50 (~RM6) per person. This comes roughly a month after KTMB resumed the train service between Johor Bahru and Woodlands, Singapore. This Tebrau Shuttle was also suspended due to the first Movement Control Order back in 2020. Though one major difference between the Hat Yai – Padang Besar shuttle and the Tebrau shuttle is that the latter has a lot more trips in a day, with 18 trips from JB Sentral to Woodlands, and 13 trips the other way round. Back in May, KTMB had also opened ticket sales for the ETS and intercity trains all the way to 31 December. If you’re planning to take a long train ride up north to Hat Yai, then you can start making such plans now that the shuttle from Padang Besar to Hat Yai has started running again. Just be aware of the very limited trips between the two. (Source: KTMB / Facebook)
