You can travel by train from Kota Bharu to Singapore on Malaysia’s East Coast Railway line, also known as the ‘Jungle Line’ because the train passes through the heavily forested Cameron Highlands. This is one of South East Asia’s great train journey, although it is a slow one taking around 17 hours to complete the first part of the train journey to Johor Bahru at the Southern tip of Malaysia. From Johor Bahru you need to change trains for a 5 minute onward connection to Singapore.
Train Times from Kota Bharu to Singapore
There is 1 direct train service a day from Wakaf Bharu (very near to Kota Bharu) to Johor Bahru, and from Johor Bahru there are frequent shuttle trains to Singapore.
Train | Wakaf Bharu | Johor Bahru | Service |
27 | 19:08 | 12:06 | Ekspress Rakyat Timuran |
Kota Bharu Train Station has ceased passenger operations, however, you can take the train from Wakaf Bharu which is 6.6 km from Kota Bharu’s city centre bus station. Local bus services (Cityliner #19 and Cityliner #27) run from Kota Bharu to Wakaf Bharu from 07:00 to 19:00 everyday and the fare is 1.60 MYR.
Buy Tickets from Kota Bharu to Singapore
Use the Search Box below to buy your train tickets from Kota Bharu to Johor Bahru.
Wakaf Bharu Railway Station
Wakaf Bharu Railway Station is the closest train station to Kota Bharu.
Johor Bahru Sentral Station
Trains from Kota Bharu terminate at Johor Bahru Sentral Station from where you can take a shuttle train to Singapore.
Woodlands Train Checkpoint
Shuttle trains from Malaysia arrive in Singapore at Woodlands Train Checkpoint.
Johor Bahru to Singapore
Direct train services Malaysia to Singapore ceased operating a few years ago, although there are plans to restart direct services in the form of a high speed train link between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore which is currently at an advanced stage in the planning process. To reach Singapore from Malaysia by train you need to catch a shuttle train from Johor Bahru Sentral Station to Woodlands Train Checkpoint in Singapore. There are 14 shuttle trains a days and for train times click on the link in red.

The train journey from Johor Bharu Sentral Station to Woodland Train Checkpoint takes 5 minutes and costs 5 MYR, which is 40 THB at the current exchange rate. The shuttle train is a popular way to travel from Malaysia to Singapore and this service gets busy with day trippers from Malaysia travelling to Singapore for shopping and visit the amusement parks on the island. The other way to travel from Johor Bahru to Singapore is by road over the causeway. This option is slow because because people have to clear immigration before proceeding by road to Singapore. Travelling by train is quicker because rail passenger clear immigration at Johor Bahru Sentral Central after they do through the ticket barriers to catch the shuttle train. Once at Woodlands Train Checkpoint in Singapore you can connect to Singapore’s metro system at Marsiling Undeground Station which 1.6 km away from the train station.