KL Sentral….Awesome Transit Oriented Building

I don’t know how many times I’ve said KL Sentral as far as publishing this 221 traveling articles. I remember, I have five times traced this phenomenal building. Five years also, various sides and interesting moments which I stole from Kl Sentral languishing in external hard disk which neatly wrapped in a desk drawer in my bedroom….Room which continually give me many inspiration in conquering beauty of the earth.

It’s not fair, if its greatness isn’t shared with you. Because I’m sure that you will visit it someday….Or maybe, you have visited it but you don’t understand yet its details.

Operating 18 years ago, KL Sentral has played an important role in Malaysian tourism. KL Sentral meritorious in being the link between Malaysia’s first gate (i.e Kuala Lumpur International Airport) and important tourism spots in city center…. Fast, effective and efficient. Maybe that’s what will be pursued by Manggarai Central Station in 2021 (It’s a station central in Jakarta).

Gives you a basic view of KL Sentral. Here’s my best photo at KL Sentral level 1:

KL Sentral level 1 which seen from Nu Sentral mall on level 2.
KL Sentral level 1 was seen from Kelana Jaya Line platform on level 2.

KL Sentral Bus Station

Before exploring level 1, I will invite you to look at KL Sentral basement level. Why?….Because 100% of my arrivals to KL Sentral use the cheapest transportation mode….Yups, Skybus, Aerobus and Airport Coach which its tickets are only worth USD 3.1.

After passing through Stesen Sentral Street, bus will enter basement level and stop at shelter which sells Aerobus/Skybus/Airport Coach/Resort World Genting Bus tickets. While, behind escalator (is used to go up to level 1), you will find Rapid KL Free Bus shelter which is used by tourists towards Batu Caves.

Left is Airport Coach ticket counter to KLIA and right is Skybus/Aerobus ticket counter towards KLIA2
Airport Coach towards KLIA (Terminal 1)
Skybus towards KLIA2 (Terminal 2)
Bus towards Genting Highlands.
Direction sign to Rapid KL Free Bus to Batu Caves.

Twice, I went down to KL Sentral basement level and immediately left KL Sentral towards Westree Hotel (2018) and M&M Hotel (2019) through this corridor:

The corridor at Basement level leads to Tun Sambanthan Street.
This is appearance of Tun Sambanthan Street.

Nu Sentral Mall

If you want to continue your trip using KTM ETS (Kereta Tanah Melayu-Electric Train Service), Kelana Jaya Line LRT, Seremban Line commuter KTM, Monorail, airport train (KLIA Ekspres and KLIA Transit) you have to go up to level 1 KL Sentral using escalator near Skybus/Aerobus ticket counter.

Or….you can also go up to level 1 as access to go to Nu Sentral mall on level 2….Let’s look at Nu Sentral mall.

Connector escalator between several train gates on 1st floor to Nu Sentral mall which is on level2
Nu Sentral mall situation.
Nu Sentral mall situation.

Finished shopping at Nu Sentral mall, then look for pedestrian bridge to Tun Sambanthan Street. The pedestrian bridge is directly connected to Nu Sentral mall.

Direction sign towards Tun Sambanthan Street.
This is the pedestrian bridge which I mean.

Transportation Area

Before going back down to level 1, you should see where the monorail station is. The floor plan shows that KL Sentral monorail station is a separate building from KL Sentral itself. But not to worry because there is a connection bridge from KL Sentral to monorail station.

Yuhuuu….It was in front of monorail station gate.
Here it is, the monorail….On its way towards Titiwangsa Park.

Come on!….We explore 1st floor. This floor is allocated as access to various modes of train transportation.

Starting from commuter train. There are two commuter train lines in KL Sentral namely KTM Laluan Seremban and KTM Laluan Pelabuhan Klang.

Preparing to take KTM Komuter Laluan Seremban to Batu Caves.
That’s KTM Commuter platform in basement.

Besides KTM Commuter, the most popular transportation mode to city center in Kuala Lumpur is LRT (Light Rail Transit). LRT Laluan Kelana Jaya was the one which was lucky because it was the only chosen LRT which visited KL Sentral.

Let’s rides LRT to city center!
Ticketing vending machines….Where to buy LRT tokens (tickets).
Automatic gates menuju platform LRT Kelana Jaya di level 2.
Finally caught a picture of LRT Laluan Kelana Jaya at Pasar Seni Station.

Besides Skybus/Aerobus and Airport Coach, Malaysia tourism also presents KLIA Transit and KLIA Express which are premium trains to Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Premium is certainly synonymous with expensive prices but certainly guarantees a comfort.

KLIA Transit ticket counter and its automatic gate
See, KLIA Transit!…Cool right?.
Of course….Super comfortable.

Eatery

Regarding food….As the biggest transit hub in Malaysia, KL Sentral certainly provides many eateries.

At level, there are several food and beverage shops such as La Cucur Express, Panettone (vegetarian food), Meals Station, I Love Yoo !, Chatime, Swiss Oven, Secret Recipe, Starbucks, Burger King, Ayam Penyet Express and many more.

Eat “Penang White Curry Bowl” at Panettone (2018).

Outside KL Sentral (around Tun Sambanthan Street), there are also some reasonably-priced food stalls with topnotch taste. I visited it because I often stayed around KL Sentral.

ABC Bistro Cafe….My hangout place around KL Sentral.

Nearest Cheap Hotels

Tun Sambanthan Street is an important road in Brickfields area. This area provides restaurants, shops and residences. Brickfields also provides many hotels from five-star hotels to budget-friendly hotels.

Westree Hotel during my Malaysia-Singapore trip on 2018
Hotel M&M while visiting an international event on 2019

So….Visit KL Sentral well and just enjoy its facilities.

KTM Laluan Seremban….The Main Line of Batu Caves Tourism.

My arrival which was too late in KL Sentral made my schedule a mess. The first day when I had to visit Genting Highlands must be delayed.

You need to go back at night if you go this afternoon. If you go back in the evening, you won’t get anything there” a joked from staff at bus ticket counter.

Instead of I struggled at night in a condition that I didn’t got a hotel yet, I’d better postpone my intention to Genting and I would go on next day.

I immediately changed my destination….Yess, I headed for Batu Caves. It is the easiest and fastest way because the train which go there departs from KL Sentral.

But Guys, the train in KL Sentral-Batu Caves route operated in 2014. When I came to Kuala Lumpur in April 2019, KL Sentral-Batu Caves route had changed. See the route changes on this link:

New Route to Batu Caves, Malaysia

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This time I willn’t focus on the route, but I will tell about the line…. Yups, It is KTM Laluan Seremban (Kereta Tanah Melayu-Seremban Line).

Chinese technology in Indian destination.

Why is that?

The train which runs on this line is an electric train which made in China….While the most favorite destination in this line is Batu Caves which is a place of worship of Indian descent citizen.

Indeed, in the last few years, Malaysia has been ahead than Indonesia in boosting infrastructure with loans from Chinese government.

KTM Laluan Seremban has the last two stations which is visited i.e Port Klang station in southwest and Batu Caves station in north. In total this train passes 27 stations.

KTM Laluan Seremban is a commuter train route. Whereas commuter trains in each country are made to connect city center with suburban areas and majority of passenger are commuters.

Slightly different from Indonesia which uses quality used trains from Japan to be operated as commuter trains, Malaysia prefers to use “made in China” trains with a slightly futuristic shape. I was eager to try it when I saw its shape which looks like a bullet train in some developed countries

Using commuter train started from KL Sentral station.

Tickets aren’t sold at Automatic Fare Machine like MRT, LRT and Kuala Lumpur monorail tickets, but these commuter train tickets are sold in cash at ticket sales counter.

In 2014, ticket price towards Batu Caves station from KL Sentral was USD 0.5.

KTM Ticket from Batu Caves to KL Sentral. In 2019, tickets are sold in the form of a pass card.
LCD info screen on KTM Laluan Seremban platform

The following picture is interior appearance of KTM Laluan Seremban

Seats facing to the side.
Seats facing forward.
Passengers were very quiet.
Seven bans on the train.

The prohibitions applied on the train are smoking, eating and drinking, littering, throwing gum, doing immoral things, carrying dangerous goods and carrying animals.

Appearance of train coach….Very nice.
Slogans which were issued by YAB PM and were advertised on each train seats.

YAB PM stands for Yang Amat Berhormat Perdana Menteri (the Most Honorable Prime Minister). 1Malaysia slogan is a campaign to unite one Malaysian nation regardless of ethnicity and cultural differences. As Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity) in Indonesia’s slogan.

This KTM is made by CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co. Ltd

Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co. CSR Ltd is one of many electric train manufacturers in China. This company’s reputation is very cool because it supplies electric trains for Macedonian Railways in Eastern Europe, Shanghai Metro in China and Rapid KL in Malaysia.

Six facilities are provided at KTM Laluan Seremban.

This modern technology train has several good facilities such as priority seats, modern cockpit for machinists, dynamic route map on each train door to facilitate passengers in monitoring the presence of trains, two female-only coach in each train, LCD info screen in each coach and of course CCTV .

Next is appearance of Batu Caves station which is the last stop of this line.

Batu Caves station.
“Batu Caves station” situation at other side.

Well….If you go to Kuala Lumpur, try this train!

KL Sentral….Bangunan Berorientasi Transit yang Mengagumkan

<—-Kisah Sebelumnya

Entah berapa kali kusebut kata KL Sentral sejauh membidani 201 artikel kelayapan ini. Yang kuingat, aku telah lima kali menjejak bangunan fenomenal itu. Lima tahun pula, berbagai sisi dan momen menarik yang tercuri dari Kl Sentral mendekam dalam External Hard Disk terbungkus rapi dalam laci meja kerja di peraduanku….Kamar yang terus memberiku ilham dalam menaklukkan indahnya bumi.

Tak adil rasanya, jika kehebatannya tak terbagi kepada kalian. Karena aku yakin kalian akan menjejaknya jua suatu saat….Atau mungkin, kalian yang sudah menyambanginya tapi belum memahami detailnya.

Beroperasi 18 tahun lalu, KL Sentral memberikan peran penting dalam pariwisata Malaysia. KL Sentral berjasa menjadi penghubung antara gerbang pertama Malaysia (yaitu Kuala Lumpur International Airport) dan spot-spot penting pariwisata di tengah kota….Cepat, efektif dan efisien. Mungkin itulah yang akan dikejar oleh Stasiun Sentral Manggarai 2021.

Memberimu gambaran mendasar tentang KL Sentral. Inilah foto terbaikku di level 1 KL Sentral:

KL Sentral level 1 dilihat dari Nu Sentral mall di level 2.
KL Sentral level 1 dilihat dari platform LRT laluan Kelana Jaya di level 2.

KL Sentral Bus Station

Sebelum membedah level 1, aku akan mengajakmu menengok KL Sentral basement level. Kenapa?….Karena 100% kedatanganku ke KL Sentral menggunakan moda transportasi termurah….Yups, Skybus, Aerobus dan Airport Coach yang tiketnya hanya berharga Rp. 42.000.

Setelah melalui jalan Stesen Sentral, bus akan memasuki level Basement dan berhenti di shelter yang menjual tiket Aerobus/Skybus/Airport Coach/Resort World Genting Bus. Sementara dibelakang escalator (digunakan untuk naik ke level 1), kamu akan menemukan shelter Rapid KL Free Bus yang digunakan turis menuju wisata Batu Caves.

Kiri adalah konter tiket Airport Coach menuju KLIA dan kanan merupakan konter tiket Skybus/Aerobus menuju KLIA2
Airport Coach menuju KLIA (Terminal 1)
Skybus menuju KLIA2 (Terminal 2)
Bus menuju wisata Genting Highlands.
Petunjuk arah menuju Rapid KL Free Bus ke wisata Batu Caves.

Dua kali, aku turun di level basement KL Sentral dan langsung meninggalkan KL Sentral untuk menuju ke Westree Hotel (tahun 2018) dan Hotel M & M (tahun 2019) melalui koridor ini:

Koridor di level Basement menuju Jalan Tun Sambanthan.
Ini loh penampakan Jalan Tun Sambanthan.

Nu Sentral Mall

Jika kamu ingin meneruskan perjalanan menggunakan KTM ETS (Kereta Tanah Melayu- Electric Train Service), LRT laluan Kelana Jaya, KTM komuter Laluan Seremban, Monorail, kereta bandara (KLIA Ekspres dan KLIA Transit) kamu harus naik ke level 1 KL Sentral menggunakan escalator di dekat konter tiket Skybus/Aerobus.

Atau….kamu juga bisa naik ke level 1 sebagai akses untuk menuju Nu Sentral mall yang ada di level 2….Yuk lihat Nu Sentral mall.

Escalator penghubung beberapa train gate di lantai 1 menuju Nu Sentral mall yang berada di level2
Suasana Nu Sentral mall.
Suasana Nu Sentral mall.

Selesai berbelanja di Nu Sentral mall, maka carilah jembatan penyeberangan menuju jalan Tun Sambanthan. Jembatan penyeberangan orang (JPO) ini terhubung secara langsung dengan Nu Sentral mall.

Petunjuk arah menuju jalan Tun Sambanthan.
Inilah jembatan penyeberangan orang (JPO) yang kumaksud.

Transportation Area

Sebelum turun kembali ke level 1, kamu harus melihat dimana letak stasiun monorail. Floor plan menunjukkan bahwa stasiun monorail KL Sentral adalah bangunan terpisah dari KL Sentral itu sendiri. Tapi tidak perlu khawatir karena tersedia connection bridge dari KL Sentral menuju stasiun monorail.

Yuhuuu….Sudah di depan gate stasiun monorail.
Tuh dia, monorailnya…..Saat menuju Taman Tasik Titiwangsa.

Yukkkk….Kita bedah lantai 1. Lantai ini dialokasikan sebagai akses menuju berbagai moda transportasi kereta.

Dimulai dari kereta komuter. Ada dua line kereta komuter di KL Sentral yaitu KTM Laluan Seremban dan KTM Laluan Pelabuhan Klang.

Bersiap naik KTM Komuter Laluan Seremban menuju Batu Caves.
Itu dia platform KTM Komuter di basement.

Selain KTM Komuter, moda transportasi menuju ke pusat kota yang paling populer di Kuala Lumpur adalah LRT (Light Rail Transit). LRT Laluan Kelana Jaya lah yang beruntung karena menjadi satu-satunya LRT terpilih yang menyinggahi KL Sentral.

Yuks naik LRT ke pusat kota.
Ticketing vending machines….Tempat membeli token (tiket) LRT.
Automatic gates menuju platform LRT Kelana Jaya di level 2.
Tertangkap juga wujud LRT Laluan Kelana Jaya di Stasiun Pasar Seni.

Selain Skybus/Aerobus dan Airport Coach, Pariwisata Malaysia juga menghadirkan KLIA Transit dan KLIA Express yang merupakan kereta premium menuju Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Premium tentu identik dengan harga mahal tetapi pastinya menjamin sebuah kenyamanan.

Konter tiket KLIA Transit beserta automatic gatenya.
Tuh, KLIA Transit….Keren kan.
Sudah barang tentu…Super nyaman.

Eatery

Perihal makanan,….Sebagai transit hub terbesar di Malaysia, pastinya KL Sentral menyediakan banyak eatery.

Di level 1 terdapat beberapai food and beverage shop seperti La Cucur Express, Panettone (vegetarian food), Meals Station, I Love Yoo!, Chatime, Swiss Oven, Secret Recipe, Starbucks, Burger King, Ayam Penyet Express dan masih banyak lagi.

Makan Penang White Curry Bowl di Panettone (2018).

Di luar KL Sentral (sekitar jalan Tun Sambanthan) juga terdapat beberapa kedai makanan yang cukup murah dengan cita rasa jempolan. Aku mengunjunginya karena sering menginap di sekitaran KL Sentral.

ABC Bistro Cafe….Tempat nongkrongku di sekitaran KL Sentral.

Hotel Murah Terdekat

Jalan Tun Sambanthan adalah jalur penting di daerah Brickfields. Daerah ini menyediakan restoran, pertokoan dan tempat tinggal. Brickfields juga menyediakan banyak hotel dari bintang lima hingga hotel dengan budget bersahabat.

Hotel Westree saat trip Malaysia-Singapura 2018
Hotel M&M saat mengunjungi sebuah event internasional 2019

So….Kunjungi KL Sentral dengan baik dan nikmati saja fasilitasnya.

Kisah Selanjutnya—->

KTM Laluan Seremban….Kereta Andalan Wisata Batu Caves.

<—-Kisah Sebelumnya

Ketibaanku yang terlalu siang di KL Sentral membuat jadwalku berantakan. Hari pertama yang seharusnya kuhabiskan di Genting Highlands harus kutunda.

Kamu perlu balik pada waktu malam jika kamu pergi siang ini. Jika kamu pulang petang kamu tak akan mendapat apa-apa di sana”,seloroh staff konter penjualan tiket bus ke Genting.

Daripada aku berjibaku di malam hari dalam kondisi yang belum mendapatkan hotel, lebih baik aku menunda niatku ke Genting dan akan kutunaikan di keesokan harinya.

Aku segera merubah tujuan….Yess, Aku bertolak ke Batu Caves. Cara paling mudah dan cepat karena kereta menuju ke sana bertolak dari KL Sentral.

Tapi Gaes, kereta dengan rute KL Sentral-Batu Caves ini beroperasi pada tahun 2014 ya. Karena ketika aku datang ke Kuala Lumpur pada April 2019, rute KL Sentral-Batu Caves sudah berubah. Lihat perubahan rute itu di link ini ya:

Rute Baru Menuju Batu Caves, Malaysia

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Kali ini aku tak akan berfokus pada rutenya, tapi aku akan membahas tentang keretanya….Yups, KTM Laluan Seremban (Kereta Tanah Melayu-Seremban Line).

Teknologi China di tujuan India.

Mengapa demikian?

Kereta yang melaju di jalur ini adalah kereta listrik buatan China….Sedangkan tujuan paling favorit di jalur ini adalah Batu Caves yang merupakan tempat peribadatan warga Malaysia keturunan India.

Memang beberapa kurun waktu terakhir ini, Malaysia lebih dahulu daripada Indonesia dalam menggenjot infrastruktur dengan pinjaman dana dari pemerintah China.

KTM Laluan Seremban memiliki dua stasiun paling akhir yang disinggahi yaitu stasiun Port Klang di barat daya dan stasiun Batu Caves di utara. Secara keseluruhan kereta ini melewati 27 stasiun.

KTM Laluan Seremban adalah rute kereta komuter. Sedangkan kereta komuter di setiap negara dibuat untuk menghubungkan pusat kota dengan kawasan pinggiran kota dan mayoritas penumpangnya adalah para komuter atau penglaju.

Sedikit berbeda dengan Indonesia yang menggunakan kereta bekas berkualitas dari Jepang untuk dijadikan kereta komuter, Malaysia lebih memilih menggunakan kereta buatan China dengan bentuk yang sedikit futuristik.  Aku sangat berhasrat mencobanya ketika melihat bentuk kereta ini yang mirip kereta peluru di beberapa negara maju.

Percobaan naik kereta komuter dimulai dari stasiun KL Sentral.

Tiket tidak dijual di Automatic Fare Machine seperti pada MRT, LRT dan monorail Kuala Lumpur, tapi tiket kereta komuter ini dijual secara tunai di sebuah konter penjualan tiket.

Pada tahun 2014, harga tiket untuk menuju stasiun Batu Caves dari KL Sentral adalah Rp. 7.000

Tiket KTM Batu Caves ke KL Sentral. Tahun 2019, tiket dijual dalam bentuk pass card.
LCD Info Screen di platform KTM Laluan Seremban

Berikut penampakan interior dari KTM Laluan Seremban

Bangku menghadap ke samping.
Bangku menghadap ke depan.
Waktu itu penumpang sangat sepi.
Tujuh larangan dalam kereta.

Adapun larangan yang diterapkan di kereta adalah merokok, makan dan minum, membuang sampah sembarangan, membuang permen karet, berbuat asusila, membawa barang-barang berbahaya dan membawa binatang.

Penampakan gerbong kereta….Ciamik deh.
Slogan dan semboyan yang dikeluarkan oleh YAB PM dan diiklankan di setiap bangku kereta.

YAB PM kepanjangannya adalah Yang Amat Berhormat Perdana Menteri. Semboyan 1Malaysia adalah kampanye untuk menyatukan satu bangsa Malaysia tanpa memandang etnis dan perbedaan budaya. Seperti Bhinneka Tunggal Ika lah maksudnya.

KTM ini adalah buatan CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co. Ltd.

CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co. Ltd adalah satu dari sekian banyak manufaktur kereta listrik di China. Reputasi perusahaan ini sangat keren karena mensuplai kereta listrik untuk Macedonian Railways di Eropa Timur, Shanghai Metro di China dan Rapid KL di Malaysia.

Enam fasilitas yang disediakan di KTM Laluan Seremban.

Kereta dengan teknologi modern ini memiliki beberapa fasilitas bagus seperti kursi prioritas, kokpit untuk masinis yang modern, dynamic route map disetiap pintu kereta untuk memudahkan penumpang dalam memantau keberadaan kereta, dua gerbong khusus wanita di setiap kereta, LCD info screen di setiap gerbong dan tentunya CCTV.

Berikut penampakan stasiun Batu Caves yang merupakan pemberhentian tarakhir dari kereta ini.

Stasiun Batu Caves.
Stasiun Batu Caves di sisi yang lain.

Nah….Kalau kalian ke Kuala Lumpur, cobain kereta ini ya!

Kisah Selanjutnya—->