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| Uncle KC, one of our septuagenarian being escorted out from the train by Auxiliary Policemen |
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| An Auxiliary Policeman removing one of our bicycles |
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| Our luggage are within the international check in luggage size adopted by most transport providers |
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| On board, during happier times |
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| X-ray taken at Alor Gajah clinic showing multiple fractures |
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| Citiscan taken at Johor Specialist KPJ |
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| Ila, an angel sent by God. She helped to ship VT from the kampung to the clinic in Alor Gajah |
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| Announcement made by KTM on 28 March, the same day as our departure date |
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| Due to the long weekend, all buses from Melaka to down south were fully booked |
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| Even though the fare is expensive, it was the only way to get back home. |
This year's March 28 to 31, 2024 is observed as a long weekend of interfaith religious holidays in Malaysia. March 28 coincides with the 17th day of Ramadan in the muslim Calendar, observed as Nuzul Quran when Prophet Muhammad received the first revelations of the Quran verse. March 29 on the other hand is Good Friday, the day Jesus Christ was crucified at the cross which follows with March 31, Easter Sunday when he was resurrected. While the holy days are not embraced as national public holidays, some states chose to take the day off depending on the faiths of its majority population.
Our timing to pick a holiday couldn't have been worse! While many hotels were fully booked, public transportation was overbooked. Imagine finding ourselves suddenly evicted from our KTM Intercity train at 1 am on March 29 in the sleepy town of Gemas!
Our team comprised of members from Singapore and Malaysia. None of us had any problems boarding our trains at JB Sentral, Kempas Baru and KL Sentral respectively. None of the KTM staff stopped us at departure point.
It was only when we were on board and travelling somewhere between Layang Layang and Kluang that the staffs went around checking our luggage. They told us our bicycles are not allowed on board.
As responsible cyclists, we researched well in advanced and knew bare bicycles are not allowed on KTM Intercity trains. But what we didn't know was that our luggage which measures 65 x 25 x 65 cm and is well within the linear size of 158 cm adopted as an acceptable check in luggage internationally is not accepted on board because of its contents. Perhaps we were penalised on how poorly our luggage appeared, a cheap polypropylene bag? I am sure if we had packed our bicycles in a hard case Samsonite luggage bag with roller wheels, we would have made it to Tanah Merah, our final destination without them batting an eye!
As it is, our bicycles when folded only measures 58.5 x 27 x 56.5 cm. It is so compact, it can be placed at the foot of our sleeping berth without taking up space on the aisle. We had even bought 2 extra sleeping berths to put away our bicycles in the later part of the night for more sleeping comfort.
Despite all these considerations, they were not accepted by KTM staffs. They gave us the final ultimatum to disembark at Gemas with our bikes or to continue our journey without our bikes. We could have chosen the latter option if they had given us the assurances that there will be receipts issued for our bicycles and that they will be insured against loss. However, none of these were offered to us. They merely said our bicycles will be looked after by the Auxiliary Policemen on duty and will be stored in their office! Who is to know they will later release the bicycles to a 3rd party pretending to be us since there are no proper paperwork offered?
All our reasonings fell on deaf ears. At Gemas, the station supervisor came down to the platform with a team of Auxiliary policemen. He gave us the option to remove the bicycles ourselves or he will have them removed forcibly by the Auxiliary Policemen. They will stop the train until it is done.
We had no choice but to disembark as we did not want to inconvenience a train load of other passengers. With no hotel bookings made in Gemas, we had no choice but to ride in the dark.
Our new focus was to get everyone home by Sunday night so they could be back at work on Monday. We rode to Kuala Pilah throughout the night and arrived in the morning without sleeping a wink. From Kuala Pilah, we planned to cycle to Seremban the next day so we could take the KTM Commuter train (which allows bare bicycles) to Melaka. Thereon, a bus home on Sunday.
However, our plans kept changing as we soon found out due to the long holidays, all buses from Melaka to JB were fully booked. Hence Seremban was scrapped altogether and we were to ride direct to Melaka on Saturday and to Muar on Sunday where our transport home will be waiting.
Lady luck was not with us. Our riding holiday was indeed plagued with problems. Our chief navigator crashed while guiding us to Melaka.
Fatigue was obvious. We did not sleep well even though we arrived at Kuala Pilah in the morning. Our biological clocks were upset. There were so much planning to do, new cycling routes to chart, hotel bookings to make and transportation home to arrange.
It was only through God's sent angels that we managed to get our Chief Navigator to a polyclinic in Alor Gajah. He suffered a serious fracture to the neck of left humerous which requires a surgery.
Over the years, KTM's policy on bikes on board keeps changing. Previously, cyclists caught with bare bicycles on board were fined RM15 per bike. We were willing to pay this fine but the staff on duty told us KTM had just made the announcement on the morning of our departure date that all types of bicycles are not allowed on ETS, KTM Intercity, Shuttle Timuran and Shuttle Tebrau. As such, they can no longer issue such fines.
No law can be retrospective. Our train tickets were purchased on January 14, months before the new ruling was implemented. We should have been offered the exemption.
At the same time, under KTM's Conditions of Carriages, there are no mention that bicycles are prohibited. In fact, Clause 2.10 states liability to passengers and KTM staff should luggage or packages/ items or bicycles causes hurt thus indicating bicycles are indeed allowed on board.
Looking up Clause 2.7 (c) passengers are prohibited to carry large size or excessive baggage. What is the definition of large and what is excessive? Wouldn't it be better to revise the CoC to include dimensions and weight? Given the dimensions and weight limit, anything that fits such should be acceptable with the exceptions of drugs, dangerous and hazardous substances, etc.
KTM should have stopped us from boarding the train in the first place. We could have returned home easily. But due to their staff's error, we were forced to get off in Gemas and left to fend for ourselves.
An integrated transport system supports cycling from home to train station and to final destination after arrival. Mobility promotes healthy living which in turn reduces cost of health care.
We have international tourists on board. 3 of our team members are Singaporeans. Imagine the insults we made to our guests when we used a team of Auxiliary policemen to escort them out of the train and out of the train station. Is this the way to treat thy neighbour?
What about showing some compassion to both our Septuagenarians? Isn't it inhumane to evict the elderly at such unGodly hours?
We can understand KTM has safety concerns towards other passengers. No doubt a bare bicycle has sharp edges which may hurt other passengers. However, banning bicycle from trains based on this reason solely, is uncalled for.
There are many solutions already adopted by other train companies all over the world. KTM can emulate these service providers. Bagging the bicycle will keep protruding ends inside. Limiting the number of bicycles per train route and providing designated space for bicycle storage helps to control overcrowding during peak hours. The solutions are endless, just waiting to be explored. One would have the impression that by enforcing a total ban, KTM is regressing and bringing the country backwards instead of forward.
