Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) announced that its Southern Express (Ekspres Selatan) train service will be discontinued from 1 January 2026, marking the end of nearly a decade of operations on the Gemas–JB Sentral route.
Since its introduction in 2016, the Southern Express has served 2.6 million passengers, providing daily connectivity for residents across southern Johor and the Iskandar region. On average, the service carried 800 to 1,000 passengers per day across six daily journeys which are three outbound and three return trips.
KTMB chief operating officer Afzar Zakariya said the service played a vital role in linking key towns such as Segamat, Kluang, Labis, Kulai and Johor Bahru, offering an affordable and reliable travel option for students, daily wage workers, senior citizens and families.
Beyond convenience, the train supported local economic and tourism activities, benefitting hospitality, transport and small business sectors along the southern rail corridor, he noted. The Southern Express, also provided connections to services northward and helped ease road traffic on busy highways linking to Johor Bahru.
The termination of the Southern Express comes as part of KTMB’s wider effort to optimise passenger operations in line with the completion of the Gemas–Johor Bahru Electrified Double-Tracking Project (EDTP).
From 1 January, the legacy diesel service will be replaced by an expanded Electric Train Service (ETS) network. KTMB plans to operate 12 daily ETS services to and from Johor: eight between KL Sentral and JB Sentral, two between JB Sentral and Butterworth, and two on the JB Sentral–Padang Besar route.
Source: Malay Mail
