Next stop, Sungkai

The locomotive joins the failed train

A routine trip to Kuala Lumpur Hospital for a medical check up turned out to be a nightmare for Rabiaa Dani and her husband.

Their ticket was for a day train ride to KL Sentral, leaving Ipoh railway station at 8.20am, and returning to Ipoh at night. The couple arrived safely at KL Sentral Station and proceeded to the hospital immediately.

Everything went well at the hospital. They even managed to sneak a shopping trip to KLCC for a quick look see before returning to KL Sentral for their 7.40pm train back to Ipoh.

The train (9032), like clockwork, departed at the scheduled time. Both Rabiaa and her husband fell asleep about ten minutes after the train had left KL Sentral station. They woke up shortly before hearing the sound of a heavy object hitting something; the train came to a halt soon after.

Replacement train at Sungkai station

Their nighmare had begun.

Rabiaa and her husband later learned that the train had hit a pig which was crossing the track at kilometre 259.00. The impact had damaged the twin tower air dryer pipe and train Captain declared failure at 21.57pm.

KTM (Keretapi Tanah Melayu or Malayan Railway) had arranged for Loko 29101 ex 155 to pull the stranded train to Sungkai's Platform 1 where all passengers would disembark. Another train, Set E203, from Batu Gajah would be on standby to pick up the helpless passengers and advance to Ipoh, the final destination for Train 9032.

It was a long wait for the locomotive, reaching Sungkai before 12.30am. The replacement train left Sungkai station at 12.34am. Thankfully, passengers could take a toilet break at Sungkai station. It was not possible to use the toilets on the failed train as stewardesses on duty had locked them as soon as they discerned the failure.

Passengers arrived at Ipoh station before 1.30am. Phew! It's time for a well deserved teh tarik and an opportunity to review what had just happened.

On the whole, passengers were well behaved with a few demanding for a proper explanation from the stewardesses who tried their best to accommodate their requests.

Rabiaa and her husband are not likely to forget the nasty incident but it has not lessen their love for trains and train rides. Their next trip to Kuala Lumpur is in December.

Comments

A spot of rural tranquillity in Ipoh

Your nerves are frayed and you need a dose of pleasingly rustic ambience without having to leave the city. There is such a spot for you, if you are in Ipoh. All you need to do is head for a block of flats called Kinta Heights in Pekan Lama, Ipoh, Perak, which is next to the Kinta River, one of the main branches of the Perak River. Unbelievable, as it may seem, there are several nasi kandar outlets and sundry shops in the vicinity, set in the greenery, with a view and a walking path. I suggest that you have lunch at Ramli Nasi Kandar and after that, take a very short walk to the river bank for your rural retreat. You might be motivated to spend 10 minutes or more in total silence and tranquillity. This is the place I go to again and again. Ramli Nasi Kandar is next to the sundry shop A short bridge to the river bank You will feel irritated by people putting litter on the ground but I refuse to allow that to distract me. There is a 'Do not litter' notice her...

Dealing with death of a loved one

Today marks the end of Rabiaa's mourning period. She had completed four months and 10 days or 130 days of grieving, the stipulated period for expressing sorrow for Muslim widows. The death of her husband on Dec 30, 2020 was expected but it still came as a huge shock to her. It was too sudden, she felt. Yet observers would not agree. Her husband became bedridden in mid-November after a collision between his big bike and a car which had come from the opposite direction after taking an illegal turn. In addition to being bedridden, Anwar, lost his voice which was the direct result of the brain injury he had suffered after the accident. He was diagnosed with traumatic brain injury. How does Rabiaa feel now? The pain is bearable but the memories remain as vivid as ever. She is still unwilling to clear up all of her husband's things and some items remain in their original positions as before he became bound to the bed. His belongings connect Rabiaa to Anwar and sh...

When a card came out of the blue ...

This post is prompted by a remark made by my good friend Wei Lin. She saw me reading a card I had received from a friend recently and said: "Traditional cards are so old-fashioned." I wondered if that was true and decided to probe into the issue. A Google search revealed numerous articles on the debate between traditional paper-based cards and e-cards. Tracey Grady's examination of the pros and cons of each type is informative. In my opinion, e-cards are not substitutes for the real (traditional) ones and they shouldn't be. I treat e-card e-mails with suspicion because spammers could be using them to download viruses and software onto my computer. I have never sent anyone an e-card and I don't plan to; I dislike the cold impersonality of conveying greetings electronically. I have always liked sending and receiving cards the traditional way. The ritual of going to a bookshop, browsing at the card section, picking a suitable one for the recipient and then walking to...

a fleeting stay ...

Search This Blog