Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said his ministry gave full support to public requests for WiFI to be installed on ETS trains, so that people could do their work while travelling. He did not say when this would come about.

Liow said 10 more coaches were being ordered so that KTM could double the frequency of ETS train services. He said KTM had 38 ETS trains with six coaches each, which can accommodate up to 300 passengers each. “This is still insufficient to meet the demand,” he said.

On the average, about 6,000 people travelled on the ETS Kuala Lumpur-Ipoh-Padang Besar route every day, while the number doubles on weekends and public holidays, when there are four extra daily services.

He said there had been requests to shorten the interval between each Ipoh-Kuala Lumpur trip to 30 minutes or 60 minutes.

Liow said his ministry was working closely with the Thai government on work to expand the ETS line from Padang Besar to Hatyai city. He was hopeful the track will be ready by 2020.

Liow said the travelling public were happy with the ETS service and the modernised railway stations. “The remaining old stations will be restored, and coaches would be kept clean, he said.

The Butterworth-KL trip takes 3½ hours at a fare of RM79 (platinum service) and RM59 (gold).