> Quick view, checked Thursday 29 October 2026: no ETS fare promotion is running for November. KTMB's Jimat 10% on the two early Platinum trains from Butterworth ended with September, and nothing has replaced it. The cheapest way between Butterworth and KL Sentral is still the Gold train, at RM82 to RM90. Platinum costs RM101 to RM121. Over Deepavali, the problem is seats, not price.
In September, KTMB's "ETS Best, Harga Best! Jimat 10%" poster took about RM10 off EP9121 (5.15am) and EP9123 (6.30am) from Butterworth to KL Sentral, for travel from 14 to 30 September 2026. That window closed and has not come back. On 29 October we ran 19 searches across 13 November travel dates, plus Tuesday 1 December, on KTMB's own booking site, online.ktmb.com.my, in both directions. EP9121 cost exactly the same as the 4.05pm EP9133 on every one of them, so neither train is discounted.
The figures below are the lowest one-way adult fare the site showed for each train on 29 October. ETS fares move as seats sell, so treat them as a snapshot.
Butterworth to KL Sentral: November fares by train
Seven trains run every day:
- Platinum EP9121, 5.15am to 9.20am, and Platinum EP9133, 4.05pm to 8.10pm. Same price on every date: RM101 (Tuesday 17 and 24 November), RM103 (Tuesday 10 November), RM108 (Monday 9 November), RM109 (Friday 13, Saturday 14, Friday 20 and Friday 27 November) and RM111 (Friday 6 to Sunday 8 November).
- Platinum EP9123, 6.30am to 10.35am, and Platinum EP9135, 6.45pm to 10.50pm: RM3 more than the pair above on every date, so RM104 to RM114.
- Platinum EP9323, 7.00am to 11.05am: RM9 to RM10 more, so RM110 to RM121.
- Gold EG9343, 7.50am to 12.10pm (4 hours 20 minutes): RM82 to RM90. It is RM82 on Tuesday 17 and 24 November, RM83 on Tuesday 10 November, RM88 on Fridays, Saturday 14 November and Monday 9 November, and RM90 from 6 to 8 November.
- Express EX9109, 1.05pm to 4.40pm: the fastest train at 3 hours 35 minutes, and RM107 to RM118.
The Gold train is about RM19 to RM21 cheaper than the cheapest Platinum on the same day. It takes 15 minutes longer and stops at more stations. It is also the first to fill: on 29 October it was sold out on 9 November and down to 2 or 3 seats on 6, 7, 8, 10, 13 and 14 November. From Friday 20 November it had more room: 37 seats on the 20th and 189 on the 27th.
KL Sentral to Butterworth: the same pattern
- Platinum EP9130 (1.40pm to 5.45pm) and EP9136 (3.55pm to 8.00pm) are the cheapest Platinum trains north: RM101 on Tuesday 17 and 24 November, RM108 on Thursday 5 November, RM109 on Friday 13 and 20 November, and RM111 on Friday 6 and Saturday 7 November.
- Platinum EP9124 (8.05am to 12.10pm) and EP9138 (8.15pm to 12.20am): RM3 more.
- Platinum EP9326 (2.10pm to 6.15pm) and Express EX9108 (11.40am to 3.15pm): RM6 to RM7 more.
- Gold EG9352, 6.22pm to 10.42pm: RM82 to RM90. RM82 on Tuesday 17 and 24 November, RM88 on Thursday 5 and Fridays 13 and 20 November, RM90 on 6 and 7 November.
Deepavali: book now or travel on a different day
Deepavali falls on Sunday 8 November 2026, and Monday 9 November is the replacement holiday in Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. This is what the booking site showed on 29 October:
- Going home to Penang (KL Sentral to Butterworth), Thursday 5 to Saturday 7 November: 20 of the 21 departures were down to 2 to 5 seats. The one exception was the 8.05am EP9124 on 5 November, with 106 seats at RM111.
- Coming back (Butterworth to KL Sentral), Monday 9 November: the Gold train was sold out, and EP9133, EP9135, EP9323 and EX9109 had 3 or 4 seats each. The 5.15am EP9121 still had 295 seats at RM108, and the 6.30am EP9123 had 41 at RM111.
- Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November south were easier: EP9121, EP9133 and EP9135 each had more than 150 seats on the 7th, and every Platinum train had at least 71 seats on the 8th.
KTMB is running two extra daily ETS services on the Padang Besar to KL Sentral route from 5 to 9 November, with tickets on sale from noon on 27 October (SAYS, 26 October). On 29 October our Butterworth to KL Sentral search for those dates still listed only the usual seven trains each way, so check the KTMB Mobile app for the extra trains rather than counting on them.
Why Tuesday is cheapest
KTMB's Tambang Fleksi system prices each seat by day of the week, time of day and how far ahead you book. November shows the same pattern as October:
- Tuesday is cheapest, and Friday to Sunday cost the most. The gap is RM8 per Platinum ticket on the same train (RM101 against RM109).
- Booking further ahead helps a little. The 5.15am EP9121 was RM103 on Tuesday 10 November, RM101 on the 17th and 24th, and RM100 on Tuesday 1 December.
Worked examples
A midweek trip, Tuesday 17 to Tuesday 24 November. Gold both ways costs RM164 (RM82 + RM82). Platinum both ways costs RM202.
A one-night Penang stay from KL, Friday 13 to Saturday 14 November. Gold north on Friday (EG9352, arriving 10.42pm) and Gold south on Saturday (EG9343, 7.50am) costs RM176, but the Saturday Gold had only 2 seats left. Platinum EP9136 on Friday and EP9133 on Saturday costs RM218.
Deepavali in Penang, Thursday 5 to Monday 9 November. Platinum EP9130 north on Thursday (RM108, 4 seats left on 29 October) and EP9121 south on Monday (RM108) costs RM216. The same trains on Tuesday 17 and 24 November would cost RM202, so the festive premium is only RM14. Finding a seat is the real cost.
Two people choosing a day. Two Platinum tickets on the 3.55pm EP9136 north cost RM218 on Friday 20 November and RM202 on Tuesday 24 November. Moving the trip to Tuesday saves RM16.
Promo codes: none are live
- Jimat 10% ("ETS Best, Harga Best") covered EP9121 and EP9123 south for travel from 14 to 30 September 2026 only.
- MADANI30, KTMB's 30% code with the Ministry of Transport, stopped selling on 30 April 2026, and tickets bought with it could only be used up to 14 October 2026.
- Maybank MBBETS (20% off one ETS ticket) ran from 15 to 30 April 2026 and has expired.
- The Deepavali announcement for the extra trains mentions no discount. It only says that booking early gets a cheaper flexi fare.
How to book
- Open the KTMB Mobile app, the KITS Style app or online.ktmb.com.my, or use a KTMB ticket kiosk.
- Search Butterworth to KL Sentral (or the reverse) and use the day tabs at the top to compare a few dates. The minimum fare and the seats left for each train show without logging in.
- Log in to choose seats and pay. Check the total before you confirm, because the fare can change as seats sell.
Fine print
- Be at the station 30 minutes early. KTMB says the gate closes 5 minutes before the train leaves. For EP9121, that means 4.45am at Butterworth.
- The ferry starts too late for the early trains. Penang Sentral lists the first ferry from the island at 7.00am and the first from Butterworth at 6.30am (RM1.20 adult, pedestrians only). That rules out EP9121, EP9123 and EP9323 if you start on the island, which matters on Deepavali Monday, when EP9121 is the train with seats. The 7.50am Gold is reachable on the first ferry, but only just.
- These are adult fares. KTMB's Tambang Fleksi guide lists separate concession fares for Malaysian children, senior citizens, OKU and students with a KTM i-card.
- Business Class is not included in any of the figures above.
