This visit to Kuala Lumpur was my first oportunity to try the train transfer from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to the city. It commenced in March/April this year, adding a further option for the always dreaded KLIA-City transfer experience.

As most would know one of the more curious aspects of the new Kuala Lumpur International Airport is an airport-city transfer system rivalling countries and cities 10 times the size for complexity. Not surprising really, as Malaysia, wonderful place that it is, has a consistent knack for making simple things complex.

This time I asked Mohomad (no relation), my usual driver, to take the day off, so I could try the train. Besides, despite accusations of being a nerdish Rat, I've loved trains ever since a copy of Thomas the Tank Engine was sent my way.

The new KLIA Ekspress is spun as being only a 28 minutes ride to the city. Very promising given the taxi takes around 60 minutes and the bus, at around a third the price for a much smoother ride and very comfortable seats which will have you snoozing in 5 minutes) at around 75 minutes including a quick change to a mini bus for the punters to be distributed to city hotels.

Unlike the bus terminal, which KLIA chooses to tuck away in an almost inaccessible part of the airport complex (well what do you expect for 25 Ringitt), the train terminal is relatively easy to find, and trains leave around every 15 minutes. The trains are very clean, modern and quiet, and the good news is that it is the first KLIA transfer service to offer a credit card facility. The price is 35 RM, compared to RM 65 to RM 85 for the taxi service (add 50% after midnight), and 25 RM for the bus.

Let me say straight away that the train lived up to its smooth and modern promise. For some reason the aircon wasnt working on this trip, or otherwise set too high for Mat Salleh rats like me, making it a sweaty trip, but I'm sure this was an unusual occurance. No running rails between carriages where you can pop into the fresh air to cool down and have a smoke.. but i guess that's just progress. No familiar train hosties offering nasi lemak or noodles from trolleys. No drinks, smoking, or pets either according to the signs. The seats were more comfortable than those in the taxis but not nearly as comfortable as the bus transfer.

Now the price seems reasonable until you realise that the train does not really take you to Kuala Lumpur, but to KL Sentral, a passenger terminal just outside the KL inner suburbs. After the ride, you need to lug your luggage to a taxi ticket counter where you have to ferret around for small change in local currency (no credit cards accepted here) to be charged a set price (budget or deluxe), already much more than what it would cost with a normal meter taxi, - plus 1 RM for each piece of luggage, a special surcharge, and an extra charge per passenger. ...Oh, and of course the 50% surcharge/fine for being out after midnight should you have a late flight.

Now, it would be easy to blame this on the Malaysian mates concession system, which allows the government to give monopoly concessions to those who need to be paid back with a favour. Such a system lies behind the inefficient direct KLIA-City taxi system, where special small taxis with a bubble on the roof (sorry.. limousines) will ferry you direct to your hotel (via a stop at the gas station to top up) and then drive all the way back in an empty taxi. Why neigbouring Singapore, Bangkok and Jakarta seem quite capable of running systems which use plain old ordinary taxis, Malaysia seems incapable of figuring it out.. until you understand the Malaysian mates concession system of course.

Like the KLIA-City taxi (oops sorry - limousine) service, the concession system at the KL Sentral is justified in my recent copy of the New Straits Times on the basis that it means customers don't have to haggle with the drivers and drivers don't fight among themselves. Now why don't neighbouring Singapore, Jakarta and Bangkok, who allow 'normal' taxis to ply the airport route, have this problem? There was no other reason for running such a system says the transport department, and if you want to take a normal taxi you can, (altough the lady at the info desk looked completely 'confuse' when I asked her how). Later I read that they were building a lane from the terminal to the street where you can flag down normal taxis yourself. I can hardly wait.

Now add on your RM10 to RM20 fare for your taxi transfer, plus the second transfer time and suddenly the train dosent look that hot. For two travellers, your train transfer bill comes to around RM100 with an extra "transfer" and around 60 minutes to 90 minutes counting waiting, paying, and transport times to get to a central city hotel for a well earned sleepie. With the direct KLIA-City taxi service (door to door) you are paying from $65 to $85 with no break or transfer in the middle and when added together, a quicker transfer. Plus if you are a fairly small guy you can have a snooze in the back of the taxi.

Is there a pricing consistency here? Don't worry - I'm sure the powers to be will jump into action after a few months of this price parity problem ...and raise the taxi fares.

For me the whole train process took longer than the taxi or the bus alternatives tried in previous trips, and of course much longer than Mohomad picking me up. The transfer at KL Sentral was confusing and a real pain in this Rat's posterior. But at least it's yet another alternative to the bus and the taxi (oops sorry limousine) for the dreaded KLIA-City transfer. But there was one bright point. I had an excellent excuse to retire to the Hard Rock Café for a few beers to relieve the stress.