The best way to travel from Alor Setar to Penang is to take one of the KTM Alor Setar to Butterworth Komuter trains (commuter).
These cheap rail services operate at regular intervals from early morning until the late evening, with a trip duration of one hour and 8 minutes to reach Butterworth.
Latest Alor Setar to Butterworth KTM Komuter schedule valid from the 18th of February 2023:
To see the latest full KTM Komuter schedule southbound click here >
To see the train timetable in the other direction to Alor Setar click here >
Once you arrive at Butterworth Railway Station, you can then take the short ferry ride over to Georgetown on Penang Island (takes 15 to 20 minutes).
For information on Butterworth Railway Station click here >
For information about the ferry over to Georgetown click here >
For places to stay on the mainland around Butterworth click here >
For the best places to stay in Georgetown click here >
To find the fare for the Alor Setar to Butterworth train, please see the following pages:
Komuter fares to/from Alor Setar page >
Komuter fares to/from Butterworth page >
All tickets for the KTM Komuter rail services are sold on the day of travel.
There is no advance purchase available and seating is on a first come, first served basis.
Unfortunately, this route from Alor Setar is often very busy so it is usually standing room only for the first part of the journey. Once the train passes Sungai Petani, many passengers get off there, so you may be able to get a seat then.