The Muar State Railway

In the late 19^th century Muar was the largest and most important district in the State of Johor and the first to be significantly developed. Parit Jawa was an important area under Muar due to its plantations of gambir, coconut, Pinang and other commercial plants. The journey from Parit Jawa to Muar town was difficult as there were no proper roads and travellers by sea or river were exposed to pirate attacks. On 13th November 1887 a discussion was held between Resident Tungku Sulaiman and the head for the Land Office and Agriculture Affairs of Muar district, Dato' Bentara Luar. During this discussion an agreement was reached to build a railway between the two places to serve the population south of Muar town and improve the transportation of goods. It would also provide free transportation for school children who went to the English school in Muar town. Construction commenced in early 1889 and was done mostly by Malays, and Javanese workers who had migrated in masses to the Malay peninsular. Most of these Javanese immigrants did not have permanent jobs and their pay was low. The initial stage of the railway from Jalan Sulaiman in Muar town to Parit Jawa was completed in 1890. All materials were supplied from Europe. The train consisted of a steam engine, 5 passenger coaches with outward facing seats, divided into first class, second class and third class (which was always full), three goods vans and two further vans. The fare for passengers was five sen per mile. In 1894, the railway was extended another three miles to Sungai Pulai, by which time the train ran five times a day. There were five permanent stations and eight temporary stations along the railway. Two locomotives were ordered from Black Hawthorn on 28 January 1889, being works numbers 962 and 963, while works number 1017 was ordered on 5 July 1890.

Permanent stations:

1. Bandar Maharani, Muar

2. Parit Bakar

3. Parit Jawa

4. Parit Pecah

5. Parit Pulai

Temporary stations:

1. Parit Perupok

2. Parit Keroma

3. Parit Raja

4. Parit Unas

5. Parit Samsu

6. Parit Jamil

7. Parit Bulat

8. Parit Seri Menanti

The railway service was very profitable. The main factors that contributed to the profitability were that the trains catered for both passengers and freight, the increase in economic activities and the cessation sea transportation. New locomotives arrived from America during WWI. In 1915, income for Muar State Railway reached RM 86,701.92 compared to an estimated expenditure of RM 63,216.77. With this positive development, His Majesty the Sultan of Johor suggested extending the railway service up to the Batu Pahat river but it was not done due to financial reasons and geographical conditions. There was a lot of soft ground along the way; it had to be piled every time the train passed through the area resulting in an increase in expenditure. Profitability began to decline when the engine was getting old and increasing costs were being incurred in maintaining the railway and stations. With the opening of a road called Jalan Abdul Rahman from Maharani town to Parit Jawa in 1925, the Muar State Railway began to suffer from the increasing competition and ceased its operation in 1929. One of the locomotives has been left on display in a local park since that time and there is some doubt that very much of the original locomotive now remains. It appears to be one of the American types.

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