Labuan: The train ride from Beaufort to Pangi (near Tenom) - a distance of 129km - is the last leg of the train journey which originates daily from Kota Kinabalu.Brochures describe the Beaufort-Pangi ride as the "Last Train of Borneo". The slogan holds out promise of wholesome old-fashioned adventure offering breathtaking views of the Padas river rapids as water gushes through the Padas gorge.
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The views definitely give hints of the thrills and spills in store for the white water rafter from Pangi back to the Rayoh station, a distance of 8km. Rayoh is between Pangi and Beaufort.
Twenty members of the Persatuan Pengembara Labuan (Labuan Backpackers' Association planned to experience the rafting adventure on Christmas Day. But when they arrived in Beaufort from Labuan on Dec 24, they suffered their first disappointment.The train would not have a morning service because the engine was "rosak" (broken down).
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Pangi is the starting point for Padas river rafting. The backpackers, however, managed to board the afternoon journey at 1.30pm.
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The journey truncated at the Halogilat station which was a half-way point to Pangi.Here a second disappointment was in store as the train would not proceed to Pangi because the tracks were being repaired.Requests that the train take the backpackers a further 8km to Rayoh station which would be nearer to Pangi was also not entertained.The backpackers, thus, had to make a gruelling 8-km walk, dragging their luggage on the rail track to reach Rayoh, where friendly villagers told them that the train was notorious for its breakdowns and irregular service. To overcome their travelling problem to Tenom, the villagers fashioned home-made trolleys and used them to paddle to Tenom about 10km to sell their produce as well as purchase household items. It was inconvenient and tiring but they had no choice.The backpackers waited until the next day, hoping the train service would be back to normal but it turned out to be even worse. There was no service because the engine was rosak again," said Yunos, who led the Backpackers on the expedition.A tour operator's staff walked all the way from Beaufort to inform them of the situation!Left without choice, the backpackers had to continue another 10km on foot."Luckily the villagers sympathised with us which had 10 women and rented us three of their trolleys at RM100. This encouraged us to continue," said Yunos. He said most of the villagers expressed disappointment that though ample funds had been allocated for infrastructure development, it was not evident in the interior of Sabah.
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"Our rafting experience turned into a walking expedition instead, no thanks to Sabah Railways," said Yunos.Most of them felt "The Last Train of Borneo experience" deserved an award for being Sabah's most disappointing tourism product.