ETS - Gold Or Platinum?

I have written about my train ride in an earlier post. I like it as it is punctual, smooth, silent, clean and fast. Recently, I had the experience of travelling on both the Platinum and Gold trains. As Ikram and I had to go to KL for a couple of days, we decided to take the ETS. As it was a sudden decision due to an unexpected event, tickets were sold out even though it was a weekday (Monday). The only available tickets were on the Platinum schedule. We decided to take it. It was the first time I used my "Kad Pesara" (Pension Card). A friend informed me that I was eligible for a discount for my ticket. Thus, we bought Platinum seats for departing and Gold for returning KL-As and AS-KL. I was delighted to know that I got 50% discount for my ticket with the "Kad Pesara". We calculated the difference and it did not merit the 50%. Could it be due to GST???

PLATINUM - It is quite expensive. A difference of RM23 from GOLD train. The discount was much welcomed ...

This was what was served as refreshment on PLATINUM ... ;-((

Thus, we were hungry by noon. So, off to the cafe and I thought it was like the old train where a whole coach was the cafe but it seemed that only a section of the coach was a counter for the cafe. We bought fried meehoon (RM6) and cheese sandwich (RM4.50) and ate it at our seats. It was edible and okay.

The fried meehoon and cheese sandwich ...

The only difference between the two train was the refreshment served by a steward and a stewardess. The coach was the same one. The ETA (41/2 hours - give and take) was almost the same. Another difference was the number of stops made by the trains. Platinum made 5 stops while Gold made about 11 stops. I lost count after a while. Anyway, I like the stability and silence of the train. I managed to complete reading the rest of my book ... ;-)) since the night Gold train that we took (11:20pm) was brightly lit and they did not switch off the lights.

GOLD tickets - the discounted"kad pesara" ticket and the actual fare

I thought the "Kad Pesara" was only for hospitalisation benefits ... the discount was quite substantial .. this would encourage me to use the ETS again ... if only I do not need transport while in KL ...