Due to its geographical location, it acts as the main gateway of the East Coast of Malaysia to Thailand and is also traversed by major road transport routes from the West Coast to the state capital of Kota Bharu.
The district of Pasir Mas was originally part of the district of Kota Bharu. In 1918, the town of Pasir Mas and its surrounding areas were separated from Kota Bharu and granted its own local government. The seat of this district is the town of Pasir Mas.
A new railway station which replaced the original one at the same location was completed in July 2008. The reasonable fare attracts small-traders, who would board here with various goods - usually foodstuff from Rantau Panjang - to transport to the interiors. The trains' scheduled arrivals and departures often create traffic jams in the town several times daily. A carriageway connecting Lemal and Kubang Panjang over the railway track has been built to overcome this. Trains no longer stop at the hamlet station of Tok Uban along the way to Tanah Merah.
Bus
From Pasir Mas town, it is possible to go to any state capital in Peninsular Malaysia without having to change buses. However, buses departing from these state capitals with Kota Bharu as the final destination might not pass through Pasir Mas. But those with Rantau Panjang as the final destination, will.
The most popular inter-state bus company is Transnasional, which is majority-owned by a federal government agency. Syarikat Kenderaan Melayu Kelantan (SKMK) has a monopoly of inter-district and intra-district bus routes. There are direct buses to the main towns of Kota Bharu, Rantau Panjang and Tanah Merah and vice versa; which depart every 30 minutes from 7:00 am to 6:30 pm. The bus station is at the centre of the town; about 100 metres from the train station.
Population
Historical population
Year
Pop.
±%
1991
150,035
—
2000
162,312
+8.2%
2010
180,878
+11.4%
2020
230,424
+27.4%
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