Trains in Thailand

Hi! My first time to start a thread on Sawatdee. (ArenтАЩt firsts always the best?) There are so many well-informed posters here itтАЩs a great place to get useful and up to date information.

My questions are about trains in Thailand. Specifically the Bankgkok to Chiang Mai overnight train. I have taken it many times and enjoy it very much. I am returning to Thailand for the first time in two years and was planning to head up to Chiang Mai for part of my trip. However, two things are making me reconsider.

First, on a recent web search for train timetables on 1stopchiangmai.com, I came upon this:


Getting to Chiang Mai by train is another popular option with budget travellers, though the service is becoming increasingly decrepid as a deadlock with the rail union, resulting in strikes in October 2009 and a series of accidents, has eroded confidence in the railways ability to modernise.

The series of accidents part is what worries me. I donтАЩt keep up on Thailand news when I am not traveling there (apart from the protests that make international headlines). So can anyone tell me what these accidents were?

In general is Thai train travel still safe? The trains used to be great: always clean, generally tolerable travelers and sometimes even fun in the bar car. But if it is now getting seedy perhaps IтАЩll pass on CM this time. Any feedback would be appreciated.

My second question is about ticket availability. When I was last in Thailand 2 years ago it was during the Queens BD/MotherтАЩs Day holiday. It was very difficult to get tickets on short notice and I had to stay up in CM a few more days than planned. Not a hardship really as I really enjoy CM but IтАЩm wondering if this will occur again? IтАЩll be there again at the same time.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

[Beachlover]

I took the train up to CM a few years ago. Back then it was known trains in Thailand are very safe. I don't know about now.

It was a fun trip, but I wouldn't do it again. It's a long ride (13 hours... even though you sleep 7hrs of that). The train doesn't go as quick as it could. There's a lot of stop and start and slow going towards the end.

If you go...

1. In second class, get a bottom bunk. It costs a little more but there's more room and it's not as bright as the top bunk where you're closest to the lights (never turned off).

2. Take an eyemask/blindfold. If you are sensitive to noise, take ear plugs.

3. Take a snack.

[Patexpat]

my friend and business partner was a senior operations manager for a rail company in the UK before relocating here.

The lack of health and safety plus the underinvestment in infrastructure makes him cringe, but the trains here travel so slow that it is rare to get a fatality, although derailments relatively frequent ... earlier this year there were two on a single day due to poorly maintained track.

But would we use train travel here? Yes we would and do. Risk is all relative and whilst comparison to UK safety for example is not so good, the likelihood of encountering an accident is still small.

[pong]

patexp has it mainly right-and you will not note much difference with previous trips. But yes-there has been a spate of accidents late last year (too few serviceable locs, too few engine/locomotive drivers, so some got overworked), but this seems ot have stopped. Also-the new electric and also SRT (not BTS) run airportlink has taken many drivers away from the country-lines. Staff felt neglected by the last govmt (making the cheap trains free for the Thai-but in the usual Thai way gave no compensation).
Someone in the know might scold more the state of the rails and the signalisation as the traincars as main culprit. The Thai generally take the rot tour (nightbus) anyway-much faster and cheaper. Thai in the better/sleeper trains are mostly govmt workers (they have to go that way). Flying has become so cheap, that that has become the way to go.
Just ask any Pattaya or BKK-barboy if he ever even thinks of going by train to back home-they all go by nightbus. The rate of accidents on them is and will remain MUCH higher-just check any Thai newsppr-lower hand right corner, nearly daily.

Thank you gentlemen for all your useful feedback. I just wanted to make sure these were not colossal wrecks with many fatalities. If tickets are available I will most likely train up to CM again.

Agree that the bottom bunk is a must. I was forced to take a top due to the ticket problem last time. Small as a coffin and hard to climb up and down for bathroom trips.

The length of the ride doesnтАЩt bother me. I bring lots to read and MP3 files for music and news. And it saves the cost of a hotel night.

Yes, bringing food is preferable, the train food is subpar. Definitely bring drinks. They rape you for beer; 140 baht for a Singha.

Flying is out of my budget and as for the bus I would avoid that at all costs. I did it on my first trip up to CM as train tickets were again sold out. It was just torture. I canтАЩt sleep on buses and at least on the train you can get up and walk around, maybe hang out in the bar car for a while. And, yes, surely the train trumps the buses for safety.

[krobbie]

Check your PM's TtTtTt

and for anyone else wanting to know what goes from where out of Bangkok check this site.

www.1stopbangkok.com/getting_here/train/ (http://www.1stopbangkok.com/getting_here/train/)

Cheers
krobbie

[Smiles]

There was a nasty train wreck just outside Hua Hin last year. We live there, and I remember sirens (lots of them) wailing away on the main drag just around the corner from our condo. At that point of course we had no idea what it meant (we presumed a big car accident at the time) but found out soon after: Very bad derailment, 10 people killed, many hurt.
That was the worst example of a train wreck I can recall in 10 years. I'd still have no qualms about taking a train anywhere in Thailand. Trains in Thailand can be a bit dowdy, less than sparkling clean, and not usually all that great for being on time. The ride to Chiang Mai ain't the Bullet Train, by any stretch of the imagination. :blackeye:

By the way, if you'll be travelling to Chiang Mai overnight 1st or 2nd class you should buy your ticket at least the day before to reserve your seat (or sleeper).

Thanks Smiles. That was just the kind of info I was looking for. Scary stuff, maybe they should think about putting seatbelts on those sleepers. But on the whole it sounds like trains are still mostly safe in Thailand.

With the holiday so close to my arrival and the fact that I fly in late and canтАЩt buy a ticket until same day departure IтАЩm not sure I will be getting on the train this year though. Will have to leave it to chance.

Btw, I did the train down to Hua Hin on my last trip and found it maddeningly slow. Perhaps I just relax more on the sleeper train. I think I would do the minibus next time, which did on the way back.

And your posts were helpful on my trip as I recall so thanks. As a long time lurker on this board I have always enjoyed reading your posts.

[ChrisUK]

Here's another informative site on train travel in Thailand:
http://www.seat61.com/Thailand.htm#Bangkok%20to%20Chiang%20Mai

Also, you can now book tickets up to 60 days in advance online for a trip to Chiang Mai:
http://www.thairailwayticket.com/Default.aspx?language=1

I will be doing that myself for a trip in November.

[Smiles]

" ... Btw, I did the train down to Hua Hin on my last trip and found it maddeningly slow. Perhaps I just relax more on the sleeper train. I think I would do the minibus next time, which did on the way back ... "
Just FYI: There is a fast and comfortable bus to Hua Hin leaving every 40 minutes (until 11PM or so) from the South Bus Station ('Sai Tai') on the Thonburi side of the Chao Praya river.
You can also catch a minibus to Hua Hin from Victory Monument. Not sure of the scheduale, but it's frequent throughout the day.
Either one of these methods is many times better than the milk train run to Hua Hin.

[Geezer]

When booking a trip for an overnight trip you have the choice of a first class sleeper or a second class sleeper. First class is a room for two people. If you want the room to yourself you must pay double, a little more than 1,000 bt. per person to Chiang Mai, but you have an extra berth in your room.

In the evening before retiring I walk through the hot third class cars where passengers are curled up on hard seats trying to sleep. I try to find an attractive boy to ask if he would like to sleep in an air-conditioned bedroom. So far, all the cute lads have been traveling with a school or family group, and I have not been able to connect.

Second class sleepers are available in both fan and air-conditioned cars and, as described earlier in this thread, consist of upper and lower births arraigned along a central corridor with privacy provided by curtains.

The price of the lower berth is higher than the upper. The higher price is for the lower. If you want it lower you'll have to go higher. They sell the upper lower than the lower. In other words, the higher the lower. Most people don't like the upper, although it is lower on account of it's being higher. When you occupy an upper you have to get up to go to bed and get down to get up. You can have the lower if you are willing to pay higher. The upper is lower than the lower because it is higher. If you are willing to go higher it will be lower.

At any rate one doesnтАЩt travel by train in Thailand for speed or cost, but because ITтАЩS A TRAIN!

My heart is warm with the friends I make,
And better friends I'll not be knowing;
Yet there isn't a train I wouldn't take,
No matter where it's going.
Edna St. Vincent Millay

[travelerjim]

Geezer said:
"In the evening before retiring I walk through the hot third class cars where passengers are curled up on hard seats trying to sleep. I try to find an attractive boy to ask if he would like to sleep in an air-conditioned bedroom. So far, all the cute lads have been traveling with a school or family group, and I have not been able to connect."

That's our Geezer!.... :hello1:
He's always seeking to share his comforts in life...
and, if you did not already know... :love4:
he loves Trains, attractive Thai boys and Thailand!

tj

Thailand trains traveling system is compete abroad,wonderful services.

W T F ?

[Beachlover]

Thailand trains traveling system is compete abroad,wonderful services.

W T F ?

That's a SPAM post.

FFS... Don't tell me the TAT is now using the services of a company which SPAMs online forums to increase the links to their website... fucking low lifes.

[krobbie]

Thailand trains traveling system is compete abroad,wonderful services.

Yes, the sentence construction does have that familiar TAT ring about it. :tongue3:

[quiet1]

After taking a few overnight trains (to Chiang Mai and to Hat Yai) in a second class sleeper car, I have sworn them off and now only take a first class berth. The bloody cell phones ringing -- and the folks talking on the phones -- all night long made for a very long journey in second class. The comfort of a second class berth is perfectly adequate, but the bloody f*cking noise all night long...?

[Beachlover]

Yes... drunk backpackers too... wait, that's just me.

Travelling on the train in Thailand can be slow but also an experience. The difference in cost between Second and First Class for a visiting Falang is very little considering in First you get a private cabin with a bench seat that converts into double tier bunk beds at night. Try not to sleep on the top bunk as it's very close to the air conditioning vent which can make one very cold during the night.

Travelling over night from Bangkok to Panang in Malaysia can also be an experience and not expensive if you wish to see another country/place during your visit. You change trains and go through customs by walking through the station at the border with Malaysia which is relatively easy too. If your Thai friend has a passport take him with you as they love to visit another country, and with Malaysia they don't require a visa.

Very interesting Combat.

May very well do that once I've checked out if there's any action in malaysia.

:hello2:

[ChrisUK]

Sounds like an interesting way to do a Visa Run.
Has anyone tried doing it this way?

Incidentally, I took a sleeping tablet once I was in bed and slept soundly until dawn, so if there was any noise, it didn't disturb me.

[elephantspike]

Sounds like an interesting way to do a Visa Run.
Has anyone tried doing it this way?


I did, about 10 years ago. I had entered Thailand on a tourist visa and was offered a job in Bangkok so I had to bring a bunch of paperwork to the Thai Consulate in Paneng. I enjoyed the train ride, but after less than a month in Thailand, my 2 days in Malaysia made me feel homesick for Thailand.

I did, about 10 years ago. I had entered Thailand on a tourist visa and was offered a job in Bangkok so I had to bring a bunch of paperwork to the Thai Consulate in Paneng. I enjoyed the train ride, but after less than a month in Thailand, my 2 days in Malaysia made me feel homesick for Thailand.

Twenty years ago this was always the prefered way to go for those that needed to do a cheap visa run. Things change, but for some reason the Thai Embassy in Penang compared with Singapore was always quick, relatively easy and problem free in granting the required visas for those who didn't have work permits or retirement visas.