New Immigration Office, How To Get There, By Train!

[kevbap]

Hi all

Just had to visit the new immigration 'complex', and wow how nice and big!!! so that's where our overstay funds go? anyway since checking the websites and Thai-visa i realised many people were complaining about the lack of 'transport' services, and the fact it was in the 'middle of nowhere'.

well i got to the main train station and asked for a train to 'Lak si' and to my surprise the ticket guy said 'there is one going in 5 minutes' so i got out a few hundred baht ready to pay for my ticket and was totally unprepared for what he asked for......4 baht ! it took about 45 minutes and when you arrive at the Lak si station look outside for a motorbike taxi, costs about 30 baht. so my fare from Silom (sala deang) to the immigration office cost me 52 baht total!!!!

how good was that?

The 7 day visa i got took about 30 minutes in total, so things are looking up!

Any questions please feel free to ask, i have taken pictures, but as yet don't know how to show them here! the British embassy gave me a very good map, but failed to say how to go by train, so i hope this helps a little and it's my way of trying to help all the people on Thai-visa who have helped me in the past.

Cheers Kevin

[gskphoto]

A train from Saladaeng? I live on Saladaeng and I've never seen a train station around here. The BTS doesn't go to Laksi (and doesn't cost 4 baht) please clarify.

[Jdietz]

A train from Saladaeng? I live on Saladaeng and I've never seen a train station around here. The BTS doesn't go to Laksi (and doesn't cost 4 baht) please clarify.

/s/Saladaeng/Hualampong/ and it'll start making sense.

[gskphoto]

A train from Saladaeng? I live on Saladaeng and I've never seen a train station around here. The BTS doesn't go to Laksi (and doesn't cost 4 baht) please clarify.

Also, if you were prepared to shell "a few hundred Baht" for the trip, why not just take a taxi for about 200?

[Jdietz]

Actually re-reading the OP and doing some advanced math there is 18 Baht missing from his account:

4 Baht to Lak Si

30 Baht for the motorcycle

52 Baht total trip Sala Daeng to Immigration

Which leaves just enough for the MRT from Sala Daeng to Hualampong Railway station...

- cue applause.

[kevbap]

Actually re-reading the OP and doing some advanced math there is 18 Baht missing from his account:

4 Baht to Lak Si

30 Baht for the motorcycle

52 Baht total trip Sala Daeng to Immigration

Which leaves just enough for the MRT from Sala Daeng to Hualampong Railway station...

- cue applause.

quite correct Jdietz, sorry for my 'untidy' post, it was a long day...embassy at 9am...the embassy gave me 2 methods of transport on the reverse of the map to immigration, one by 3 local buses and another by various 'vans' but no train option and only when checking google maps and directions i decided to check the train option.

i hope it helps.

[kevbap]

the new immigration complex

[7by7]

Moved to Thai visas.

[elshaheen]

There is a train that does go up there to that area near Laksi and has a stop, but not BTS or MRT. I think it goes from main one in Bangkok, not sure.

Your best bet is to take a bus (don't know the number), or taxi. It's not that far up from Moe Chit BTS.

[jfchandler]

The OP here is essentially correct, though the State Railway of Thailand info isn't so helpful on this subject...

On their web site, they show the maps for four different rail lines that go thru the country, but none of them show a stop at/route to Laksi...

In calling and talking to the SRT staff, they indicated the Laksi station, which is a short distance from the Chaeng Wattana Immigration Bureau, is on their Chan Muang line, which they have no mention of at least on the English portion of their web site. The staff member I spoke with said the line is a local one that only goes around BKK and neighboring provinces....

The ticket price for the Hua Lam Phong main railroad station to Laksi is 4 baht one-way for 3rd class tickets and 9 baht for 2nd class tickets...

The times and train numbers the staff guy gave me for the trip (I just asked for the likely hours for a farang Immigration trip) were as follows:

Outbound Hua Lam Phong:

7 am #111

8:20 am #75

9:25 am #201

11:20 am #209

and Return from Laksi:

1:19 pm #202

1:32 pm #234

2:19 pm #106

5:10 pm #112

I haven't tried these actual trips yet, but I'm planning to...

PS - For those that don't know, for people living in Bangkok, you can take the MRT subway line that has its end station at Hua Lam Phong, a short underground tunnel walk to the SRT railroad station.

[Hans Brix]

Good report, should be helpful for a lot of people. Too bad there's always going to be a critical wiseguy. For me, I'll just take the taxi and tollway but this is a decent extra option