Great Railway Journeys In Thailand

[CountSaintGermain]

Do any of you remember steam trains? If so, please share. I would love to read about steam trains.

If not, what are your favorite railways journeys in Thailand?

ME: I love the ride from BKK up to Nong Khai. The scenery from Udon Thani onwards is wonderful!

[Crossy]

Not exactly a 'great' railway journey but a must do if you have a day to spare. Take the train from Wong Wian Yai (the SRT station not the Skytrain) to Maeklong via the ferry crossing at Mahachai. This is the famed 'train through the market' at the Maeklong end. Total cost - 50 Baht plus lunch and a few hours

[bendejo]

Thanks for that Crossy.

There is a deluxe train that runs between Bangkok and KL or Singapore. I saw it while waiting at the Yomarat crossing. The cars are dark green and the train was very long. I looked it up, costs a fortune, a re-creation of luxury travel of a by-gone era. Not exactly my thing, but the kind of stuff the travel shows tend to latch on to.

Cheapest train ticket I ever bought: Hualumpong to Yomarat, 2 baht. The guy at the ticket window spoke English, I told him it was too expensive, got a laugh out of him.

[Payboy]

Thanks for that Crossy.

There is a deluxe train that runs between Bangkok and KL or Singapore. I saw it while waiting at the Yomarat crossing. The cars are dark green and the train was very long. I looked it up, costs a fortune, a re-creation of luxury travel of a by-gone era. Not exactly my thing, but the kind of stuff the travel shows tend to latch on to.

That would be the E&O Express I think.

[trainman34014]

Have you done the Death Railway yet? Kanchanaburi to Nom Tak is well worth the effort. Time to take in the WW2 Graveyards as well. Brings you to tears.

[trainman34014]

I'm a Steam nut from the UK. Going away for a few days; will pm you when I get back.

[StreetCowboy]

Four hours late on a 40 baht 3rd class only from Hua Hin to Hualamphong coming back on a Public Holiday weekend; I got fed up and bailed out at Bang Sue to get the MRT and BTS home. More of an odyssey than an epic.

SC

[NancyL]

The 3rd class milk-run from Korat to Ayutaya is fun during nice weather. Good scenery and many local food vendors hop on, ride for a few stops selling their wares and then get off to return home. So, many cheap food items to enjoy, plus ice-cold beer, too. The trip is about 4 or 5 hours -- just long enough for the "charm" of 3rd class travel to begin to wear off.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

I regularly bowl up at Hualongphong with my toddlers and just ask for a ticket on the next outbound train. We pack a picnic lunch, head out for a few hours, then get off, find out when the next one's heading back into town and spend that time exploring the local area.

Do the same on the various boat services, tons of fun and a very cheap day's entertainment for the kids and me.

[Ricardo]

The 3rd-class-only rail-car from Den Chai or Lampang up to Chiang Mai, passes through some very nice National-Park countryside, used to cost about B70 for 5 hours ? Just wish there was some sort of steam-hauled tourist-train on that run !

Edited October 21, 2012 by Ricardo