Thai rail system lampooned in Facebook "bullet train" picture

[ratcatcher]

3 minutes ago, Shawn0000 said:

 

You moved here for the quaintness of corruption?

He may well have found the quaintness of the corruption a pleasant change from the blatant corruption in some western countries?

[Shawn0000]

17 minutes ago, ratcatcher said:

He may well have found the quaintness of the corruption a pleasant change from the blatant corruption in some western countries?

 

im pretty sure that doesn't make any sense.

[digibum]

10 hours ago, Mook23 said:

aha! thais being confronted with the outerworld! always fun to read their reactions when they find out something more advanced exists in the vastness of the universe. 

 

"but but our train more safe. him duhrive suhlow... suhpeed train antalaai maakmaak..."

 

Especially when what exists is better and from a country they look down their nose at.  

[AlQaholic]

14 hours ago, halloween said:

The locomotive pictured is an Alsthom AD24C one of more than 100 purchased somewhere between 1974 and 1985.

Yeah....like I said....from WWII or sometime near that.....

[robertson468]

I did the overnight 1st class train journey Bangkok to Chiang Mai.  It reminded me of UK trains of the 50's!

[TPI]

Every traveller to CM from Bangkok knows that the trip will always be at least 2-3 hours late, I don't know why it just is....before you could sit on the steps of your "fan, sleeper" and enjoy a smoke and a beer while watching the lights of the "Bans" go by, now no chance! Where's the complimentry cup of tea, where you could keep the cup as a momento, gone? And if you want a real adventure take the 38 baht, 3rd Class trip from Hua lam pong to Aranya Pathet......an amazing trip (only did it once!!!!) 

[impulse]

For what they charge for tickets, Thai trains are great.

 

You want a Euro standard train?  Expect to pay Euro prices.  And to see a lot of disappointed Thais who can't afford the luxury of Euro train ride to visit the family once or twice a year.

 

Cheap flights are great IF they go where you want to go (count the number of airports and the number of train stations to see which has the better coverage) and if you don't have excess baggage which can cost more than the ticket itself.

Edited August 16, 2016 by impulse

[ClutchClark]

10 minutes ago, impulse said:

For what they charge for tickets, Thai trains are great.

 

You want a Euro standard train?  Expect to pay Euro prices.  And to see a lot of disappointed Thais who can't afford the luxury of Euro train ride to visit the family once or twice a year.

 

Cheap flights are great IF they go where you want to go (count the number of airports and the number of train stations to see which has the better coverage) and if you don't have excess baggage which can cost more than the ticket itself.

 

I couldn't agree more. 

The wife and I just took the train today and it is the method of travel for a good share of the Thai populace.

 

Plus it provides an experience to backpackers that is gone from their societies. Travelling the rail with windows open and the coaches swaying back & forth is something we can only read about in most places nowadays. When you travel the Thai Railway you are taking a journey back in the "Age of Wood" and not fiberglass and aluminum.

[ClutchClark]

40 minutes ago, TPI said:

Every traveller to CM from Bangkok knows that the trip will always be at least 2-3 hours late, I don't know why it just is....before you could sit on the steps of your "fan, sleeper" and enjoy a smoke and a beer while watching the lights of the "Bans" go by, now no chance! Where's the complimentry cup of tea, where you could keep the cup as a momento, gone? And if you want a real adventure take the 38 baht, 3rd Class trip from Hua lam pong to Aranya Pathet......an amazing trip (only did it once!!!!) 

 

I wondered about this. 

No chance, eh?

[halloween]

24 minutes ago, impulse said:

For what they charge for tickets, Thai trains are great.

 

You want a Euro standard train?  Expect to pay Euro prices.  And to see a lot of disappointed Thais who can't afford the luxury of Euro train ride to visit the family once or twice a year.

 

Cheap flights are great IF they go where you want to go (count the number of airports and the number of train stations to see which has the better coverage) and if you don't have excess baggage which can cost more than the ticket itself.

But the ETS train in the picture isn't much more expensive. Pedang Besar to Butterworth for MYR29 (~B250) or the diesel Kommuter for MYR11 (~B90).

[Thian]

22 hours ago, lungbing said:

But if the authorities spent money on the railways it would benefit people outside Bangkok, and that would never do.

 

Yup, then us in BKK will have to eat fruit/vegy/meat from Chiang mai...of course we prefer everything imported here.

 

Oh and those countryboys will also come to the big App;e by train, where will they have to park their pickups??

 

If the Malaysians see this picture right after the one of all the fallen electricitypoles they will say: Soooo Thai 

[impulse]

16 minutes ago, halloween said:

But the ETS train in the picture isn't much more expensive. Pedang Besar to Butterworth for MYR29 (~B250) or the diesel Kommuter for MYR11 (~B90).

 

Malaysia's government dictates the price of passenger travel and subsidizes rail ticket prices.

 

And, yes.  I had to look that up.

 

http://web.mit.edu/mtransgroup/reports/reports pdf 3-25-04/Don _2003_ Malaysian Railroad report v2.pdf

[doctorproc156]

13 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Malaysia's government dictates the price of passenger travel and subsidizes rail ticket prices.

 

And, yes.  I had to look that up.

 

http://web.mit.edu/mtransgroup/reports/reports pdf 3-25-04/Don _2003_ Malaysian Railroad report v2.pdf

 

So does Thailand. Some train lines in Thailand are even completely free of charge.

[impulse]

1 hour ago, doctorproc156 said:

 

So does Thailand. Some train lines in Thailand are even completely free of charge.

 

So, basically what you're saying is that comparing the price of a ticket isn't straightforward. 

[Mook23]

wait till they see or get on the train from ye to dawei. I did that trip a couple of times... 9hours for 134km.including repeatedly stopping and even driving backwards for who knows why.... utter cheap too. 555

[lostinisaan]

But a Thai railway enthusiasts group said it was not really helpful to post pictures like that and they were a bit deceptive.

 

   I took such a "train" from Sisaket to Bangkok twice within ten month. Unfortunately, did on both locations break the locomotive in the middle of nowhere and it took many hours to get a replacement.

 

   Appointment at the embassy was gone. All Thais ( excluding these enthusiastic freaks) tell you that taking a train is "sia wellaa". ( Wasted time. )

 

   But the Chinese high shit trains will soon replace these oldtimers.

 

    

Edited August 16, 2016 by lostinisaan

[Grouse]

Quite bizarre that Malaysia is nearly all narrow gauge and not standard (4ft 8.5 inches) gauge considering the history.

 

Hell of an investment to get suitable track installed for high speed railways in both Malaysia and Thailand. Great investment though......

[oldlakey]

On 8/15/2016 at 7:49 AM, halloween said:

 

New Thai trains are due to begin service this year. But the difference extends far beyond the train. The Malay train is electric and runs on a new dual track with NO level crossings, legal or otherwise. The stations have raised platforms that allow a level entry into the carriage, suitable for wheelchair access.

Everything is not always what it seems 

12 point 9 Billion RM investment in new rail infrastructure including double tracking

509 Million RM on 11 new Electric trains

Then  approx three months ago as two of these state of the art ETS trains passed each other they touched

Did not do the glass any good thankfully no fatalities but a few injuries

Best not too dwell on how that  accident happened  too much

Maybe thats the reason I travelled on a MRT train from Butterworth to the Thai border two months ago

Rather a good trip really as MRT trains dont have toilets two twenty minute stops for the passengers to use the washroom

So all is not lost yet for Thailand

[oldlakey]

6 hours ago, TPI said:

Every traveller to CM from Bangkok knows that the trip will always be at least 2-3 hours late, I don't know why it just is....before you could sit on the steps of your "fan, sleeper" and enjoy a smoke and a beer while watching the lights of the "Bans" go by, now no chance! Where's the complimentry cup of tea, where you could keep the cup as a momento, gone? And if you want a real adventure take the 38 baht, 3rd Class trip from Hua lam pong to Aranya Pathet......an amazing trip (only did it once!!!!) 

Bad news old son the price is 48 Baht and yes its a great trip as long as you get their early enough to stake your claim

Then at the end of it you can look forward to the customer service in Poipet

I personally would not have it any other way

[HooHaa]

On 8/15/2016 at 7:39 PM, SupermarineS6B said:

I've been using the train to Penang for over twenty five years now and i can honestly say that the Malay trains and set up is light years ahead of Thailands. I was just on the Malay train last week and we reached a smooth noise free speed of 160 kmh-100 mph, and i must say i didn't get any scary feeling that we we're going to end up in a paddy field...... When you reach Padang Besar you have to buy an onward ticket from the border due to the fact that the Malay system doesn't co-ordinate ticket sales any more with Thailand.  Then the old rickety rattling journey begins, complete with an alcohol ban just so that you can savour one of the roughest train journeys that you're liable to experience........  But i still love the Thai trains, the only country with an authentic classic railway system.........

 

 

The only country?  Has India replaced everything in the last couple of years?

[SupermarineS6B]

11 hours ago, HooHaa said:

 

 

The only country?  Has India replaced everything in the last couple of years?

I live in Thailand not India.......... But at least India has stopped burning the wife with the husband......... Progress ! 

[SupermarineS6B]

Seriously though, if Thailand would realise that just about every train station all over the country has a steam train outside rotting, and these trains if cobbled together to make just two running engines and sort the assault course tracks out, restore a few of the current carriages they'd have a tourist attraction and a functioning railway system that would draw millions in tourists and bht. The trains can be made to run on Diesel, steamers can run on coal, oil and wood, so what's the problem, they're using diesel anyway so no enviromental issues there. Imagine that, a country with a steam train functioning railway.............Talk about tourism ?????  

Edited August 17, 2016 by SupermarineS6B

[halloween]

20 minutes ago, SupermarineS6B said:

Seriously though, if Thailand would realise that just about every train station all over the country has a steam train outside rotting, and these trains if cobbled together to make just two running engines and sort the assault course tracks out, restore a few of the current carriages they'd have a tourist attraction and a functioning railway system that would draw millions in tourists and bht. The trains can be made to run on Diesel, steamers can run on coal, oil and wood, so what's the problem, they're using diesel anyway so no enviromental issues there. Imagine that, a country with a steam train functioning railway.............Talk about tourism ?????  

Doing this for one or two locos might make some sense, but going backwards 60 years in terms of efficiency and costs for a whole system doesn't. Diesel electric locos didn't come into wide use for many years after their first development (except as shunters) until they proved that improved running costs more than covered the high initial expense.

Are you old enough to remember "water stops"?

[muzmurray]

16 hours ago, lostinisaan said:

But a Thai railway enthusiasts group said it was not really helpful to post pictures like that and they were a bit deceptive.

 

   I took such a "train" from Sisaket to Bangkok twice within ten month. Unfortunately, did on both locations break the locomotive in the middle of nowhere and it took many hours to get a replacement.

 

   Appointment at the embassy was gone. All Thais ( excluding these enthusiastic freaks) tell you that taking a train is "sia wellaa". ( Wasted time. )

 

   But the Chinese high shit trains will soon replace these oldtimers.

 

    

 

"S̄eīy welā"  - would be more correct.

 

Why is train in quotation marks? Was it a train or not?

[lostinisaan]

37 minutes ago, muzmurray said:

 

"S̄eīy welā"  - would be more correct.

 

Why is train in quotation marks? Was it a train or not?

 

    I used quotation marks, because you can hardly call such a piece of junk a train. Thanks for Googling it, but I prefer to say "Sia ( lost) Wella" ( time), which is a little bit difficult to write in Roman letters. From Google:  S̄eīy welā

              How would you pronounce it in a way that a Thai would get it? 

 

     But please see another webpage that comes way closer to my pronunciation:  siiaR waehM laaM

 

    Please see: http://www.thai-language.com/id/202970

 

   

[CantSpell]

Another point for the PM: "Need to ban and 44 the internet, it is now a question of national security/pride!!!" 

[SupermarineS6B]

22 hours ago, halloween said:

Doing this for one or two locos might make some sense, but going backwards 60 years in terms of efficiency and costs for a whole system doesn't. Diesel electric locos didn't come into wide use for many years after their first development (except as shunters) until they proved that improved running costs more than covered the high initial expense.

Are you old enough to remember "water stops"?

Just about, but imagine the gain in revenue and tourism, and as for water stops, there's plenty of stops with the diesels and it definetly wouldn't be an issue of speed as the steamer would be just a quick, remember the fastest steam train is still faster than most high speed systems...... 126 mph........  Just a thought....... Imagine it, two lovely old re-conditioned steam trains operating on the main line..?