Towards the end of the 19th century, many surveys were commissioned by the Siamese authorities and certain western interest groups and governments, with the object of bringing a railway system to Thailand.

One of the best known of these was the survey conducted by Holt S. Hallett, a British colonial administrator, whose object was to promote a railway line to take British goods from the Gulf of Martaban (Burma), through what was then Siam, to Southern China. His superb book: A Thousand Miles on an Elephant in the Shan States, first published in 1890 and still an excellent source of information on Northern Thailand, was the main result of this journey: the railway, alas, was never constructed.

Then in 1887-1888, Messrs Punchard and Co., British Railway Contractors, were commissioned by the Siamese government, to survey a line from Bangkok to Ayutthaya and then to Korat, the first section of the current North Eastern Line. James McCarthy, a British engineer employed by the government of Siam, describes some of this work in his book Surveying and Exploring in Siam, first published in 1900.

A second line was to go from Ayutthaya to Lopburi, then on to Lampang, Lamphun and Chiang Mai. From Chiang Mai it was projected to go north to Chiang Rai and eventually to Chiang Saen on the Mae Khong (Mekong river).

Much of this survey bore fruit, some years later, in the construction of parts of the northern and north-eastern lines though the section of the northern line beyond Chiang Mai has not been constructed, even to this day: the connection north to China via Chiang Saen and the Mae Khong, was very attractive from a trade point of view, but the engineering difficulties presented by the mountains of northern Thailand proved too daunting.

A recent (March 2010) proposal from the Chinese Government, however, for a high speed link between Asia and Europe might at last result the long overdue rail link from Thailand to Southern China.

The foundations for the current railway network were laid during the 1890's and the early years of the 20th Century. J. Antonio, a Portuguese photographer working for the Royal Railway Department in Bangkok during this period gave some details of these early years in his book: The 1904 Traveller's Guide to Bangkok and Siam.

According to Antonio, the first railway in Thailand was the Paknam railway; the accompanying map shows this line following the course of the present-day Rama IV road, from near Bangkok Central Station eastwards towards the mouth of the river. This line, opened in 1893, is no longer in existence, though Thai friends remember using it in the 1950's.

Modern maps of greater Bangkok still show a Thanon Tang Rotfai Kao sai Paknam ("Road on the route of the former Paknam railway") from Khlong Toey eastwards towards the river mouth.

Rail Services to Ayutthaya opened on March 9th 1894, extending to Korat in 1900 as the first section of what is now the Northeastern line. A branch line to Lopburi became the first section of the Northern line to Chiang Mai.

In 1903 a line opened to Petchaburi on the west coast of the gulf of Siam. This eventually became the Southern line to Butterworth, Malaysia. At that time the line commenced at the elegant old Thonburi Railway station, now retired. Another line was under planning to Sri Ratcha on the east coast of the gulf of Siam (present day Eastern Line).

Antonio also mentions the construction of a private line from Thonburi to Tha Chin on the coast. This must be the Mae Khlong-Mahachai railway, now part of the State Railway of Thailand, though it does not connect with the main network.

This line is mainly used to ferry sea produce and passengers from the coast to Bangkok, but also provides the opportunity for a cheap and pleasant 1 day excursion from Bangkok to the old fishing ports of Samut Sakhon and Samut Songkhram: see the page Mahachai Railway.

Originally the Northern and Eastern Railways were controlled by the Northern Railway Authority, whereas services West of the Chao Phraya River (i.e. originating in Thonburi, West Bangkok), operated under a different authority - the Southern Railway Authority, and while the Northern Railway used Standard Gauge (1.435m - 4ft 81/2 inches), the Southern Railway adopted Narrow Gauge (1 meter), allowing it to link up eventually with the Narrow Gauge lines of British Malaya.

In 1917, The two authorities were merged as the Royal State Railways of Siam, and in 1920 Narrow Gauge, for logistical reasons, was adopted as the national standard. Conversion work started by adding a third line to the Northern network so that it could run Standard and Narrow Gauge trains. Conversion of the network was completed in 1930.

Before the two authorities were maerged the Northern and North-Eastern networks had been designed and run by German engineers, the Southern Line by British engineers. Once the two authorities were merged it was reasonably easy to run the two networks as separate enterprises, as at no point did the networks connect. This all changed with the decision to Bridge the Chao Phraya river at Bang Sue so that the Southern line could join up with the other networks. This meant that international traffic would be able to begin and terminate at Hua Lamphong Station in Central Bangkok, rather than on the other side of the River at Thonburi Station, which involved passengers in a rver crossing prior to departure. The Rama VI rail bridge, completed in 1927, was one of the first bridges accross the Chao Phraya river.

The section is taken from the related page www.thailandbytrain/riverkwai.html.

During early 1942, Japanese forces occupied much of British Burma as far as The Indian border. In June 1942, in order to supply the war effort against India, the Japanese began construction of a railway from Bahn Pong (Thailand Southern Line) along the Kwae valley, and across the Three Pagodas Pass, connecting with the Burmese railway network at Thanbyuzayat.

About 60,000 allied P.O.W.'s and a much greater number of Malays and other Asians were used as forced labour. Most allied P.O.W.'s arrived in Thailand by train from Singapore: British and Australian military jammed 26 to a box car with rubber planters, traders and colonial administrators, for a journey that even today takes the best part of three days. From Bahn Pong they were marched up the valley of the Kwae Noi to the construction camps, where the real misery began.

Conditions were appalling: backbreaking work from dawn to dusk in very difficult terrain, tropical heat or monsoon rains, and always swarms of insects. Already suffering from malnutrition and exhaustion, thousands succumbed to Cholera, Dysentery, Cerebral Malaria and the the casual thuggery of their Japanese and Korean captors. It is estimated that over 100,000 Asians and more than 16,000 allied P.O.W.'s died during the construction.

The Thai Railway system was severely damaged during the war and for a year after the end of the conflict, it was run by British engineers. According to Jorges Orgibet, who was in Thailand after the end of the war, when the Death Railway was eventually returned to Thai control:


He also records that most of the main rail bridges from Bangkok southwards had been destroyed by allied bombing, so trains were assembled on each stretch of line between the damaged bridges: "Passengers disembarked at each river, were ferried across, and boarded another triain for the next stretch."

After 1951 control of the whole system passed to the State Railway of Thailand, by which time most of the present network had been constructed. Consequent modernisation included the replacement of steam locomotives by diesel cars, from 1982 onwards. Some of the old Steam Locomotives and rolling stock are still visible up and down the country - see below.

Relics of the steam age can be seen at Hua Lamphong, the new Thonburi Railway Station at Bangkok Noi, Hat Yai, Chiang Mai, Phitsanulok, and many other stations up and down the network; probably the best collection is at the Kanchanaburi and River Kwai Bridge Stations in Kanchanaburi town. There are some interesting rail memorabilia at the Thailand Railway Museum in Chatuchak Park (see below).

Officially known as "The Bangkok Railway Station", Hua Lamphong is Bangkok's Central Railway Station and from it nearly all routes originate. Construction started in 1910 to replace the previous Bangkok Railway Station and it opened for service on June 25, 1916.

A marble shrine at the end of platform 11, shown right, commemorates the foundation of the Royal State Railway of Siam by King Chulalongkorn in 1896. Behind the shrine is a fine old 2-6-0 steam engine, No 714 (see below)

For information on Bookings etc. please see Rail Services section.

The old, elegant Thonburi Railway Station, on the west bank of the river next to canal Bangkok Noi, marks the original start for the Western Line to Petchaburi, though in more recent years, it was the start of the line to Kanchanaburi and the death railway. The station was officially decommissioned in October 2003 and the service transferred to the Bangkok Noi station, (now renamed Thonburi Station), about 1 km away. Much of the land attached has been taken over by the Sriraj Hospital (seen to the left of the old building), and currently the station seems to be used as a school.


The old station was difficult to access from east Bangkok except by river, and the new station even more so. The easiest way is still to cross the river from Tha Phra Chan pier (behind Sanam Luang on Phra Chan Road) to the railway pier ("Tha Rotfai") on the Thonburi side. Pick up busses (songtaews) take passengers from the pier to the new station. The ferry costs 3.5 Baht, the Songtaew 6.5 Baht.

The original Thonburi Railway station, opened by king Chulalongkorn in 1900, was destroyed by allied bombing during World War II; it was reconstructed after the war in the original style and re-opened in 1950.

Thonburi Station can be seen in Jackie Chan's movie "Around the World in 80 days" (2003) in the role of "Agra Station".

A small private museum, mixing railway relics with early motorcycle, military and other memorabilia.

Early Steam Engines and carriages take up much of the space (as one might expect!), but one of the more interesting exhibits is a model train, a replica of the one presented to King Rama IV by Queen Victoria. The original occupies a prime position in the National Museum, Bangkok.


The museum is located on Kamphaeng Phet 3 road, nearest sky train station Chatuchak Park. Telephone 02-373-9976.

The museum is open on Saturdays and Sundays; entrance is free, though donations are always welcome.

Thailand's railways are littered with relics of the steam age - old locomotives and rolling stock, signalling equipment, message boards, maps etc. Most major, and some smaller, stations have steam locomotives, some in pretty good condition.

What follows is just a selection.