STATE RAILWAY OF THAILAND

Photographs

by

Colin Carr

Updated 09/08/2008

Map of State Railway of Thailand

Instructions to customer service staff at Pattaya Station

P-way gang and their transport at Pattaya Station, 22 August 2008

The train to Sattahip arrives at Pattaya's neat and friendly station, 22 August 2008

DMU in the shed at Ban Pla Ta Luang, it is hard to judge if it is being refurbished or scrapped! 22 August 2008

Alsthom diesel electric, no.4145, awaiting departure time for the daily service from Ban Pla Ta Luang to Bangkok, 22 August 2008

4145 and an unusually clean first carriage about to leave Pattaya for Bangkok , 22 August 2008

Alsthom diesel electric loco no.4125 is looped at Pattaya awaiting the Up passenger service to Bangkok, 3 January 2008

Let me say a little bit about the State Railway of Thailand. Like BR, it is hugely in debt, crying out for investment, and massively overstaffed. Much of the debt relates to it's extremely generous pension scheme. On a short journey last week, our train had two crew in the cab. This I approve of, as an extra pair of eyes is very valuable in a country where car and truck drivers routinely play 'chicken' with trains at unmanned level crossings. (I suppose it makes a change from bridge bashing!) But in the seven carriages, there were two revolver toting Railway Police, two conductors, a cleaner and another unidentifiable employee. I believe the term is 'featherbedding'

The network consists of 2566 route miles of metre gauge lines joining Bangkok to Malaysia in the South, the city of Chiang Mai in the north, Laos in the northeast, the city of Ubon Ratchathani, also in the Northeast, and to Cambodia in the east. There is a comparatively short spur (about 75 miles) from Chachoengsao, east of Bangkok to the ports of Laem Chabang, Sattahip and Map Ta Phut.

The network is mainly a freight railway, though passenger services operate on the major routes. It is operating at full capacity. The spur from Chachoengsao is typical in that it is currently single line with passing loops. This restricts capacity. Members of Ribble Valley Rail will be familiar with the problem, I am sure. As Laem Chabang is a major deepwater seaport, there are plans to double the line between there and Chachoengsao.

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In 2007, the military government proposed a HUGE investment scheme to double track nearly all the network, and modernise the signalling. All this was aimed at increasing capacity and taking trucks off the roads. In 2008, the new civilian government drastically pruned the investment plans. They now propose to double some lines in the busy Bangkok/Central Thailand area while adding more signals and passing loops elsewhere to increase capacity. Currently only 174 route miles are double or triple track.

Perhaps the most famous, or infamous, line on the network is the so called 'Death Railway'. This is the line built by the Japanese in the Second World War and immortalised in the (grossly inaccurate) film, "The Bridge On The River Kwai". In fact the famous bridge was bombed by the RAF in February 1945, knocking out the two centre spans.

In the late 1940s, Thailand bought the railway from the British and reopened it as far as Nam Tok, about 95 miles short of the Burmese border. The line from Nam Tok to Burma has been lifted though the track bed still survives in places.

A special feature on this line may be found by clicking here

 

Colin Carr

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Local signalling panel at Ayuthaya Station, November 1999


The train to Nakhon Ratchasima tackles the gradient, view from the 14th carriage, November 1999.

Note the cement wagons in the siding.

Loco 261 the 'gate guardian' at Nakhon Ratchasima station, November 1999

 

The then new Bangkok Skytrain, an On Nut train approaching Nana Station, February 2000.

This line is standard gauge

Approaches to Bangkok 's Hualumpong Station, October 2000.

The curved train-shed roof is visible in the distance.

Korean built DMU at Hualumpong Station, October 2000  

 
General Electric diesel electric loco, no. 453,9 at Hualumpong, October 2000                   
Yes, it's a Sprinter! 2501 at Hualumpong in October 2000. These units work long distance services and are all 2nd class air conditioned
North British 4-6-0 loco, built at Glasgow 1920, retired 1967, now guards Phitsanulok Station, seen October 2000   
Plasser & Theurer track maintenance equipment at Phitsanulok, October 2000

Approaching a bridge on the Northern Line while en route to Bangkok, October 2000.

View from between the left & right cabs of a Sprinter.

Loco 4106 in charge of the 08:30 service from Nong Khai to Bangkok , October 2001.

Note the bags of food & drink in the windscreen.  

Third class carriage on the Nong Khai to Bangkok service, October 2001.
  
Sprinter approaching Phitsanulok with a Bangkok service, November 2001
The station shunter at Ubon Ratchathani, January 2003
Another 1920 vintage North British 4-6-0 acts as the gate guardian at Ubon Ratchathani, January 2003
P-way gang at work in Ubon Ratchathani station, January 2003
General Electric diesels, nos. 4554 and 4538, await their next duties in the yard at Ubon Ratchathani, January 2003

Loco 4222 arrives at Ubon Ratchathani with a service from Bangkok, January 2003

Hualumpong Railway Station, Bangkok, September 2003
Hualumpong concourse and train-shed, September 2003
Loco 4217 about to couple to its train at Hualumpong, September 2003
Loco 4519 couples to the front of 4217. Double heading out of the station saved a precious path in the station throat, September 2003

Sprinter 2512 wears the vinyls of a Thai phone company over its Regional Railways paint at Hualumpong, September 2003
Loco 4217 with its train on arrival at Saaburi, September 2003

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Loco 4514 arrives at Saraburi with a Rapid (semi fast) train to Bangkok, September 2003
 
Loco 4221 in charge of the Nong Khai to Bangkok service, 11 November 2003
Waiting for the 'off' at Nong Khai, 11 Nov 2003
Rather a fine looking station nameboard at Nong Khai 11 Nov03. The line to Laos was not laid until summer 2008, and is not yet in use.
Loco 4542 in charge of the late running Nong Khai sleeper, passes Nata Station, 11 Nov 2003

DMU 1018 waits to work the 12:30 Khon Kaen - Nakhon Ratchasima local, 11 Nov 2003

Semaphore signals at Khon Kaen, 11Nov 2003

A neat little rural station between Khon Kaen and Nakhon Ratchasima, 11Nov 2003

Sunset in Nakhon ratchasima, 11Nov 2003
The neat, tidy booking office and waiting area at Pattaya Station, 20 Nov 2003
Pattaya Station, 20 Nov 2003
Pattaya Station, general view, 20 Nov 2003
Aboard the almost empty DMU from Pattaya to Bangkok, 20 Nov 2003

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Signals are on the right in Thailand