All the Lines Challenge: Thailand Edition

Thailand has 4,044 kilometres of railway tracks passing through 47 out of 77 provinces. There are four main lines: Northern Line (781 km), which terminates in Chiang Mai, the Northeastern Line (1,094 km), which terminates in Ubon Ratchathani and Nong Khai provinces, the Eastern Line (534 km), which terminates at the Cambodian border, and the Southern Line (1,570 km), which terminates at the Malaysian border in Songkhla and Narathiwat provinces. There are also a number of branch lines of interest including one that goes to Pattaya and another along the Death Railway.

ALL THE LINES CHALLENGE

I’ve met a number of international rail fans that like to do the All the Lines Challenge for every country that they visit. When I did the challenge in March 2024, it took me a full two weeks to go up and down every line. Although I had fun, I felt I was cheating as I often caught sleeper trains and really didn’t see much of the scenery. So, the rules for my next attempt will be to take slow local trains for at least one direction of the route so that I am on a train that stops at all the stations.

The following are my notes if you want help in doing this challenge in Thailand. I will also add notes for people who want to do the All the Stations Challenge. For this, you don’t need to get on and off at every station, but you do need to be on a local train that stops at every station. If you need further help in planning your trip, feel free to post questions in our Asian Train Guide groups on either Facebook or Reddit.

1. THE NORTHERN LINE

The main line heading to Chiang Mai has one branch line at the moment, to Sawankhalok in Sukhothai Province. A branch line from Den Chai to Chiang Rai Province is under construction. This is due to be completed in 2028.

CHIANG MAI MAIN LINE – The main line north goes between Bangkok and Chiang Mai. The distance is 781 kilometers. The fastest train, Special Express No. 7, can do this trip in ten hours during the day. However, there are some sleeper trains, such as the flagship train Special Express No. 9, that take a bit longer but allow you to sleep throughout most of the journey.
SAWANKHALOK BRANCH LINE (sa-wan-ka-lok) – This line is only 29 kilometres long and goes from Ban Dara Junction to Sawankhalok. There are only two stations on this line, Khlong Maphlap and Sawankhalok. There is also only one train a day on this line. Local No. 405 goes from Sila At at 10:00 a.m. and arrives in Sawankhalok one hour later. The return train is Local No. 406 that leaves Sawankhalok at 11:35 a.m. So, this is easy to do in one day.

NOTE 1: A bridge on the Sawankhalok branch line was washed out during floods in 2024. The line was closed and is not due to reopen until late 2025. Join the Asian Train Guide group on Facebook or Reddit for updates.
NOTE 2: All trains out of Krung Thep Aphiwat and Hua Lamphong now take the elevated line as they head north out of the city. However, steam train excursions to Ayutthaya always use the old ground level line. So, if you want to do all passenger lines you have to do this too!

2. THE NORTHEASTERN LINE

The main line in the northeast goes to Ubon Ratchathani. They then built a branch line from Thanon Chira Junction (just after Nakhon Ratchasima Station), to Nong Khai on the border with Laos. In the 1950’s, it was decided that there was too much of a bottleneck in Nakhon Ratchasima, and so a bypass route was built at Kaeng Khoi Junction for trains going between Bangkok and Nong Khai.

UBON RATCHATHANI MAIN LINE (oo-bon rut-cha-ta-nee) – There are direct trains between Bangkok and Ubon along the main line. You can do this route either during the day or at night on a sleeper train.
NONG KHAI BRANCH LINE (nong kai) – Strictly speaking, this branch line goes from Thanon Chira Junction to Nong Khai. However, all trains from Bangkok to Nong Khai use the bypass and so you will miss part of the branch line between Thanon Chira Junction and Bua Yai Junction. (See Note 1 below for details.) In addition, to say you have done the complete line, you need to take the shuttle train from Nong Khai Station across the Friendship Bridge into Laos.
KAENG KHOI – BUA YAI BYPASS LINE (gang koi / boo-er yai) – This line is 221 kilometres long and goes from Kaeng Khoi Junction to Bua Yai Junction. All the trains between Bangkok and Nong Khai go this way, though most do it during the night. There are also local trains.

NOTE 1: After they opened the Kaeng Khoi Junction to Bua Yai Junction bypass route, only four local trains go along the section from Thanon Chira Junction to Bua Yai Junction. So, in order to complete the All the Lines Challenge, you need to take a local train. Such as Ordinary No. 415/418 that goes all the way between Nakhon Ratchasima and Nong Khai.

3. THE EASTERN LINE

The main Eastern Line goes from Bangkok Station (Hua Lamphong) to Ban Khlong Luk Border station on the Thai-Cambodian border. There is another line that branches off from Chachoengsao Junction. This heads down south through Chonburi province. It has a stop at the seaside resort of Pattaya before terminating at Chuk Samet Station.

BAN KHLONG LUK BORDER MAIN LINE (ban klong look) – There are two trains a day that go all the way from Bangkok to the Thai-Cambodian border in Si Saket province. Ordinary No. 275 / Ordinary No. 280 depart from each end in the morning. And Ordinary No. 279 / Ordinary No. 276 in the afternoons.
CHUK SAMET BRANCH LINE (chook sa-met) – For a popular seaside resort, it is strange there is only one daily train on this line. Ordinary No. 283 does the outbound journey and Ordinary No. 284 does the return journey. Though at least at the weekend they do add an express train, Rapid No. 997 for the outbound journey and Rapid No. 998 for the return trip. These use a British made Class 158 diesel railcar for this.

The Eastern Line also has some branch lines for cargo trains only. I’ve been fortunate to go on a chartered train down all of these lines. Make sure you join Thailand Rail Tours Facebook group if you want to hear about future trips.

SI RACHA JUNCTION TO LAEM CHABANG (see-ra-ch / lam cha-bang) – This is the deep sea port in Chonburi province.
KHAO CHI CHAN JUNCTION TO MAP TA PHUKT (kow chee jarn) – This is the only line that goes into Rayong province. There are no passenger trains to Rayong.
MAKKASAN TO MAE NAM (mak-ga-sun / mae nam) – This short line is in Bangkok and goes down to the port on the Chao Phraya River.
KLONG SIP KAO JUNCTION TO KAENG KHAO JUNCTION (klong sib gow / gang kow) – This is a bypass line linking the Eastern Line with the Northeastern Line so cargo trains don’t have to go into Bangkok first.

4. THE SOUTHERN LINE

The Southern Line, at 1,142 kilometers, is the longest continuous line in Thailand going all the way from Bangkok to Sungai Kolok on the Thai-Malaysian border. At Hat Yai Junction there is a branch line that goes to Padang Besar inside Malaysia. This route is expected to be extended to Butterworth soon. In total, there are six branch lines in Southern Thailand. Technically speaking, the Southern Line starts at Thonburi Station.

SUNGAI KOLOK MAIN LINE (soo-ngai-golok) – This is the main line that leaves Bangkok’s Krung Thep Aphiwat station on elevated tracks and crosses the Chao Phraya River on the new bridge together with the Red Line electric trains.
SUPHANBURI BRANCH LINE (soo-pan-boo-ree) – This is probably the most difficult line to complete as there’s only one train a week and the return journey is at 4:00am!
NAM TOK BRANCH LINE (nam dtok) – To go to the real end of this line you need to take the weekend excursion train that is a diesel railcar. This goes up the final stretch.
KHIRI RATTHANIKHOM BRANCH LINE (kee-ree-rut-nikom) – This is another difficult line to complete. The train goes there in the late afternoon and then returns the following morning. There are no hotels near the station. You will have to arrange for a taxi in Surat Thani to take you one way.
KANTANG BRANCH LINE (gun-dtung) – This is one of my favourite branch lines as Kantang is one of the prettiest stations in Thailand. You can also join island tours from Trang. There are direct trains here from Bangkok.
NAKHON SI THAMMARAT BRANCH LINE (nakon see tam-ma-rat) – There are direct trains to Nakhon Si Thammarat from Bangkok and so this another easy line to do.
PADANG BESAR BRANCH LINE (ba-dung bay-sar) – This is the main route people take to go into Malaysia. There are two stations called Padang Besar. The Thai one and the Malaysian one. To do this line properly you do need to cross over the border.

NOTE 1: Thonburi was the original terminus of the Southern Line. You will need to do the stretch between here and Taling Chan Junction.
NOTE 2: Trains from Krung thep Aphiwat leave on the elevated tracks. Trains out of Bangkok (Hua Lamphong) station take the ground level and cross the old Rama VI bridge over the Chao Phraya river. You would need to go as far as Taling Chan Junction.

5. THE MAEKLONG LINE

The Maeklong line is unusual as it is not connected to the main rail network in Thailand. The terminal station in Bangkok is at Wong Wian Yai. This goes down to Mahachai station in Samut Sakhon. Here you have to cross the river by boat and then continue your journey to Maeklong station in Samut Songkhram.

WONGWIAN YAI TO MAHACHAI (wong wian yai / ma-ha-chai) – There are hourly trains from Bangkok to Samut Sakhon. Tickets are only 10 baht for 3rd Class and fans.
BAN LAEM TO MAEKLONG (ban lamb / mae glong) – In Samut Sakhon, you have to take a ferry across the river and walk to Ban Laem station to take the train to Samut Songkhram. Trains on this line don’t run so often.

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