The State Railway of Thailand run a number of excursion trains throughout the year with the intention of promoting tourism. The two most popular trains go at the weekends to Sai Yok Noi Waterfall and Suan Son Pradipat Beach. Another weekend tourist train is Rapid No. 997/998 on the Eastern Line to Chonburi Province. This is a quick and easy way to reach Pattaya or other beach destinations for a weekend day-trip or two-day trip. Tickets cost 170 baht each way. It is advisable to book tickets in advance as sometimes tour groups might book out a carriage.

Popular stops along the way include Si Racha Station (Sriracha Tiger Zoo and Koh Si Chang), Pattaya Station (the beach, the Sanctuary of Truth, and Koh Lan), Pattaya Floating Market Station (the market of the same name and Cartoon Network Amazone Waterpark), Wat Yansangwararam Station (the temple of the same name and Ramayana Waterpark), Nongnooch Pattaya Garden Station (the garden of the same name), and Chuk Samet Station (Nang Ram Beach). Please note, in most cases you have to take local transport from each station to visit the attractions. However, there is usually a songtaew waiting to pick up passengers.

For rail enthusiasts and trainspotters, there is another reason for taking the tourist train to Pattaya. This is because the diesel multiple unit (DMU) that is used is the Sprinter which is based on the British Rail Class 158 train. But please note, there have been a few times when they used a Daewoo DMU instead if the Sprinter had to go to the workshop for repairs.

TRAIN TIMETABLE

All times are departure times except the destination stations. The train will arrive one minute before departure. All times are subject to change. Please note, these trains only run at the weekends.

If you take the train to the end of the line at Chuk Samet Station, there will be a songtaew waiting there to take you to Nang Ram Beach. This costs 40 baht. You only have to pay one way as it is free to come back. Make sure you tell him which train you want to catch. If you want to come back on the Sprinter at 3:30 p.m., then you will have about five hours on the beach. He will probably tell you to meet in the car park at around 3:10 p.m. However, an alternative is to only stay three hours and catch Ordinary No. 284 at 1:05 p.m. This is the daily slow train back to Bangkok. What I did on my last trip was to catch this to Pattaya where I took a songtaew to Pattaya Beach for a couple of hours while I waited for the Sprinter to take me back to Bangkok. You can also use Grab in Pattaya.