KhiriRN,Trang/Kantang & NakornST Branches

[Wisarut]

Hi Everybody

Now, Thai Railfan has posed the images of Ban Thung Pho - Khirirat Nikhom line whcih I wanna show you here ... So far there are ONLy 1 local train to Khirirat Nikhom :

1) Ban Thung Pho Junction
http://www.yimsiam.com/cgi-bin/data/fanrotfaithai/pic/0003631.jpg

2) Ban Donrak Stop
http://www.yimsiam.com/cgi-bin/data/fanrotfaithai/pic/0003632.jpg

3) Ban Thong Luang Stop
http://www.yimsiam.com/cgi-bin/data/fanrotfaithai/pic/0003633.jpg
4) Ban Khanai Stop
http://www.yimsiam.com/cgi-bin/data/fanrotfaithai/pic/0003634.jpg
5) Ban Don Riab Stop
http://www.yimsiam.com/cgi-bin/data/fanrotfaithai/pic/0003635.jpg
6) Klong Yan Stop
http://www.yimsiam.com/cgi-bin/data/fanrotfaithai/pic/0003636.jpg
7) Thee Yud Rod Khao Lung
http://www.yimsiam.com/cgi-bin/data/fanrotfaithai/pic/0003637.jpg
8) Ban Yang Stop
http://www.yimsiam.com/cgi-bin/data/fanrotfaithai/pic/0003638.jpg
9) Khirirat Nikhom Station - terminal station
http://www.yimsiam.com/cgi-bin/data/fanrotfaithai/pic/0003639.jpg
10) End of the Line - Goto Jungle instead of going to Ban Ta Khun
http://www.yimsiam.com/cgi-bin/data/fanrotfaithai/pic/00036310.jpg

[admin]

Nils asks: I would still be eager to learn, what actually caused the 40 odd years stalling of this project. Have there been any responses?

Earlier: To Phuket by train - Khiri Ratthanikom - April 28, 2004
2Bangkok.com regulars Reiner and Ian both write about their experiences traveling to the closest train station to Phuket: Khiri Ratthanikom. (http://2bangkok.com/2bangkok/srt/srt.shtml#6)

[Wisarut]

Khun ROn,

This lien has benn proposed by Phuket MP in 1938 and the construction start around 1939 .... and the WWII interruption has halted the project for a while and the project resume around 1950 and halted again in 1956 .... this interruption may be due to the communist insurgencies as well as the lack of demands ... and thw causaway whcih is supposed to used for the railway to Phuket has been transformed into Sarasin Bridge in 1967.

The big boom of highway construction has virtuall halt SRT expansion.

[GWR]

I read somewhere a few years back that Kantang had a locomotive production facility; but don't ask me for any details. It might also be that a local webmaster used the wrong nomenclature for a maintainence facility.

[GWR]

I read somewhere a few years back that Kantang had a locomotive production facility; but don't ask me for any details. It might also be that a local webmaster used the wrong nomenclature for a maintainence facility.

Khun Wisaruth pointed out that the Brits used Songkhla, Kantang & Ban Don as importation points for railway equipment so that railway construction could proceed from both the north & south ends at the same time; and so speed construction up. Could the confusion be because locos were shipped in component form and then reassembled locally? Perhaps Kantang was a place where 'boxed' locos arrived on quayside and were there assembled and placed on the track. This has long been a common approach in the automobile industry; and I imagine it is also possible in locomotive engineering.

Don't let the 'Railroad Engineer' title at the top of this post confuse you. It's just a ranking designed by admin to give some indication of how many posts a poster has posted. I know nothing about Railroads.

[Wisarut]

Yeah, British had shipped thse piecesof E Class to make a local assembly at Kantang, Songkla and Ban Don along with the assembly of wooden carriages.

[soi_surfer]

I've taken the train, 1st class sleeper cabin, to Chiang Mai several times & it was a wonderful experience each time.
I took a '2nd / 3rd' class hard seat train to Buri Ram & back once & would not be enthusiastic about doing it again.
Some experiences are worth doing, but not worth doing over & over.
I am glad I took the train to BR .. but it was a hard tiring trip .. all night on the small hard seat was equal to 'transpacific exhausting'

I will be traveling to Phuket later this month. Previously I have taxied to Don Muang & landed Phuket several hours later ..& flew over a bunch of stuff I might have enjoyed.
Price wise there is not much saving using the train .. just more experiences for a tourist to remember .. I am in no hurry.

Reviewing the train schedule from the link posted on 2bangkok.com:

The are many train options, desiel, express, special express .. & the schedule indicates not much transit time differances.
& it appears to be a 8-9 hour or so trip to Surit Thani no matter which type of train.. so that, express / special express / desiel coach .. seems inconsequential time wise.
?? Am I missing something?
I ride comfort dictated by type of train? ??

Would prefer a 1st class sleeper & would prefer to arrive Surit Thani early moning to facilitate the trip to Phuket, Patong Si.

Now to my newbie / tourist questions:

1. Does the 'train type' make much / any differance?
&
2. I am on no schedule, is Hua Hin worth a stop? problem is that inorder to get to Surit in the morning a midnight or later train from Hua Hin is required.. which will present hotel check out time / luggage / juggling.
Comment?

&
3. Transportation from Surit to Patong Si? Will it be necessary to hire a privite transportation or are there vans near the train station?
Surit Thani to Phuket Transport suggestions?


thanks in advance

& I lub the trains tu mutt.. I used to take the train to & from college in the US in the 60s.. trains are an era past in the US

[Wisarut]

Khun soi_surfer,

No Direct train to phuket Despite of the request by people since 1938 :mad:

You has to make a drop point at either Surat Thani or Thung Song
... Too few trains to Trang (the ONLY province along Andaman with the train access)

Either express and special express to Surat Thani or Thung Song junction would be fine ...

All the trains STOP at Hua hin since Hua hin is Thai version of Reviara ... and the most important of all ... His Majesty is living at klai Kangwon palace, hua hin. Just simply sleep on yor train would be fine ....

If you prefer 1st class, try riding International Express No. 35 ... the best train for the Southern line ... and when you reach Surat Thani or Thugn Song, take an intercity bus or van to phuket ....

[soi_surfer]

express 35 arrives surit thani at 1:30AM .. way ouitside my circadian travel cycle .. & lord all I need then is a all night van ride .. or to wait in the station until 8 AM for the van operators to open ..

http://www.railway.co.th/timetable/N_S.html

the express 85 shows 1st class & arrives at a more gentlemanly, :-), 6:30 AM ( depart 7:15 PM ) & is the only 1st class train that arrives after 4 AM.
but, the non special 85 takes 2 hours longer than the 35 special!

all the 1st class trains, except 85, depart mid afternoon & arrive between 1:30 & 4 in the AM .. such arrivals would ruin several days for this old man!.. my last all nighter was decades ago.

I will be carting more than a backpack

Don Muang is looking to be such an easy fix.. the trains are looking to be a logistical nightmare .. an exhausting 24 hours of travel instead of 2 - 3 easy hours.

oh well

[Wisarut]

Express 85/86 is "Nakhon Srithammarat Express" though :D

Another Option is to take Express 83/84 (Trang Express) and then
take a bus from Trang to Phuket.

Due to the Major Track Rehab from Bangsue to Salaya as well as
the replacement of 70 Lb Rail & wooden sleeper with 100 Lb Rail & concrete sleepers (without thickening/washing/recompacting ballast) alogn Southern Line, the Soutehrn trains are expected to be delayed ... :( Some sections have the max speed at 30 kph (!)

[soi_surfer]

>Some sections have the max speed at 30 kph (!)<

made my decision an easy decision. ..
30 kph = 18 mph = slooow mootiooon ..
passed by the elephants & tuk tuks look like they're Bmers on the autobahn ..
long way from the 300 kph trains from the gaude de norde to brussels ..

anything worth seeing between Ranaong & Phuket? .. via roadway of course.
took a tuk tuk back to the phuket airport last visit.. past leam sing on the coast, a much better route to the airport from patong si than the normal inland highway, for the wandering tourist type.

thanks for the detailed info!

[Wisarut]

A lot ... even though Tsunami has devastated Ranong and Phang Nga badly ;)

Tourist Spotys inRanong is here (in Thai though):
http://travel.sanook.com/south/ranong/index.php

Tourist Spots in Phang Nga is here (in Thai):
http://travel.sanook.com/south/pangngra/index.php

[soi_surfer]

a van hire from Phuket to Ranong might be a good day trip.

tried to follow the Thai links .. but in Thai I need lotsa pixs!

[Wisarut]

In Such case, Pelase goting to the English version of Ranogn Provincial Hall here:

Ranong:
http://www.ranong.go.th/english/index.htm

Phang Nga:
http://www.phangnga.go.th/english/main_eng.htm

[soi_surfer]

excellant links!

the hot springs sound interesting .. never been to one.

the multiple Thai resort hotels with a/c rooms under 500 Tbt appear to be an excellant get away from the patong circus.

yes, yes I will .. I will definately do a Phuket - Ranong turn around ..

thanks

[Wisarut]

The old photographs of Thung Song Quarry alogn with the branch line to the quarry site can be seen here:


http://portal.rotfaithai.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=1968

[gwmss15]

I'm looking at doing a photo trip of all the southern branch lines that operate around the Surat Thani area. around April 2008. It will be a similar thing as i did for Maeklong. Visit http://thaitransit.blogspot.com/ to see what it looks like.

The lines Im planing on visiting and photographing are the Kantang, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Khiri Ratthanikhom lines.

The line that runs to Khiri Ratthanikhom is very interesting. I have a few questions that i hope someone could help me with.

Do you know any where near the station in Khiri Ratthanikhom that i could stay in?

If there are no hotels is it possiable to stay with the train crew or station staff untill the next train back at 6am? There is only one train a day 16:55pm to Khiri Ratthanikhom and 6:00am to Surat Thani.

How to find the phone number of Khiri Ratthanikhom station?

Does anyone know if there is any other transport back to Surat Thani from Khiri Ratthanikhom after 6.30pm.

Thanks for the help.

[GWR]

TAT Surat Thani Office = 077-288817-9
Provincial Information Center = 077-283970

[GWR]

Found this at:
http://www.ktmrailwayfan.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2868&highlight=

Hi Everybody,

I'm going to show you the series of photo journals by Thai Railfans along the Southern lines:

The line form Hat Yai to Sungei Golok:
http://portal.rotfaithai.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=2371

1500 km trip from Ubon Ratchathani to Hat Yai by Compressor
http://portal.rotfaithai.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=2400

Kantang Terminal station
http://portal.rotfaithai.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=1642

My Southern Series
http://portal.rotfaithai.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=2165

Southern Trip with Local Train 447
http://portal.rotfaithai.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=2234

Trang - Bang Saphan Yai
http://portal.rotfaithai.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=2222

Khirirat Nikhom trip
http://portal.rotfaithai.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=961

Dimsum Tip with Trang Express 83/84
http://portal.rotfaithai.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=1296

[pong]

hello Nick
1.there are frequent minivans kantang-trang. walk into town from the station at Kantang.
also buses about ev. 30/45 mins trang-junction town (tung song)-on to NSThammarat (anyone there names it ''nakorn sri'').
2that sideline from PunPin is for me also the very last untravelled SRT-line. I recall that in the very start of this forum (set selector to ''from beginning'') there was some report about how to going there/or coming back later.
3.generally in thaild/rural there is always some form of transport (tuktuk, moto, car, whatever) negotiable, but normal buses stop around 18/19.00=dusk. Staying with SRT-staff is highly unlikely, larger villages usually have some form of local Hotel (for short, and also longer time...), but about that place I really dont know.

[Wisarut]

For the case of Khirirat Nikhom, I would give you the followign suggesstion

1. You shold go as a group to share the expense of leasign the van to pick you up at Khirirat Nikhom since there is NO homestay for you.

2. Leasing a van to pick you up at Khirirat Nikhom at night to bring you back to Surat Thani (or at least Phunphin) is a must .. except you have EXTRAORDINARY luck to get a chance to stay at the running room (the resting place for Railwaymen) at Khirirat nikhom station.