Southern Line (Thailand)

Southern Line
Hua Hin Railway Station, one of the most important stations on the Southern Line
Overview
Type	Inter-city rail
Locale	Bangkok, Nakhon Pathom Province, Suphanburi Province, most provinces in Western Thailand, most provinces in Southern Thailand, and some area in  Malaysia
Termini	Hua Lamphong and New Thonburi Su-ngai Kolok, Suphanburi, Nam Tok, Khiri Rat Nikhom, Kantang, Nakhon Si Thammarat, and Padang Besar
Services	8: Su-ngai Kolok Main Line Thon Buri Line Suphanburi Line (part of GBCR) Burma Railway (former links to Myanmar Railways) Khiri Rat Nikhom Line Kantang Line Nakhon Si Thammarat Line Padang Besar Line (links to KTM Intercity)
Operation
Opened	1903
Owner	State Railway of Thailand
Depot(s)	Thonburi depot, Chumphon Depot, Thung Song depot, and Hat Yai depot
Technical
Line length	1,144.29 km (711.03 mi)
Track gauge	1,000 mm (Meter gauge)

Southern Line is a railway line in Thailand, built and owned by State Railway of Thailand (SRT), located in some provinces in Central, Western, and Southern region of Thailand. Its length is 1,144.29 kilometres, making it the longest railway line in Thailand.

The Southern Line is often the target of terrorist attacks of the South Thailand Insurgency especially between the Hat Yai-Sungai Kolok section. All stations and halts between Hat Yai Junction and Sungai Kolok have been fenced off and gates will open and close only during operating hours.

Services

The line is divided into eight branch lines:

• Su-ngai Kolok Main Line: from Bangkok to Su-ngai Kolok District, Narathiwat Province
• Thon Buri Line: short branch line in Bangkok
• Suphanburi Line: from Bangkok to Suphanburi, it is also the part of Greater Bangkok Commuter rail.
• Burma Railway (or Nam Tok Line): from Ban Pong, Ratchaburi to Sai Yok District, Kanchanaburi Province
• Khiri Rat Nikhom Line: from Surat Thani to Khiri Rat Nikhom District
• Kantang Line: from Thung Song District, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province to Kantang District, Trang Province
• Nakhon Si Thammarat Line: short branch line in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province
• Padang Besar Line: from Hat Yai to Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia

There is another line that was defunct. That line is Songkhla Line, closed in 1978.

• 
  Hua Hin Railway Station, a beautiful station on the Su-ngai Kolok Main Line
• 
  Charansanitwong Railway Halt on the short Thon Buri Line
• 
  Commuter train no. 356 passed defunct Nong Fak Railway Halt on the Suphanburi Line.
• 
  Kra Sae Cave Railway Viaduct on the Burma Railway
• 
  Ban Thung Pho Junction, a station of the Su-ngai Kolok Main Line and Khiri Rat Nikhom Line
• 
  Kantang Railway Station, terminal station of the Kantang Line
• 
  Nakhon Si Thammarat Station, terminal station of the Nakhon Si Thammarat Line
• 
  The defunct Songkhla Line at Nam Noi Station

Notable stations

The Southern Line begins in Bangkok and heads west towards Nakhon Pathom before splitting into 3 different routes. One route heads west towards Kanchanaburi Province (km 210) while another heads north towards Suphan Buri (km 157). The Southern Line itself continues southbound through Ratchaburi, Phetchaburi, Hua Hin, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, Chumphon, to Surat Thani 678 kilometers away. From Surat Thani, there is a westerly branch towards Khiri Rat Nikhom while the main line continues south to Thung Song Junction in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province where another branch reaches Kantang in Trang Province. Not far further another branch separates off the mainline at Khao Chum Thong Junction. The main line from Nakhon Sri Thammarat continues through Phatthalung before reaching Hat Yai Junction in Songkhla Province. From here, the line branches to connect with the Malaysian railway at Padang Besar and Sungai Kolok passing through Yala Province in the process.

• Bang Sue Junction - Main junction and freight terminal with main Diesel Locomotive Depot and Refueling facility
• Bang Bamru Station- Suburban Station, all trains must stop here. First station after crossing the Rama 6 Bridge from Bang Sue.
• Taling Chan Junction- Junction for Southern Main Line(Bang Sue-Taling Chan Link) and Thonburi Branch.
• Thonburi Station - Former terminus of Southern Line, however some southern trains remain to start the journey here.
• Salaya Station- Suburban Station, for Phutthamonthon District and Mahidol University (Salaya Campus)
• Nakhon Pathom Station - Main southern suburban station. Main Nakhon Pathom station.
• Nong Pladuk Junction - Junction for Namtok Branch Line and Suphan Buri Branch Line.
• Ban Pong Station - Interchange to Kanchanaburi for those who did not travel along Nam Tok branch line
• Ratchaburi Station - Terminal for southern suburban service, also Ratchaburi main station.
• Phetchaburi Station - Phetchaburi main station.
• Hua Hin Station - Provincial Station for Hua Hin in Prachuap Khiri Khan with beautiful architecture, crew changing station.
• Wang Phong Station- One of the stations in Pran Buri. Also for the nearby Thanarat Military Camp. More trains stop here for Pran Buri than Pran Buri Station itself.
• Pran Buri Station- Smaller station for Pran Buri, with a famous Saturday Night Market opposite the station.
• Prachuap Khiri Khan Station - Prachuap Khiri Khan main station.
• Bang Saphan Yai Station - Regional Town Station, however all trains going further south must stop here.
• Chumphon Station - Main Chumphon station, locomotive depot with refueling facility
• Lang Suan Station- Provincial Station in Chumphon. Furthest extent of southern services from Thonburi.
• Ban Thung Pho Junction - Southern Container Yard, for Khiri Rat Nikhom Branch.
• Khiri Rat Nikhom Station - Terminus for the Khiri Rat Nikhom Branch and the railway plan to Phang-Nga and Tanun (Phuket).
• Surat Thani Station - Crew changing station and Surat Thani main station.
• Thung Song Junction - Locomotive Depot, refueling facility and junction for Kantang Branch.
• Trang Station - Trang main station.
• Kantang Station - Terminus of Kantang Branch.
• Khao Chum Thong Junction - Junction for Nakhon Si Thammarat Branch.
• Nakhon Si Thammarat Station - Terminus of Nakhon Si Thammarat Branch. Nakhon Si Thammarat main station.
• Phatthalung Station - Phatthalung main station, crew changing station
• Hat Yai Junction - Main junction for Malaysia and Singapore and Main Line of Southern Line, Locomotive Depot and refueling facility. Main Songkhla Station.
• Padang Besar Station - International KTM station in Malaysia. Trains continue to Butterworth (Penang) and further.
• Pattani Station - formerly Khok Pho station, Pattani main station.
• Yala Station - Main Yala station, crew changing station
• Tanyong Mat Station - for Ra Ngae district and Narathiwat.
• Su-ngai Kolok Station - Terminus of Southern Line. Used to be an international station until the termination of cross border services.

Namtok Branch

• Thon Buri Station - Terminus of Western Line
• Taling Chan Junction - Junction for Bangsue - Taling Chan link (also known as Rama 6 Line), the connection between south and north SRT systems opened with the building of the only rail bridge across the Chao Phraya River in 1925.
• Salaya Station - Bangkok suburban station close to Mahidol University (Salaya Campus)
• Nakhon Pathom Station - Nakhon Pathom main station.
• Nong Pladuk Junction - Junction for Suphan Buri and Kanchanaburi.
• Suphanburi Station - A 2-car DMU operates to Bangkok in the early morning and from Bangkok in the evening.
• Kanchanaburi Station - Main Kanchanaburi station
• Nam Tok Station - Terminus of Western Line.

Station List

References

1. http://portal.rotfaithai.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=17
2. http://portal.rotfaithai.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=3627