Eastern Line () is a railway line in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, built and owned by State Railway of Thailand (SRT), located in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

, Chachoengsao Province, Nakhon Nayok Province, Saraburi Province, Prachinburi Province, Sa Kaeo Province, Chonburi Province, and Rayong Province. It is the most important freight transport line in Thailand because there are many freight trains on the line. It was opened on 24 January 1907. There are plans to incorporate the line as part of the eastern branch line on the Kunming–Singapore railway.

Route description

The lines are divided into three main lines: * Aranyaprathet Main Line: from

to Aranyaprathet, Sa Kaeo Province (with an extension to Poipet,

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

) * Chuk Samet Main Line: from

to Sattahip District, Chonburi Province, there is only one

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...

per day. * Phra Phutthachai Line: shortcut linking Eastern Line and the Northeastern Line (Thailand), there are only freight trains on this line, and there is one

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

, Phra Phutthachai Tunnel. Other branch lines: * Makkasan – Mae Nam – Bang Chak Oil Refinery * Lat Krabang – Inland Container Deport (ICD) * Si Racha Junction – Laem Chabang Port * Khao Chi Chan Junction – Map Ta Phut Port

Timeline

* 24 January 1907: Hua Lamphong – * 1 January 1924: Chachoengsao Junction – * 8 November 1926: Kabin Buri – * 14 July 1989: Chachoengsao Junction – Sattahip Commercial Port"Thai Railway Travel" p.339 * 22 April 2019: Aranyaprathet – Ban Klong Luk – * 10 November 2023 : – (reopening of line)

Aranyaprathet Main Line

In 1941, SRT built a 17-kilometer railway line into

, but five years later, that line was removed because of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

ending. In 1953, the SRT rebuilt the 6-kilometer rail line into Cambodia upon Cambodia's request and opened it on 22 April 1955, though it was closed again in 1961 due to strained Cambodia-Thailand relations. The cross-border link between Aranyaprathet briefly Poipet briefly opened in April 2019,Cambodia and Thailand reconnected by rail after 45 years; The Straits Times, 22 April 2019
/ref> but closed again in April 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In 2023, the border was reopened for freight transport.

Chuk Samet Main Line

In July 1989, the Eastern Line Chachoengsao Junction– Sattahip Commercial Port section opened. Freight trains continued to end of the line to Sattahip Commercial Port (Chuk Samet) until the early 2000s when the port's commercial role decreased. This resulted in passenger services terminating at Ban Phlu Ta Luang railway station and freight trains stopped operating on the line entirely. In 2002–2003, some services continued down the line to Jamboree Station, built specially for the 20th World Scout Jamboree held in Sattahip. In the 2010s, Samae San railway halt was constructed with some weekend tourist rail services terminating here, but this was short-lived. On 10 November 2023, the line between Ban Phlu Ta Luang and Chuk Samet reopened, in the hopes of boosting tourism by providing closer access to U-Tapao International Airport, as well as direct rail access to HTMS Chakri Naruebet located at Sattahip Naval Base.

Notable railway stations

The Eastern Line begins at Bangkok before heading through

Chachoengsao Chachoengsao (, ) is a town ('' thesaban mueang'') in central Thailand, capital of Chachoengsao Province. It is on the banks of the Bang Pakong River. It includes ''tambon'' Na Mueang and parts of Ban Mai, Bang Tin Pet, Wang Takhian, and Sothon ...

, Prachinburi to terminate at Aranyaprathet in Sa Kaew Province, 255 kilometers from Bangkok. There is a reopened rail link to Cambodia from Aranyaprathet. A branch line also connects Khlong Sip Kao Junction to the Northeastern Line at Kaeng Khoi Junction. At Chachoengsao Junction, there is another branch to Sattahip. Along the route to Sattahip, at Si Racha Junction, there is yet another branch towards Laem Chabang Deep Sea Port and further at Khao Chi Chan Junction for Map Ta Phut Port, in Rayong. * Makkasan station - the main depot of SRT (Makkasan Works) * Hua Mak station - Bangkok suburban station * Hua Takhe station - Junction for ICD. * Chachoengsao Junction - Junction for Laem Chabang ( double track opened January 2012New Eastern rail line gets on track
The ''Bangkok Post'', 13/01/2012) and Aranyaprathet Line. Main

station. * Khlong Sip Kao Junction - Junction for the Aranyaprathet Line and the Cargo Link to Kaeng Khoi Junction. * Prachin Buri station - Main Prachin Buri Province Rail Station. * Kabin Buri station - Half of long-distance Aranyaprathet Line services terminate here. In Prachin Buri Province. * Sa Kaeo station - Main Sa Kaeo station * Ban Klong Luk Border station - Terminus of Aranyaprathet Main Line, located at the Thai-Cambodian border. (only freight trains cross the border). * Chonburi station- Main

Chonburi Chonburi (, , IAST: , ) is the capital of Chonburi Province and, as part of the district Mueang Chonburi District, Mueang Chonburi, the List of municipalities in Thailand, seventh-largest city in Thailand. It is about 100 km southeast of Ba ...

station * Si Racha Junction - Junction for Laem Chabang Deep Sea Port. * Pattaya station - Railway station for Pattaya City. * Khao Chi Chan Junction- Junction for Sattahip Commercial Port and Map Taphut Freight Line * Ban Phlu Ta Luang station - Former terminus for Sattahip. * U Taphao station - One of railway stations for Sattahip. Serves U-Tapao International Airport. * Chuk Samet station - Terminus for current, operational, ordinary train from Hua Lumphong. * Map Ta Phut station - Terminus of East Coast Line - freight trains only.

References