The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) runs efficient and inexpensive rail services linking Bangkok with the rest of the country, serving as a people and goods carrier to each of Thailand’s main regions. Thai trains offer three classes of passenger travel: first, second and third, with a choice of air-conditioning and non-aircon in second. Long distance trains come in three categories: rapid, express and special express, with the option of sleepers.

Bangkok’s Hua Lamphong Station is the main terminus for passenger trains, while Phahonyothin and ICD Ladkrabang is the main freight terminal. There are five passenger routes: Northern line to Chiang Mai; Northeastern line to Nong Khai and the border crossing to Vientiane in Laos, while a branch route in the lower Northeast goes to Ubon Ratchathani; Eastern line goes to Aranyaprathet on the Cambodian border, with a branch line along the Eastern Seaboard to Pattaya and Satthahip; Western line to Kanchanaburi; and the Southern line runs down peninsula Thailand to Sungai Kolok and Padang Besar on the Malaysian border.

For international passenger and freight connections, the SRT works in conjunction with Malaysian state operator KTM to run trains across the Malaysian border to Butterworth, where further connections can be made all the way to Singapore via Kuala Lumpur.