| |
Sleeper train 69 from Bangkok to Nong Khai.
This is a 2nd class sleeper car, seen in the platform at Bangkok
Hualamphong. |
| |
A 2nd class sleeper on train 69 from Bangkok
to Nong Khai. At night, the attendant will make up the
beds with fresh clean sheets. There is luggage space under
the seats and on the luggage racks. There are also
1st class sleepers
with 2-bed compartments. |
| |
The international train from Thanleng to Nong
Khai. Photo courtesy of Glen Chivers. |
| |
The railway to Laos opened March 2009...
Looking back as the train from Thailand leaves the road/rail
Friendship Bridge across the Mekong and heads towards Thanaleng
station. All road traffic has to stop while the train
crosses! Photo courtesy of Andrew McIntyre. |
| |
The shuttle train to Nong Khai, seen at Thanaleng station. Photo courtesy of
Glen Chivers. |
| |
 |
| |
Thanaleng station... The
new rail terminal at Thanaleng, about 3km inside Laos beyond the
Friendship Bridge, just 13km short of Vientiane city centre.
It's pretty much in the middle of nowhere, so arrange transfers in
advance if you can.
Photo courtesy of Bob
Fletcher |
| |
|
It's easy to travel from
Bangkok to Vientiane (or vice versa) by train, using the daily
overnight sleeper train direct from Bangkok to Nong Khai and a special
connecting international shuttle train from Nong Khai to the new international
rail terminal at Thanaleng in Laos, some 13 km outside Vientiane.
The train uses the new rail link over the Friendship Bridge across
the Mekong river into Laos, opened on 5 March 2009. You can then
take a local bus or tuk tuk to central Vientiane. It's safe,
cheap and comfortable. Alternatively, you can still travel
between Bangkok & Vientiane the old way, using any of the Bangkok-Nong
Khai trains, then making your own way by bus or taxi between Nong Khai
& Vientiane. This section explains both options.
Bangkok ►
Vientiane
|
|
Km
|
Train number: |
133 |
77 |
69 |
|
Classes: |
3,R |
DRC |
1,S,s,2,R |
|
0 |
Bangkok (Hualamphong) depart: |
20:45 |
18:30 |
20:00 |
|
22 |
Don Muang
depart: |
21:31 |
19:13 |
20:50 |
|
71 |
Ayutthaya
depart: |
22:17 |
19:47 |
21:41 |
|
621 |
Nong Khai
arrive by mainline train: |
09:45 |
05:05 |
08:25 |
|
621 |
Nong
Khai depart by shuttle train: |
- |
- |
09:00
* |
|
627 |
Thanaleng (Laos)
arrive by shuttle train: |
- |
- |
09:15
* |
|
640 |
Vientiane (Laos)
arrive by bus or taxi: |
- |
- |
** |
* Change trains at Nong
Khai. A separate local shuttle train links Nong Khai &
Thanaleng.
** You use any local bus,
taxi or tuk-tuk between Thanaleng & central Vientiane,
as explained here.
IMPORTANT:
From 9 January 2012 for several months, probably until May, SRT will be rebuilding the
tracks for 52 km between Udon Thani and Nong Khai. Buses may
replace trains for this section.
Key to classes...
1 =
1st class sleeper. S =
2nd class sleeper (air-con). s
= 2nd class sleeper (non-air-con).
2 = 2nd class seats. 3 =
3rd class seats. R =
Restaurant car. DRC =
Diesel Railcar express with 2nd class
air-conditioned seats, meals included. Most western
travellers use cheap & comfortable 2nd class sleepers, although others
are happy to pay more for 1st class 2-berth sleepers.
Vientiane ► Bangkok
|
|
Train number: |
76 |
70 * |
134 |
|
Classes: |
DRC |
1,S,s,2,R |
3,R |
|
Vientiane (Laos) depart by bus or taxi |
*** |
** |
*** |
|
Thanaleng (Laos)
depart by shuttle train: |
- |
17:00
* |
- |
|
Nong Khai (Thailand) arrive by shuttle train: |
- |
17:15 * |
- |
|
Nong Khai
depart by mainline train: |
06:00 |
18:20 |
19:05 |
|
Ayutthaya
arrive: |
15:30 |
04:23 |
05:34 |
|
Don Muang
arrive: |
16:12 |
05:22 |
06:26 |
|
Bangkok (Hualamphong) arrive: |
17:10 |
06:25 |
07:30 |
A second local train also
links Nong Khai and Thanaleng, departing Nong Khai daily at 14:45
northbound,
and departing Thanaleng daily at 17:00 southbound, journey time 15 minutes. Handy if you feel like a quick return trip
across the Bridge!
Fares
|
|
(in Thai
baht) |
1st
class sleeper
a/c express train |
2nd
class sleeper
a/c
express train |
2nd
class seat
a/c
fast railcar |
2nd
class seat
ordinary train |
3rd class seat
ordinary train |
|
Bangkok
to Nong Khai or vice versa |
1,217 (£26,
$37) |
778
(£16, $23) |
498 (£10,
$15) |
388 (£8,
$11 |
258 (£5,
$8) |
|
Nong Khai
to Thanaleng or vice versa |
20 baht
for a 3rd class seat, 30 baht for a 2nd class seat. |
Children
aged 0 to 3 and less than 100cm in height travel free, children aged 4
to 11 and under 150cm travel at half fare, children 12 years old
and upwards (or over 150cm high) pay full fare. About
these fares: The sleeper fares shown here are for a lower
bunk, an upper bunk is 50-100 baht less in 2nd class.
Non-air-con 2nd class sleepers (available on a few trains) cost
160-200 baht less than the air-con variety.
The easiest way to travel
from Bangkok and Vientiane (or vice versa) is to
take the overnight train from Bangkok to Nong Khai (train 69 northbound, train 70 southbound), and the connecting
international shuttle train across
the Friendship Bridge from Nong Khai to Thanaleng in Laos, just
outside Vientiane, see the timetable above. An extension of the railway to
the suburbs of Vientiane was planned, although it looks like it may not now go ahead.
Then transfer into central Vientiane by bus or taxi.
How to buy tickets.
VISAS:
'Visas on arrival' for Laos are now issued at Thanaleng station,
costing US$35 + 1 baht entry fee.
Transfers by bus or
taxi to central
Vientiane: There's now a little transfer desk on the
arrival platform at Thanaleng
station, offering transfers to central Vientiane for a fixed price of
300 baht by tuk-tuk (for 1 to 6 people) or 500 baht by minivan,
suitable for up to 8 people.
The other way to travel from Bangkok to Vientiane
(or vice versa) is to take any train from Bangkok to Nong Khai,
overnight trains 69 northbound or 70 southbound being the best choice. Nong Khai is just a
few kilometres from the Friendship Bridge over the Mekong River into
Laos. You then use road transport across the Friendship Bridge
into Laos like this: (1) Take a local
tuk-tuk taxi from Nong Khai railway station to the Nong Khai bus
station. (2) A shuttle bus runs from the bus station across the
Friendship Bridge to Laos every 20 minutes throughout the day, fare
about 30 baht. It stops at Thai immigration 5 mins after leaving
the bus station then crosses the Friendship Bridge to arrive at Lao
customs & immigration some 10 mins later (a 30-day visa on arrival
available for Laos at this border point). (3) You now remove your
luggage from the bus luggage hold and go through Lao customs.
Take another tuk-tuk to your chosen hotel.
Try this link for more information on the shuttle bus. When
travelling southbound, leave central Vientiane at least 3 hours before
your train leaves Nong Khai for Bangkok to allow time for border
formalities and the various bus/taxi journeys.
Map
of train routes in Southeast Asia
Taking bikes
What are Thai trains like?
You can't buy through tickets from Bangkok to Thanaleng, at
least not yet, you have to buy a ticket from Bangkok to Nong Khai,
then buy the onward ticket from Nong Khai to Thanaleng at the station
when you get to Nong Khai. You can buy your Bangkok-Nong Khai
sleeper ticket at the reservations office in Bangkok or online using
the new Thai Railways online booking service. The new online
service can now book 2nd class air-con sleepers from Bangkok to Nong
Khai on train 69, but it won't book 1st class ones or tickets for any
of the other Bangkok-Nong Khai trains, at least not yet. Or you
can buy tickets through an
agency such as
www.thailandtrainticket.com. For details of all these methods see the
How to Buy Tickets section on the
Thailand page. You then buy your Nong Khai to Thanaleng
ticket for 20 baht when you arrive at Nong Khai station. There's plenty of time
to do this, as the train has a 2 hour layover in Nong Khai before the
connecting train heads to Thanaleng.
How to buy tickets from Vientiane to Bangkok...
Booking online:
You can book a Nong Khai to Bangkok sleeper ticket online using the
new Thai Railways online booking service, see the
How to Buy Tickets section on the
Thailand page. Currently this system will book 2nd class
air-con sleepers on train 70 from Nong Khai to Bangkok, but not 1st
class ones or tickets for any of the other Nong Khai to Bangkok
trains. You can only book online less than 60 days before
travel, but more than 3 days before travel (in other words, if you
need to travel within the next 3 days forget about online booking,
you'll need to buy tickets at the station). Once you've booked
the critical Nong Khai to Bangkok sleeper and printed out your ticket
in .PDF format (so make sure any internet cafe you use has a
printer!), you can easily buy a Thanaleng to Nong Khai train ticket at
the station at Thanaleng on the day of travel.
Buy tickets to Bangkok at
Thanaleng
station: It's now (since November 2009)
possible to buy tickets all the way to Bangkok at Thanaleng station
ticket office, even on the day of travel. You must buy
your tickets in Thai Baht only, in cash at Thanaleng station. There is
no currency exchange or ATM there, so get hold of some baht before
leaving central Vientiane.
Customs & departure procedures when travelling from Thanaleng to
Bangkok:
Ted
& Heather of
JumpAMonkey.com report: "Arrive at Tha Naleng station a
little early to be on the safe side. “Stamping out” at the customs
window in Thanaleng station takes only 1 or 2 minutes. When the
train arrives, board a 1st or 2nd class SEAT for the 13-15 minute ride
to Nong Khai, Thailand.
In Nong Khai, disembark the train, go to the customs window and ‘stamp
in’ for your Visa On Arrival in Thailand. You have about an hour hour
to wait. Smile and toast the
other passengers arriving from their 90+ minute bus / tuk-tuk /
Friendship Bridge Customs journey who didn’t know about this option."
Traveller's reports...
Traveller Glen Chivers
reports: "On the shuttle train from Thanaleng to Nong Khai,
2nd class has reclining seats and extra leg room, 3rd
class more basic seating. However you can actually sit where you want
and the train journey took just 6 minutes with only about 25 people on
board, every one of them a Westerner. The conductor - a security guard
- was in an extremely jolly mood! The train left a few minutes late as
it waited until everyone has cleared passport control (there was a bit
of a queue, most arrived at the same time) and was on the train. Even
so it was still another hour wait before catching train 70 overnight
to Bangkok. We got our tickets in advance via the State Railway
of Thailand online system before it was suspended and getting the
Thanaleng-Nong Khai ticket at Thanaleng station was a breeze, had we
used a travel agent they would have charged about 250 Baht on top of
each ticket price. There is a 40 Baht per person stamp out fee,
which can only be paid in Thai Baht. Bear in mind that Lao Kip
cannot legally be taken out of the country so you shouldn't have any
Kip left by the time you get to Thanaleng anyway.
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