The train line runs parallel with the Gulf of Thailand all the way down to Hat Yai. Passengers get frequent glimpses of the sea as well as coconut plantations and mountains in the distance. The train passes Hua Hin, Chumpon and Suratthani before arriving in Hat Yai early in the morning.
From Hat Yai it is a short trip to Padang Besar. Passengers go through Thai and Malaysian immigration checks here before boarding a Malaysian train. After that it is a little over three hours to Butterworth. The piers for ferries to Georgetown on Penang Island are signposted from the station.
The return train, Number 36, follows a similar timetable with an early afternoon departure but arrives back in Bangkok just before lunch. The trains are made up of air-conditioned carriages with sleeping berths plus a dining car. Travellers have a choice of upper or lower berths. Upper is cheaper, but with correspondingly less space.
12GO ASIA can supply you with tickets for travel on the International Express which negate the need for you to make a special trip to the station just to buy them. The only time you need to be at the station is just before you board the train.
The night train to Penang and Malaysia
News in Asia
The 22-hour train trip between the Thai capital city of Bangkok and northwest Malaysia is rated as one of Asia’s epic journeys by many who take taken it. The International Express, or Train 35, leaves Bangkok’s Hua Lamphong Station for Butterworth at 14:45 every day and arrives early in the afternoon on the following day.