Ban Thung Pho Junction – Khiri Ratthanikhom railway line
| Ban Thung Pho Junction – Khiri Ratthanikhom | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Route length: | 31 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 1000 mm ( meter gauge ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Ban Thung Pho Junction – Khiri Ratthanikhom railway was an attempt to advance a line to Phuket . The project did not get beyond the first 31 km. It is operated by the Thai State Railways. Your mileage is done from Bangkok Thonburi .
requirements
Phuket was a center of tin mining in the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century . Since it is on the coast, shipping was the dominant transport link. The tin mines were mostly operated with British and Australian capital. In terms of traffic and economy, Phuket oriented itself in the direction of Penang in Malaysia, which was also British at the time . In order to better connect Phuket economically and politically to Thailand , the government in Bangkok investigated the possibility of building a railway line to Phuket in the late 1930s .
construction
The survey of the route took place in 1938 in Ban Thung Pho, whose station at the south runway is located directly in the provincial capital of Surat Thani . The survey extended to Ban Tha Nun directly opposite the island of Phuket . An extension over a bridge to Phuket Town was considered, but not measured.
Construction began in 1941. When Thailand was included in World War II at the end of that year , construction came to a standstill. The project was not resumed until 1951. The first section of the route to Khiri Rat Nikhom , as was believed at the time, was opened on April 13, 1956. When the project was stopped in 1957 due to a lack of finances, the construction up to Khlong Takhian was completed without this section ever being put into operation.
business
Today, a pair of trains runs daily on the route. The route is only of local importance.
Planning
Now that Phuket has developed into a tourist destination of global importance, its connection to the Thai rail network could still make sense. The project is discussed again and again without any concrete planning arising from it. From the current Peak in Khiri Ratthanikhom up to Tha Well, opposite the island of Phuket, are still missing 165 km route.
literature
- BR Whyte: The Railway Atlas of Thailand, Laos and Cambodia . White Lotus Co Ltd, Bangkok 2010, ISBN 978-974-480-157-9