Hi Alan,

Have you succeed in booking the ticket from www.thailandtrainticket.com ? I was looking for it on the website but cannot find any result. And plus, may be the same price with air asia plane ticket?

S.

Hi Sunny. I'm in Penang now travvelling the opposite direction tomorrow. Re that website they have to send it to a given address / hotel in Bangkok by mail. I left it too late (needs 4 days) unfortunately so the other option was to pick-it up at their office. In the end I went straight to the Hua Lamphong train station to buy the ticket. It was Chinese New Year so all the trains were booked up at the time and I could only make it as far as Hat Yai. Here you can then switch to normal seats for the remained of the journey (or stay a night as I did). Airasia can be similar price and I've actually flown for cheaper before. Hope this helps. A.

Hey Allan, thank you so much for sharing this. I was kinda lost as to how to get from Bangkok to Butterworth and was already confused by all the information online till I watched your video. Super helpful! Now I finally understood that once you reach the Malaysian Border of Padang Besar, you still have to take a train to get to Butterworth. I thought it's just waiting on the other side once you cross the Thai-Malaysian border. :) Please correct me if I'm wrong though.

I'm planning to do this route soon - Bangkok to Penang via train then ferry - and will definitely reference your site in case I need more information about the border crossing. Again, thanks Allan!

Glad I was of help :) Yup from Padang Besar it is still a further 150km to Butterworth. Originally the train continued straight through the border, but this changed so I had to update here to show the new process. Hope you enjoy the travels :) A

Planning on doing this same trip in March, but just informed that the rail is down in Prachuap Khiri Khan, so need to make alternate plans. Is there any other way other than fly?. Also if the rail is open, can we book 1st class cabins?
Thank you

The trains should be fine by then and first class cabins are normally the last to be booked. Otherwise there should be similar busses from Bangkok's southern bus terminal. But long haul busses are not fun at all. I only use them out of desperation. Best of luck :)

Hi, Can get bookings from Charlie Connection Travel & Tour, just wondering if reputable company to do this. Thanks,

Thank you will go ahead and book.

Hi Alan,

Im planning to purchase a ticket online in https://12go.asia from Penang to BKK. Do i need to print the confirmation online or can i go to the train station in butterworth and get my ticket there?

Thank you

Hi Lee. I really am not certain. It maybe best to check their terms and conditions etc. But my guess is both. I think you will only be able to make a reservation through that company. Then you will need to pick up the actual train tickets at Butterworth station, and then again with the Thai ticket at the border. You will therefore need a printout of the reservation to show at each. It's probably best just to print the confirmation letter to be safe. Or at least have a screen grab.

I had a quick look myself and found as below. This is similar with a couple of companies where, more or less, they just buy your tickets in advance then you have to pick them up at their offices. It goes guarantee a seat but it also means a lot of dicking around. It's honestly, for most people, easier just calling at the train station.

How are train tickets delivered?
Thailand's State Railway does not accept e-tickets (yet), therefore your ticket (the boarding pass) will be printed and you need to pick it up at our offices (parcel office at Chiang Mai inside the train station, reception desk of the Bosshotel opposite the railway station in Chiang Mai or at our counter in the DOB Building opposite Bangkok's Hua Lamphong railway station). Or if you selected the shipping option you can collect your boarding passes at the parcel office of your departure station.

How to book the train ticket from Padang Besar to BKK?
I am staying in Kuala Lumpur.

Hi Ken. You will have to wait until you've crossed the border. I did the same last week. More or less take a train to Padang Besar then, once through immigration, take a left along the platform and the ticketing office is on the left. I have included an image of my ticket. Trains leave Padang Besar at 15:40 and arrive in Bangkok at 10:30 the following morning. 960Baht for lower berth. I arrived to the border by the faster EMT but forgot about the one hour time difference between countries. It was a long wait and there's not really anywhere with aircon at the station.Anyway, best of luck. A https://uploads.disquscdn.c...

Hi Allan
Thanks so much for all this info, was feeling pretty lost until a minute ago hahaha.

My girlfriend and I are South Africans teaching in Rayong and need to do our first non b visa run, this over night train option looks amazing but I did notice you posted the info back on 2013... in your opinion is it still a good option for us now?

Many thanks for all the awesomeness info.
Steve

Hey Steve. Definitely, it's still a good option. I live out near the borders of Cambodia / Laos right now and continue to go to Malaysia for my VISA runs. Always stop at Penang for the food. Last time I travelled was this year in March and will be back again in coming months. A.

Oh fantastic that's great to hear. One of the previous teachers at our school told me a horror story of a 36 hour train ride from Hatyai to Bangkok, that was a bit of a scare.

Thanks again for your help, been a life saver, money saver, sanity saver... the list goes on. Will be sure to let you know how our trip pans out.

Steve.

Hi Allan, great website - I have just 1 question: Is there a restaurant car all the way from Bangkok to Malaysia? Cheers Marianne, Denmark

Hi Marianne. Yes the restaurant car will decouple at the border. You can also order food to the seats and a quick table is set up. There may also be a restaurant car on the Malaysia side, but the food will change. A

Hi Allan,

First of all thank you for your website, very useful!! I wanted to ask you, how many days it takes to renew your thai visa in Penang?

Thanks again!

It will be two days. You drop in the passport before midday the first day then pick it up again at 2pm the day following. The times are similar when using the agents on Chulia street only drop off should be earlier. Best of luck. A.

Mr. Allan, sounds interesting to travel though need more info for ticket purchase/booking. I want to travel from bangkok to kuala lumpor then singapore. Any advise?kindly pm me.

Hi Jairus. I will be running this route again this Sunday and am trying to book online through this company http://www.thailandtraintic.... Will let you know if I am successful. A

Hi Allan this was a good piece of information. please let me know if there is an option for booking online tickets from BKK to KUL. Thanks in Advance

Hi Anand. To date I've failed to find any other than bookings within Thailand It will be something I look into again soon however, doing a similar trip in the coming months.

Hey Allan did you know if the exchange booth at the railway station is open on weekends, I am having trouble getting places here in Bangkok to take my thai baht and convert it into Ringgitt

Hi Penny. I can't be sure but I would guess yes. It is a very cheap trip to Penang on the boat from Butterworth so if you can get small change you can find better exchanges in the town. Also on our last trip we found locals boarding on to offer money exchange on the train after crossing the border offering the same rates. Hope this helps :) A

About to do this trip tomorrow. This is so helpful. Thankyou

I've done this a couple times since. One of my favourite journeys. Also a bottle of Whisky comes in handy ;) Have a great trip. A

Hi Allan-san,

This article is really useful for me.
I booked a ticket today and look forward to taking a train:D
Thanks!

Hi there again Allan

I'm struggling to buy my ticket all the way from rayong. I do not have a thai bank account or credit card to buy online with... do you know of an agency that accepts payments at 7/11?