The Paknam Railway was Thailand's first railway line, established in 1893. Stretching 21 km (13 mi), it was a narrow gauge line. The line was constructed by the Paknam Railway Company established by a British navigator Alfred John Loftus and the Danish naval commander Andreas du Plessis de Richelieu[1]: 33 . Construction commenced on 10 July 1891.[2] The company was granted a 20-year concession[3] to run the line. The opening of the railway on 11 April 1893 was attended by King Rama V who had in fact invested half of the 400,000 Baht funding required for construction of the line[1]: 35 .[4]
Initially, there were four steam locomotives constructed by Krauss & Co. of Munich,[5] and four trains ran in each direction daily. There were twelve stations in all, with trains taking one hour to travel over the line.[6] The line was initially a financial success. A motor-tramway service was introduced in 1908 and the line was electrified in 1926. After the end of the concession period, the line was purchased outright by the government in 1936 but there was little further investment in the line. By this time competition from buses running between Bangkok and Paknam was already impacting the railway's finances. During World War II the railway enjoyed a resurgence due to the impact of fuel shortages on the bus companies. Services were temporarily suspended in 1942 due to record flooding in Bangkok but services were restored soon after with twelve trips daily.[1]: 101–103 .
After the end of World War II, competition with buses and private cars again increased and by the 1950s the railway was operating at a loss. Several plans for modernisation were proposed but none were realised. In the end the Paknam Railway was closed at the end of 1959 to allow for the construction of Rama IV Road.[1]: 147–148 .
^ abcdKakizaki, Ichiro (2014). Trams, Buses, and Rails: The History of Urban Transport in Bangkok, 1886-2010. Silkworm Press. ISBN9786162150807.
^Talbot, Frederick A. (2012-01-01). Railway Wonders of the World. BoD – Books on Demand. ISBN9783846005279.
^Wright, Arnold (1908). Twentieth century impressions of Siam: its history, people, commerce, industries, and resources, with which is incorporated an abridged edition of Twentieth century impressions of British Malaya. London: Lloyd's Greater Britain Pub. Co. p. 202.
^"Newspaper Article - OPENING OF THE PAKNAM RAILWAY". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
^Barrow, Richard. "Quest for the Paknam Steam Train". Thai Blogs. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
paknam, railway, thailand, first, railway, line, established, 1893, stretching, narrow, gauge, line, line, constructed, company, established, british, navigator, alfred, john, loftus, danish, naval, commander, andreas, plessis, richelieu, construction, commenc. The Paknam Railway was Thailand s first railway line established in 1893 Stretching 21 km 13 mi it was a narrow gauge line The line was constructed by the Paknam Railway Company established by a British navigator Alfred John Loftus and the Danish naval commander Andreas du Plessis de Richelieu 1 33 Construction commenced on 10 July 1891 2 The company was granted a 20 year concession 3 to run the line The opening of the railway on 11 April 1893 was attended by King Rama V who had in fact invested half of the 400 000 Baht funding required for construction of the line 1 35 4 Paknam RailwayTram in Paknam station in 1959OverviewStatusDefunctOwnerPaknam Railway Company 1886 1936 State Railway of Thailand 1936 1960 LocaleCentral ThailandTerminiHua LamphongPak NamStations23ServiceTypeTramHistoryOpened11 April 1893 1893 04 11 SuccessorRama IV RoadClosed1 January 1960 1960 01 01 TechnicalLine length21 km 13 mi Number of tracks2Track gauge1 000 mm 3 ft 3 3 8 in metre gaugeRoute mapLegend0 0km Hua LamphongSaphan SawangSaphan LueangSam YanSathan Saowapha2 3km Sala DaengSathon WitthayuTalat Khlong Toei5 2km Khlong Toei7 1km Ban KluaiKluai Nam ThaiKhlong Prawet Burirom8 9km Phra KhanongKhlong Suan OiPhra Khanong Witthayalai10 5km Bang Chak12 0km Bang Na14 8km SamrongKhlong Samrong17 0km Chorakhe18 8km Bang Nang KrengRongrian Chumphon Thahan Ruea20 0km MahawongKhlong Samrong branchSala Klang21 3km Paknam Samut Prakan Initially there were four steam locomotives constructed by Krauss amp Co of Munich 5 and four trains ran in each direction daily There were twelve stations in all with trains taking one hour to travel over the line 6 The line was initially a financial success A motor tramway service was introduced in 1908 and the line was electrified in 1926 After the end of the concession period the line was purchased outright by the government in 1936 but there was little further investment in the line By this time competition from buses running between Bangkok and Paknam was already impacting the railway s finances During World War II the railway enjoyed a resurgence due to the impact of fuel shortages on the bus companies Services were temporarily suspended in 1942 due to record flooding in Bangkok but services were restored soon after with twelve trips daily 1 101 103 After the end of World War II competition with buses and private cars again increased and by the 1950s the railway was operating at a loss Several plans for modernisation were proposed but none were realised In the end the Paknam Railway was closed at the end of 1959 to allow for the construction of Rama IV Road 1 147 148 See also editHistory of rail transport in Thailand Rail transport in ThailandReferences edit a b c d Kakizaki Ichiro 2014 Trams Buses and Rails The History of Urban Transport in Bangkok 1886 2010 Silkworm Press ISBN 9786162150807 Talbot Frederick A 2012 01 01 Railway Wonders of the World BoD Books on Demand ISBN 9783846005279 Wright Arnold 1908 Twentieth century impressions of Siam its history people commerce industries and resources with which is incorporated an abridged edition of Twentieth century impressions of British Malaya London Lloyd s Greater Britain Pub Co p 202 Newspaper Article OPENING OF THE PAKNAM RAILWAY eresources nlb gov sg Retrieved 2016 08 31 Barrow Richard Quest for the Paknam Steam Train Thai Blogs Retrieved 2016 08 31 Paknam Railway Samut Prakan sthanthithxngethiywcnghwdsmuthrprakar paknam com Retrieved 2016 09 02 nbsp This article about rail transport in Thailand is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Paknam Railway amp oldid 1152063255, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
