The Mahachai line is the 2nd busiest of the commuter lines around Bangkok and is an important time saver especially at peak times where it can save you up to 60 minutes off a trip from Mahachai to inner Thonburi.
In other parts of the world such a track lake would stop train services from operating and would be repaired quickly but in Thailand they just keep the system running regardless of the track lake. It is one of many signs that the Mahachai line needs a massive upgrade just to keep up with peak hour demands. Which today it cannot handle properly with most trains packed in like sardines from Bang Bon to Wong Wien Yai in the mornings and afternoons.
Now onto the pictures of the track lake. All of these pictures where taken from near a level crossing on the Wong Wien Yai side of Bang Bon Station.
1. This is a shot of the Bang Bon track lake. Taken looking east along the line. The size of the track lake varies with the amount of rain. If it had been raining for days the lake can be up to 500 meters long.
2. This is a close up shot of the track lake. At this time it was around 100 metes long. Note the quality of the track before and after the track lake.
3. This is a shot of DMU number 1207 taken as it was approaching the track lake. Train type: NKF built in Japan in 1985. Note the failed carriage doors on the rear carriage.
4. This is a shot of DMU 1207 just after it had passed through the track lake at Bang Bon. Note how the water is now greatly disturbed.
5. This is a movie of DMU 1207 passing through the track lake on a service to Wong Wien Yai. Note how much vertical movement there is as the train passes through the track lake. Trains normally slow down to around 10kph when passing through the lake. Although some lazy drivers have been known to go through much faster resulting in water spray going everywhere.
6. This is another wider angle of DMU 1207 after it had passed through the track lake. This track lake appears to be a low point in the Bang Bon area as a lot of water flows to this area from the south.
7. This is another close up shot of the track lake. Note how the rails just disappear into the water. These rails are immersed in water 24 hours a day for about 6 months of the year. I'm sure this is helping to weakening the rails through constant corrosion.
8.This is a shot of the concrete road way next to the track in this area. Just like the railway this road often is underwater. But it does help to show the northward flow of water from the track lake across the road. If the entire road is under water then the track lake cannot drain and the lake gets larger normally all the way back to the level crossing.
9. This is a general view shot of the area near the track lake. Note the modern 4 story apartment building facing the railway. This shot is taken looking east from near the level crossing.
10. In addition to the track lake the Mahachai line has number of broken rails often near level crossings such as this one near Bang Bon station. This crossing is typical of level crossings on the Mahachai line.
This section of the post is to ask for some feedback about ideas for future trips around Thailand.
The next trip I will do for photographing will be when the new Airport link railway opens in 2010. However between now and then I need some ideas of what types of things people really want to see transport wise from around Thailand.
So I ask you all to provide some feedback on these questions so as to help me make better posts for future topics on transport in Thailand.
1. What type of vehicles do you want to see more of on the website?
2. Is the location of the images important or just the vehicles? E.g. is it worth going to remote rural areas to take pictures of trains just for the nice background scenery.
3. Do any previously visited areas need to be revisited in the future either to take better pictures or to see what's changed? Is this a good idea at this time?
4. Any other tips or ideas will be very much appreciated at this time to help me make the site better.
Please post these comments below this post or email them to me via my email address in my blog profile at the top of the main page.
I hope you have enjoyed the pictures and stories from around Thailand so far and depending on peoples comments many more photographs and stories could be told.
5 comments:
In general i would like that i appreciate your efforts to put up this website a lot and often browse trough the sections. Thanks a lot! Chris
Your pictures are ALWAYS interesting!
Great stuff - like to see more on local klong boats and pics to the last stops, etc. Maybe google map the areas. Also the night train to CM or back to BKK. Maybe blog the dinning car expierence? thanks!
Oh, is the track lake considered as an unseen Thailand?? Although it's quite shameful for Thais to have such a poor train system, but it's gonna get better soon. The current government has been paying attention to improve the train system more and more as they've realized that previous governments, including the Democrat government itself that initiated the nationwide four-lane highways about ten years ago, have allocated too much budget on the roads (with whatever political reasons).
I hope your photos in the future will be a good evidence how poor the Thai train system was... :)
Referring to my previous comment, I'd like you to photo anything related to Thailand trains that are going to be changed..
For example, stations and tracks in the Southern line between Bang Sue and Taling Chan; the Eastern line from Makkasan to Phlu Ta Luang in Chon Buri; the Kan Tan section (some day it may be stopped).
One thing that's gonna be disappeared soon is the full-sized air-con buses between Bangkok and nearby provinces. Commuter vans have replaced the full-sized buses a lot already. Anyway there're still many of them in operate with uncertainty future. It may be worth keeping photos of them.
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