Sunday 4 December 2025
Revisiting the Chiang Mai Railway Station

I continued walking along Charoen Muang Road focusing on the uneven and sometimes non-existant sidewalk and suddenly – not really suddenly, but sooner than I expected, I was at the Chiang Mai Railway Station.

The original station opened in 1922. In 1943, while the Japanese occupied Thailand, Allied bombings destroyed it. After the war, the current station was built and finished in 1948, so it is now more than 77 years old.

Inside the station, a prominent picture of Chulalongkorn, King Rama V (fifth king of the Chakri Dynasty), is seen. I have discussed Chulalongkorn in previous blog posts, and a summary of his reign is worth repeating.

Chulalongkorn was on the throne from 1868 until his death in 1910 and oversaw dramatic changes in Siam (the name was changed to Thailand in 1939).

His reign was characterized by the modernization of Siam, governmental and social reforms (including abolishing slavery), and territorial concessions to the British and French empires. Siam was surrounded by European colonies: British in India, Pakistan, Burma; French in what is now Vietnam and Cambodia; Dutch in Indonesia; Spanish in The Philipines. Chulalongkorn, through his policies, ensured the independence of Siam. His picture is proudly displayed in the railway station because Chulalongkorn also established what became the State Railway of Thailand, the SRT. The SRT operates all intercity rail lines in Thailand, approximately 4830 kilometers (3000 miles). The SRT does not own or operate the BTS Skytrain lines, or the MRT Subway lines in the Bangkok metropolitan area. It was also under Chulalongkorn that the Hua Lamphong Central Bangkok rail station was built, although it was not completed until after his death. Hua Lamphong is large, and striking in its design. It served as the central railway station of Bangkok from 1916 until 2022 (more than 100 years!), superceded by the new Krung Thep Aphiwat station. The newer station is larger and will have connections to high-speed rail lines under construction and in planning.

The Chiang Mai station was very quiet. There are no scheduled arrivals or departures for a few hours. I walked out to the platforms. No trains were waiting to be boarded. I did see two trainsets waiting to be re-positioned for later boarding.

And over to the east (my left as I faced the platforms) I could see a locomotive at one of the servicing bays.

A very quiet railway station at this time of day. Leaving the station, I continued east on Charoen Muang Road to the next intersection. This is called “Road Along the Railway” on Google Maps, and is indeed a road along the railway. Walking along this road allows me to see the rail yards approaching and adjacent to the station.

Next: The Chiang Mai Railway Station rail yards