Mighty Trains

Welcome to thailand!

We're riding on a railway

That's a backpacker's dream and every builder's nightmare.

Where 40-year-old trains battle weather-beaten tracks.

Travel through complete chaos.

I've never seen anything like this.

Hello, come in, come in!

And the most challenging terrain

These trains show

What it truly means to be mighty

The kingdom of thailand.

Famous for tropical beaches, holy temples

And vibrant street life.

It's the exotic jewel of southeast asia

And there's no better way to see it than by train.

We're gonna cross a ton of different landscapes

On this journey so, we're almost at the station

And I can't wait to jump on my first train.

My four-day, 800-mile journey starts here

At the station in suratthani.

Thanks.

For the first leg of my trip

I'm heading out along the shores of the gulf of thailand

To the sprawling metropolis of bangkok.

From there I'll head north again through lopburi

In thailand's central plains,

Before climbing into the peaks of the thai highlands

To the ancient city of chiang mai.

There are a dozen trains that take passengers

To bangkok every day.

When you get to the station it's a bit of a rush.

You've only got a few minutes

To grab your stuff and get on board.

The state runs the trains in thailand.

They have 250 locomotives in their fleet.

Most are at least 40 years old, but they're workhorses.

Exactly what's needed

To battle thailand's punishing terrain and weather.

Made in France, this alstom locomotive is 53.1 feet long,

12.8 feet high and 9.2 feet wide.

And it's powered

By a 2,400-horsepower diesel electric engine.

It will be pulling six carriages with a 138 passengers.

With a top speed of only 59 miles an hour,

Thai trains aren't built for speed,

More like tanks ready for battle.

We just left the train station in suratthani,

Taking our time getting out of town.

Soon we'll be up at a much faster clip,

And we've got a long way to go.

Show me your ticket, please.

I'm starting my journey on thailand's southern line.

At over 700 miles, it's the longest in the entire country.

The southern line, was completed in the early 1920s.

It connected bangkok, singapore and malaysia

And it resulted in the first real tourist boom for thailand.

But it's not just tourists riding the train.

Third class carriages are most popular

With locals and backpackers.

There's no assigned seats

And just a rickety fan blowing hot air, but fares are cheap.

A third-class ticket from suratthani

To bangkok will set you back 217 thai baht,

Just under seven u.S. Dollars.

Lots of different classes and types of cabins

On this train so the seating

In each are often very different.

Second class appeals to the flash packer set.

Travelers willing to spend more

For comfortable seating and air conditioning.

A ticket here will cost you almost 20 u.S. Dollars.

As far as first class?

Well, there is none.

50 million people ride these trains every year.

I want all the passengers

To enjoy their trip.

To handle the sheer volume of riders,

30-year-old carriages,

Once deemed obsolete, are refurbished.

We're focused on passengers, safety

And the integrity of the carriage structure.

Every four years carriages are given

A major overhaul at the makkasan depot in bangkok,

A massive workshop, the size

Of almost 3,000 regulation tennis courts.

We cut out

And scrape off the old rusted panels,

Put new panels on and weld and grind them

So it's ready for putty coating and new paint.

By overhauling them, we can extend

Their lifetime for another four years.

Despite their age,

The refurbished carriages come out looking brand new

And ready to go back out on the line.

90% of thailand's rail lines are single track,

Meaning trains traveling in different directions

And at different speeds all have to share the same line.

It's a complicated dance coordinated

Out of central train control in bangkok

At the ctc, we deal with many trains

From the different lines.

Thailand's rail network is made up

Of five different lines.

Busier routes around the capital city of bangkok are tracked

By computer-controlled signals and train locators.

For example,

Line number 112 is currently three minutes behind schedule.

For the other 90% of the lines,

Technology isn't as advanced.

To track trains in these areas,

Including the one we're on now,

Traffic control staff call stations and drivers directly.

Routes are plotted out

With graph paper and rulers.

We have to stop according

To the official track schedule.

With 300 passenger and cargo trips

Every day throughout the country,

Even the tiniest mistake

Or miscommunication can turn deadly.

If something happens like an accident,

We cannot control it and sometimes they crash.

In 2009, seven people were killed

And 88 injured when a driver

On a northbound passenger train fell asleep,

Missed the signal, and collided head on

With a southbound freight train.

The track was so badly damaged that train service

From bangkok along the southern line was cut off for days.

Everyone was affected,

Whether it was continuing on

With their daily chores or commuting.

In remote rural areas where there are no signals,

Drivers have to grab a right of way token

To be allowed to drive on the section of track ahead.

We have the right of way

For this section of the rail till the next station.

We are the only train traveling on this section.

If there's no token available,

The driver has to stop at the next pull over

To wait for the track to clear.

This is to prevent any collisions.

When the right of way train gets

To the next station, the driver drops off the token

For the next available train to pick up.

As we get ready to pull into chumphon station.

Right now I'm on the hunt for something to eat.

I get to see another thai train tradition.

Food vendors coming right up to the windows.

If you do get off to buy something, be careful.

The train doesn't stop for long

And you don't want to be left behind.

Almost didn't make it there!

250 miles south of bangkok,

We're traveling along the gulf of thailand,

An area that relies heavily on tourism and agriculture

Now we're in the south of the country,

It's flat, mostly rice fields and forest.

Vegetation in this tropical climate grows fast.

So fast, that even in between trimmings,

It can overtake the tracks.

That uproots rails, throwing everything off level.

Not only does this mean a bumpy ride,

The undercarriages take such a beating

That chassis have to be replaced every year.

These are locomotives

That have come in for their scheduled overhaul.

During this annual two-day maintenance,

The engine carriage and chassis

Of the locomotive are separated.

The engine is serviced,

While the chassis gets a complete overhaul.

What we are doing here is taking

The chassis apart.

We repair the equipment, repair the frame,

Weld, grind and put it all back together.

Over 1,000 workers focus

On keeping all locomotives and carriages rail ready.

Even with regular maintenance,

Driving one of these powerful machines is a challenge,

Especially in monsoon season.

It's raining and there may be flooding ahead.

Monsoon season can last up to five months,

Battering rail lines with tropical storms,

Gale force winds and flash floods.

The rain is not heavy yet.

I think we can pass through it.

As day turns to night the rain gets heavier.

Train staff are on high alert.

But their tools are extremely low tech.

I'm using a flashlight

To check the water level along the rail

To see if the level of the water is getting higher.

When traveling across flooded tracks,

The faster the speed, the higher the water kicks up.

If it splashes too high, it gets into the traction motors.

That can cause a short circuit,

Stopping the motors and crippling the entire train.

If the water is higher than four inches

Above the track we have to stop