Hat Yai Junction is an international railway junction and a Class 1 railway station for the

State Railway of Thailand The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) ( th, การรถไฟแห่งประเทศไทย, abbrev. รฟท., ) is the state-owned rail operator under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transport in Thailand. History The SRT was ...

in the center of

Hat Yai Hat Yai ( th, หาดใหญ่, , also Haad Yai or Had Yai) is a city in southern Thailand near the Malaysian border. It is south of Bangkok, and has a population of 156,802 (2019) in the city itself and an urban population of about 400,00 ...

City, Songkhla Province,

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. The station is located from

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

Thon Buri railway station Thon Buri railway station ( th, สถานีรถไฟธนบุรี) formerly known as Bangkok Noi railway station (สถานีรถไฟบางกอกน้อย), is a railway station in Siriraj Sub-district, Bangkok Noi D ...

and serves as a junction for the mainline Southern Line towards Pattani, Yala and

Sungai Kolok Su-ngai Kolok ( th, สุไหงโกลก, ms, Sungai Golok) is a border town, subdistrict, and district on the Malaysia-Thailand Border in Narathiwat Province, Thailand. It is one of the largest and most prosperous districts in Narathiwa ...

(border point with Malaysia at

Rantau Panjang Rantau Panjang ( Jawi: رنتاو ڤنجڠ) (Thai: รันเตาปันจัง) is a daerah (subdistrict/commune) and also a parliamentary constituency in Pasir Mas District, Kelantan, Malaysia. Geography Rantau Panjang is located near ...

) and Padang Besar,

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

and Singapore Line (border point with Malaysia at Padang Besar). The station yard is the location of a large locomotive depot: Hat Yai Depot, the southernmost railway depot in Thailand. Hat Yai Junction encouraged Hat Yai's economic boom and growth, making the city larger than the province's capital

Songkhla Songkhla ( th, สงขลา, ), also known as Singgora or Singora (Pattani Malay: ซิงกอรอ), is a city (''thesaban nakhon'') in Songkhla Province of southern Thailand, near the border with Malaysia. Songkhla lies south of Ba ...

History

Originally, the original station was U-Taphao Junction and was located to the north of the current station. U-Taphao station also served as a junction for the Hat Yai–Songkhla Line. However, the junction often got hit by floods and was moved to the present location at Hat Yai Junction. U-Tapao was reduced to halt and eventually closed. In 1978, the line from Hat Yai to Songkhla City closed down, leaving the junction to be only for the mainline to Sungai-Kolok and the branch to

Butterworth Butterworth may refer to: Places * Butterworth (ancient township), a former township centred on Milnrow, in the then Parish of Rochdale, England, United Kingdom * Butterworth, Eastern Cape, now also known as Gcuwa, a town located in South Africa ...

. Since the start of 2013, there have been plans to rebuild the line back to Songkhla City.

Services

There are 24 trains serving Hat Yai Junction daily, 12 each way. All types of trains must stop at this station. The trains are of the following: * Thaksinarat Express 31 Bangkok–Hat Yai Junction * Thaksinarat Express 32 Hat Yai Junction–Bangkok *

Thaksin Express The Thaksin Express ( th, รถด่วนพิเศษทักษิณ) is an express train run by the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) between Bangkok and Su-ngai Kolok, a border town in Narathiwat Province and the end of the southern rail ...

37 Bangkok–Sungai Kolok *

International Express The ''International Express'' ( th, รถด่วนพิเศษระหว่างประเทศ; ms, Ekspres Antarbangsa) is an express train between Bangkok, Thailand and Padang Besar, Malaysia. The train formerly traveled to But ...

45 Bangkok–Padang Besar (suspended due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

) * Thaksin Express 38 Sungai Kolok–Bangkok * International Express 46 Padang Besar–Bangkok (suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic) * Special Express 41 Bangkok–Yala (suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic) * Special Express 42 Yala–Bangkok (suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic) * Rapid 169 Bangkok–Yala * Rapid 170 Yala–Bangkok * Rapid 171 Bangkok–Sungai Kolok * Rapid 172 Sungai Kolok–Bangkok * Rapid 175 Hat Yai–Sungai Kolok * Rapid 176 Sungai Kolok–Hat Yai * Local 445 Chumphon–Hat Yai * Local 446 Hat Yai–Chumphon * Local 447 Surat Thani–Sungai Kolok * Local 448 Sungai Kolok–Surat Thani * Local 451 Nakhon Sri Thammarat–Sungai Kolok * Local 452 Sungai Kolok–Nakhon Sri Thammarat * Local 455 Nakhon Sri Thammarat–Yala * Local 456 Yala–Nakhon Sri Thamamarat * Local 463 Phatthalung–Sungai Kolok * Local 464 Sungai Kolok–Phathalung *

Eastern and Oriental Express The Eastern & Oriental Express is a luxury train that carries passengers between Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. It runs between Singapore's Woodlands Train Checkpoint and Bangkok railway station, Bangkok, stopping at Kuala Lumpur railway s ...

974 Bangkok–Singapore * Eastern and Oriental Express 975 Singapore–Bangkok * Special Cross-Border Service 947 Hat Yai Junction–Padang Besar * Special Cross-Border Service 948 Padang Besar–Hat Yai Junction * Special Cross-Border Service 949 Hat Yai Junction–Padang Besar * Special Cross-Border Service 950 Padang Besar–Hat Yai Junction A special excursion train

KTM Intercity KTM Intercity ( ms, KTM Antarabandar) are diesel-hauled intercity train services in Peninsular Malaysia, operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB). Services operate along the East Coast Line between Tumpat and Gemas and on towards JB S ...

991/992 KL Sentral-Hat Yai Junction-KL Sentral that originate from KL Sentral station arrives this station as well.

Former services

* Local ??? Hat Yai Junction-Songkhla (ceased 1978) * Local ??? Songkhla-Hat Yai Junction (ceased 1978) * International Express 35 Bangkok-

(ceased 2016) * International Express 36 Butterworth-Bangkok (ceased 2016)

Terrorist attacks

Hat Yai Junction has been a target for the "Land Separation Movement" (

South Thailand insurgency The South Thailand insurgency ( th, ความไม่สงบในชายแดนภาคใต้ของประเทศไทย; ms, Pemberontakan di Thailand Selatan) is an ongoing conflict centered in southern Thailand. It ...

). * 29 June 1977 - Bomb, 14 injured * 7 August 1977 - Bomb on Hat Yai-Bangkok Train * 1989 - 2 Bombs, 7 dead * 7 May 2001 - Bomb, 4 dead including a 5-year-old boy.

Pop culture

Hat Yai Junction railway station is the setting of at least 2

Thai pop Thai pop or T-pop, is a genre of Thai music roughly equivalent to western pop. It emerged in the 1970s–80s, during which it was known as string music ( th, เพลงสตริง), before gaining mainstream popularity during the 1990s and ...

s, including ( th, สัญญาใจ; RTGS: ''sanya jai'') 'Love Promise') by Narathip Kanchanawat of Chatree band, it has been popular since 1980, with new recordings by many performers, and Thai protest song (''

phleng phuea chiwit Phleng phuea chiwit ( th, เพลงเพื่อชีวิต; IPA:; lit. "songs for life") describes a type of Thai folk music, strongly influenced by elements of Western folk and rock music with a protest theme mainly centred on the har ...

''), titled ( th, คำสัญญาที่หาดใหญ่; RTGS: ''kam sanya thi hat yai'') 'Promise at Hat Yai') by Jew Khonkhianphleng in 1994.

Sources

State Railway of Thailandrotfaithai.comThai PostTJANEWS
{{State Railway of Thailand Railway Stations, s=yes Buildings and structures in Songkhla province Railway stations in Thailand Railway stations opened in 1924