The Lopburi tram system () was a transport system in Mueang Lopburi district, Lopburi 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 ...

. It was the only provincial tramway system located outside Bangkok and was operated with electric trams.

History

The Lopburi tramway system was built following the plans of then prime minister

Plaek Phibunsongkhram Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram ( th, แปลก พิบูลสงคราม ; alternatively transcribed as ''Pibulsongkram'' or ''Pibulsonggram''; 14 July 1897 – 11 June 1964), locally known as Marshal P. ( th, จอมพล � ...

to expand Lopburi into a "military city" and develop the local transportation infrastructure. Further plans to develop tramway systems in other major cities such as

Chiang Mai Chiang Mai (, from th, เชียงใหม่ , nod, , เจียงใหม่ ), sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second largest city in ...

Nakhon Ratchasima Nakhon Ratchasima ( th, นครราชสีมา, ) is one of the four major cities of Isan, Thailand, known as the "big four of Isan". The city is commonly known as Korat (, ), a shortened form of its name. It is the governmental seat of ...

, and

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 ...

were also studied, but none were ever constructed. The system was inaugurated by Phibunsongkhram on 31 January 1955, and consisted of a single line running from

San Phra Kan San Phra Kan Inside the shrine San Phra Kan ( th, ศาลพระกาฬ) is a Hindu/Buddhist shrine in the town of Lop Buri in Thailand. The original structure dates to the time of the Khmer Empire, though it has received later additions. ...

to Erawan Intersection, near the present-day

King Narai Hospital King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

. Rolling stock used were disused electric trams from Bangkok's tramway. The opening of the line saw significant usage in its early days, and was extended west to Tha Pho Market in the old town area.

Decline

By 1960, increased bus services in the area, also serving Tha Pho Market and overlapping the tram route meant passenger volumes started to decrease. The scarcity of oil after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, meant tram services occasionally had to be suspended, as was the case with some tram lines in Bangkok. This, coupled with the increase in private car ownership in Lopburi meant using trams were slower than going by road, in some cases obstructing traffic as well. After repeated financial losses, the short-lived Lopburi tramway system operated its final services on 1 December 1962. At present, the only tracks in Lopburi remaining are in the U Rotrang Kao (Former Tram Depot) community, located near Erawan Intersection.

Operations

Route Alignment

Initially, the line started behind Si Sunthon Roundabout (

) and ran on Narai Maharat Road until Si Suriyothai Roundabout (Sa Kaeo), where it ran along the outer southern semi-circle curve. The line then continues on Narai Maharat Road, crossing Saphan 7 Bridge and reaching the inner circle of Thep Satri Roundabout (King Narai Monument), running adjacent to Lopburi Provincial Hall. The line then turns northward onto

Phahonyothin Road Phahonyothin Road ( th, ถนนพหลโยธิน, , ) or Highway 1 is a main road in Bangkok and one of the four primary highways in Thailand, which include Mittraphap Road (Highway 2), Sukhumvit Road (Highway 3), and Phet Kasem Road (Hi ...

, terminating near the 6th Infantry Battalion Camp (now the 31st Infantry Regiment) at Erawan Intersection where Phahonyothin Road intersects with Highway 3016. This route was approximately . A west extension to Tha Pho Market was constructed not long after the initial line's opening, although it is not recorded exactly when. The line was extended along the northern semi-circle curve of Si Sunthon Roundabout, crossing the State Railway of Thailand's

Northern Line The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs from North London to South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. The Northern line is unique on the Underground network in having two different routes through central London, two ...

, passing in front of

Phra Prang Sam Yot , native_name = , image = File:พระปรางค์สามยอด อ.เมือง จ.ลพบุรี (2).JPG , image_size = 300px , alt = , caption = , ...

on Prang Sam Yot Road. The route then turned northward near Prang Khaek onto Sura Songkhram Road and terminated at Tha Pho Market near the Lopburi City Pillar Shrine. This resulted in a disputed total route length of , or according to some sources.

Ticketing

The tram line was separated into two ticketing sections, one between Tha Pho Market and Si Suriyothai Roundabout and another between Si Suriyothai Roundabout to Erawan Intersection. Traveling within each section cost 25 satang. Crossing between sections and traveling the entire line cost 40 satang (100

satang The baht (; th, บาท, ; sign: ฿; code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand. SWIFT ranked the Thai baht as the 10th-m ...

= 1 baht).

References