Kuala Lumpur to Surat Thani

By train the journey Kuala Lumpur to Surat Thani is scheduled to take from 12 to 13 hours depending upon which train you take. Please note that you need to take 2 separate trains and buy 2 separate train tickets to complete this journey.

Train 1: Kuala Lumpur to Padang Besar

There are currently 6 trains a day from Kuala Lumpur to Padang Besar.

• Buy tickets from Kuala Lumpur to Padang Besar.

Train 2: Padang Besar to Surat Thani

There is currently 1 train service a day from Padang Besar to Surat Thani.

• Buy tickets from Padang Besar to Surat Thani.

• Train #46 departs at 18:00 Malaysian time (17:00 in Thailand) and arrives at 23:47 Malaysian time (22:47 in Thailand).

Kuala Lumpur Railway Station

The main railway station in Kuala Lumpur is KL Sentral Station.

Padang Besar Railway Station

Travellers need to change trains at Padang Besar Railway Station to continue their journey to Surat Thani.

Surat Thani Railway Station

Surat Thani Railway Station is located 16 km by road from the centre of Surat Thani City.

About Travel to Surat Thani

Even though there are currently no direct train services from Kuala Lumpur to Surat Thani it is still very simple to complete the journey by train. The reason that it’s a simple journey is because the first train you need to take terminates at the same train station that the second train departs from.

Kuala Lumpur to Padang Besar Train

Depending on which train you take from Kuala Lumpur to Padang Besar the journey is scheduled to take from 4 hours 50 minutes to 5 hours 37 minutes.

Also depending on which train you take, there are up to 3 different seat types available:

• Second Class Seat
• Business Seat
• Premier Seat

Sleeper berths are not available on trains from Kuala Lumpur to Padang Besar.

Changing Trains in Padang Besar

Padang Besar Train Station has a number of different platforms. Trains from Kuala Lumpur arrive into a different train platform to the one from which the train to Thailand will depart.

The other important point to note is passengers wishing to take Train #46 to Surat Thani need to complete two sets of immigration procedures before they board the train:

• Immigration procedures for leaving Malaysia
• Immigration procedures for entering Thailand

There are both Malay and Thai immigration desks located inside the train station which will open several hours before Train #46 is due to depart. Please allow at least an hour between the arrival of the first train from Kuala Lumpur and the departure of the train to Thailand to complete both sets of immigration procedures. Depending on how busy the train is, you may need to queue up for a while before your turn comes to present your documents to the immigration officers.

Padang Besar to Surat Thani Train

By train the second stage of the journey, from Padang Besar to Surat Thani, is scheduled to take 5 hours 47 minutes. This train service is a Thai train service which only has 1 seat type available:

• 2nd Class A/C Sleeper

Food and drink will also be available on this train about 1 hour after departure after the train has passed Hat Yai.

Late Arrival Time

Train #46 is scheduled to arrive in Surat Thani fairly late in the evening (22:47) so it won’t possible to continue your journey to your final destination by public transport until the following morning.

Surat Thani Train Station is located 16 km away from Surat Thani City in a small town called Tha Kham. There are very few hotels located close to the train station so many visitors choose to take a taxi into Surat Thani City itself where the range of hotels is much greater. Close to the main entrance to Surat Thani Train Station there is a taxi booth with a sign displaying fixed prices. By taxi the journey from Surat Thani Train Station to Surat Thani City generally costs around 160 THB.

Travel to Koh Phangan and Koh Samui

There are several companies operating joint bus and ferry services from Surat Thani to both Koh Phangan and Koh Samui. Most of the ferry services to these two islands depart from Donsak, which is a coastal area in Surat Thani Province about 70 km from Surat Thani City. This makes travelling to the ferry port by private taxi an expensive option.

Joint bus and ferry services from Surat Thani to Koh Phangan or Koh Samui depart both from Surat Thani Train Station and Surat Thani City. For more information about services to Koh Phangan and Koh Samui, and to buy tickets, click on the links below:

• Surat Thani to Koh Phangan
• Surat Thani to Koh Samui