Taiping to Surat Thani

By train the journey from Taiping to Surat Thani currently takes just under 10 hours including connection times between trains at Padang Besar, which is the interchange station between the Malay and Thai railway networks.

Train 1: Taiping to Padang Besar

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

• Buy tickets from Taiping to Padang Besar.

Train 2: Padang Besar to Surat Thani

The second train service from Padang to Surat Thani departs once a day at 18:00 Malaysian time, which is 17:00 in Thailand.

• Buy tickets from Padang Besar to Surat Thani.

Taiping Railway Station

Taiping Railway Station is located 1.5 km walking distance from Dataran Warisan Taiping.

Padang Besar Railway Station

Read more about Padang Besar Railway Station.

Surat Thani Railway Station

Read more about Surat Thani Train Station.

About Travel to Surat Thani

Despite needing to change trains the journey by train from Taiping to Surat Thani is fairly easy to complete. The first train terminates at Padang Besar Railway and the second train departs from a different platform in the same station. Both Thai and Malay immigration procedures can be completed inside the train station during the time you wait for the connecting train service.

Journey Times

The first stage of the journey on a Malaysian train service is much shorter than the second stage of the journey on a Thai train service:

• Taiping to Padang Besar: 2 hours 02 minutes to 2 hours 18 minutes
• Padang Besar to Surat Thani: 5 hours 47 minutes

Seat Types

The range of seat types available differ between the two train services, with a variety of seat only options available on Malaysian train services, whereas only sleeper berths are available on the Thai train service.

• Taiping to Padang Besar:
  • Premier Seat
  • Business Seat
  • Second Class Seat
• Padang Besar to Surat Thani:
  • 2nd Class A/C Sleeper

Immigration Procedures

Before boarding Train #46 (from Padang Besar to Surat Thani) passengers need to visit the immigration centre on the ground floor of Padang Besar Railway Station. The process is that travellers first need to visit the Malaysian immigration desk to complete immigration procedures for exiting Malaysia. After that passengers need to visit the Thai immigration desk to complete immigration procedures for entering Thailand.

We recommend allowing 1 hour to complete this process.

Accommodation in Surat Thani

The daily train service from Padang Besar to Surat Thani is scheduled to arrive at 22:47. That’s too late to continue your journey onward to Koh Samui or Koh Phangan, or westward to Krabi or Phuket. Travellers on this route need to find somewhere to stay overnight.

Surat Thani Train Station is located 16 km by road from Surat Thani City in a small town called Tha Kham. Walking east about 200 metres from Surat Thani Railway Station along the main road you reach two 24 hour convenience stores and two inexpensive hotels. On the left is Phunphin Station and on the right is the Queen Hotel.

For a better range of hotels we recommend taking a taxi into Surat Thani City. There is a taxi rank to the right hand side of the ticket hall. Fixed prices for services to Surat Thani City are printed on a large sign on the roof of the taxi driver’s shelter. The fare typically is 160 THB for the journey from Surat Thani Train Station to Surat Thani City.

Travel to Koh Samui and Koh Phangan

There are joint bus and ferry services direct from Surat Thani Train Station to both Koh Phangan and Koh Samui, as well as from Surat Thani City to Koh Phangan and Koh Samui.

Travellers are advised to make use of a joint bus and ferry service because most of the ferries to Koh Phangan and Koh Samui depart from Donsak, which is a coastal area of Surat Thani Province about 70 km by road from Surat Thani City.

• Bus ferry times from Surat Thani Train Station to:
  • Koh Samui
  • Koh Phangan
• Bus ferry times from Surat Thani City to:
  • Koh Samui
  • Koh Phangan