Paknam Railway

{{Short description|First railway line in Thailand (1893–1960)}} {{Infobox rail line | box_width = 300px | name = Paknam Railway | other_name = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | color = | logo = | logo_width = | logo_alt = | image = File:Paknam Tram in Paknam Station en.jpg | image_width = 300px | image_alt = | caption = Tram in Paknam station in 1959 | type = [[Tram]] | system = | status = Defunct | locale = [[Central Thailand]] | start = [[Bangkok railway station|Hua Lamphong]] | end = [[Pak Nam]] | stations = 23 | routes = | daily_ridership = | ridership2 = | planopen =  | open = {{Start date|1893|4|11|df=y}} | yearcommenced =  | yearcompleted =  | close = {{Start date|1960|1|1|df=y}} | event1label = Successor | event1 = [[Rama IV Road]] | event2label = | event2 = | event3label = | event3 = | owner = Paknam Railway Company (1886–1936)<br/>[[State Railway of Thailand]] (1936–1960) | operator = | character = | depot = | stock = | linelength_km = 21 | linelength_mi = | linelength = | tracklength_km = | tracklength_mi = | tracklength = | tracks = 2 | gauge = {{Track gauge|1000mm|allk=on}} | old_gauge = | load_gauge = | minradius = | racksystem = | routenumber = | linenumber = | electrification = | speed_km/h = | speed_mph = | speed = | signalling = | elevation_m = | elevation_ft = | elevation = | website = | map = {{Paknam Railway|inline=yes}} | map_name = | map_state = collapsed | embedded = }}

The '''Paknam Railway''' was [[Thailand]]'s first railway line, established in 1893. Stretching 21 km (13 mi), it was a [[Narrow-gauge railway|narrow gauge]] line. The line was constructed by the Paknam Railway Company established by a British navigator Alfred John Loftus and the Danish naval commander [[Andreas du Plessis de Richelieu]]<ref name="Trams Buses Rail">{{cite book |last1=Kakizaki |first1=Ichiro |title=Trams, Buses, and Rails: The History of Urban Transport in Bangkok, 1886-2010 |date=2014 |publisher=Silkworm Press |isbn=9786162150807}}</ref>{{RP|33}}. Construction commenced on 10 July 1891.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q_JpVHub8VoC|title=Railway Wonders of the World|last=Talbot|first=Frederick A.|date=2012-01-01|publisher=BoD – Books on Demand|isbn=9783846005279|language=en}}</ref> The company was granted a 20-year concession<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://seasiavisions.library.cornell.edu/catalog/seapage:363_202|title=Twentieth century impressions of Siam: its history, people, commerce, industries, and resources, with which is incorporated an abridged edition of Twentieth century impressions of British Malaya|last=Wright|first=Arnold|publisher=Lloyd's Greater Britain Pub. Co|year=1908|location=London|pages=202}}</ref> to run the line. The opening of the railway on 11 April 1893 was attended by [[Chulalongkorn|King Rama V]] who had in fact invested half of the 400,000 Baht funding required for construction of the line<ref name="Trams Buses Rail" />{{RP|35}}.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/singfreepressb18930418-1.2.17.aspx|title=Newspaper Article - OPENING OF THE PAKNAM RAILWAY.|website=eresources.nlb.gov.sg|access-date=2016-08-31}}</ref>

Initially, there were four steam locomotives constructed by [[Maffei (company)|Krauss & Co]]. of Munich,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thai-blogs.com/2008/04/10/quest-for-the-paknam-steam-train/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110101160418/http://www.thai-blogs.com/2008/04/10/quest-for-the-paknam-steam-train/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=January 1, 2011|title=Quest for the Paknam Steam Train|last=Barrow|first=Richard|website=Thai Blogs|access-date=2016-08-31}}</ref> and four trains ran in each direction daily. There were twelve stations in all, with trains taking one hour to travel over the line.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://paknam.com/paknam-railway/|title=Paknam Railway – Samut Prakan สถานที่ท่องเที่ยวจังหวัดสมุทรปราการ|website=paknam.com|access-date=2016-09-02}}</ref> The line was initially a financial success. A [[Tram|motor-tramway]] service was introduced in 1908 and the line was electrified in 1926. After the end of the concession period, the line was purchased outright by the government in 1936 but there was little further investment in the line. By this time competition from buses running between Bangkok and Paknam was already impacting the railway's finances. During World War II the railway enjoyed a resurgence due to the impact of fuel shortages on the bus companies. Services were temporarily suspended in 1942 due to record flooding in Bangkok but services were restored soon after with twelve trips daily.<ref name="Trams Buses Rail" />{{RP|101-103}}.

After the end of World War II, competition with buses and private cars again increased and by the 1950s the railway was operating at a loss. Several plans for modernisation were proposed but none were realised. In the end the Paknam Railway was closed at the end of 1959 to allow for the construction of [[Rama IV Road]].<ref name="Trams Buses Rail" />{{RP|147-148}}.

==See also== * [[History of rail transport in Thailand]] * [[Rail transport in Thailand]]

==References== {{Reflist}}

[[Category:Closed railway lines in Thailand]] [[Category:Rail transport in Thailand]] [[Category:Rail transport in Bangkok]] [[Category:Tram transport in Thailand]]