Thailand, Malaysia launch transnational train service

BANGKOK, December 21 (TNA) - Thailand has launched the Hat Yai-Padang Besar railway service to connect with Malaysia's express trains. Wuthichart Kalyanamitra, Governor of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), and his Malaysian counterpart Sarbini Tijan jointly presided over a ceremony to launch the new cross-border train service at the Hat Yai railway junction in Songkhla Province in the Thai Far South on Monday morning. The inaugural air-conditioned train ran from Hat Yai to Padang Besar border town to connect with Malaysia's express train services from Padang Besar to Butterworth town in Penang State, Ipoh town of Perak State and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital. The new transnational train service is a major development step to support the ASEAN Community (AC), scheduled to be formed by the end of this year, and facilitates the transport of cargoes, travelers and workers between both neighboring countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Initially, four trips are operated on the route daily and the fare is 80 baht all the way, including the Hat Yai-Padang Besar morning trip that departs at 7:30am and reaches the destination at 8:25am. The new service connects to six trains from Padang Besar to the other destinations, while passengers can undergo immigration procedures at the Padang Besar 1 station in Malaysia. (TNA)