A LONG-AWAITED OPENING

The Samrong-Samut Prakan rail extension will soon begin operation. With the elevated trains, several attractions will be easy to reach

The Green Line rail extension (SamrongSamut Prakan) will be operational on Dec 6. That’s next Thursday. The new section of the elevated railway, which connects with the east end of the Sukhumvit Line of the BTS marks the return of trains to Samut Prakan, also known as Pak Nam, which 125 years ago during the reign of King Rama V boasted Siam’s first railway. The Pak Nam rail route connected the coastal city at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River with Hua Lamphong in Bangkok. It stopped operation in 1960, giving way to road transportation that became more popular.

Over the past decades, however, Sukhumvit and other roads in Samut Prakan city and other parts of the province have been notorious for heavy traffic. So despite its proximity to Bangkok, Samut Prakan’s attractions are usually never top choices for holidaymakers. But the return of the trains — 58 years since its absence from Pak Nam and this time in the form of a much faster modern elevated train system — may be a game changer.

The new Green Line extension will have nine stations. The first five are located between the existing Bearing station and Samut Prakan downtown. They are namely, Samrong, Pu Chao Saming Phrai, Erawan Museum, Rongrian Nai Rua (Royal Thai Navy Academy) and Samut Prakan.

The other four follow the new rails, which continue eastward along Sukhumvit Road beyond Samut Prakan city. Like the others, each station is named after its location. They are Si Nakharin, Phraek Kasa, Sai Luat and Kheha Samut Prakan stations. In the future, the line may be extended. For now, this is already a dream come true for many people.

The good news does not end here. This new railway section will welcome the public to use it free of charge, every day from 6am until midnight, until its official opening in April next year.

A variety of antiques are displayed at the Naval Museum, from the remains of one of the country’s first submarines and torpedoes to diving gear, maritime tools and many more. The submarine, which seems to emerge from the ground in front of the museum, was one of the four the Kingdom ordered from Japan. They arrived in Siam in 1938, a year before the country was renamed as Thailand. During the 1940-1941 military conflict between Thailand and France over parts of Indochina, which were formerly under Thai rule, the submarines were sent on patrol near Ream Naval Base of French Indochina.On the ground floor of the back building, you will find the lamp of Siam’s first lighthouse, which was built near the mouth of the Chao Phraya River in 1871 under the order of Somdet Chao Phraya Borom MahaSri Suriwongse (Chuang Bunnag) who acted as the regent during the early years of King Rama V’s reign. Imported from England, the lamp designed to magnify the light so that seafarers could spot it from afar.

was