State Railway of Thailand (SRT) recently announced it has purchased new train carriages to run on the express line between Bangkok and Chiang Mai. 

 

According to SRT governor Wutthichart Kallayanamitr, B176 billion will be spent on the 115 new cars purchased from CNR (China CNR Corporation Limited). This number includes nine first-class sleeping cars, 88 second-class sleeping cars (nine of which include handicap-friendly sleeping berths, toilets and showers), nine dining cars and nine electric power cars. 

 

Wutthichart said the current carriages are old and in disrepair, meaning lots of people opt for low-cost flights or bus journeys instead. 

 

However, the new carriages won't be available until November at earliest, when the required track upgrades are complete. By the end of 2017, the new express trains will also replace old carriages heading to detinations such as Ubon Ratchathani, Nong Khai and Butterworth in Malaysia, too.

 

Curently train travel in Thailand is perilously slow, but officials are confident the new trains can help cut journeys by up to three hours. Even if that's not the case, here's hoping the ride to Chiang Mai (currently taking at least 12 hours from Bangkok) will at least be a whole lot more enjoyable. 

 

Check out the new carriages below (all images courtesy of SRT):