Rama II Road is the province's spine
Highway 35, Rama II Road, is named for the king who was born in this province and it is the route that defines it. It begins on the Thonburi side of Bangkok, runs south past Samut Sakhon and through Samut Songkhram, and continues toward Phetchaburi and the south — the parallel southern trunk to Phetkasem Road. The province is 63 kilometres from Bangkok along it on the provincial sources; a teacher-written expat guide maintained by residents gives about 70 kilometres and anything from an hour to an hour and a half in rush-hour traffic. Both figures are printed here because both come from sources we opened and neither is obviously wrong. The Amphawa floating market is reached from the same road. Public services on it are vans to Mae Klong and buses toward Damnoen Saduak, running from Victory Monument and the Southern Bus Terminal in Bangkok.
The Maeklong Railway, and the river it never crossed
Maeklong railway station stands in tambon Mae Klong on the east bank of the river, a class 1 station and the main station of the province, opened on 10 June 1905 in the reign of King Chulalongkorn. Immediately east of it is the Maeklong Railway Market — Talat Rom Hup, the umbrella-pulldown market — one of the largest fresh seafood markets in Thailand, laid out directly on the track, with the awnings and produce hauled clear every time a train comes and replaced the moment it has passed.
The line itself is metre gauge and is in two disconnected halves. The eastern Mahachai Line runs from Wongwian Yai in Bangkok to Samut Sakhon with 20 stations; the Ban Laem Line runs from Samut Sakhon to Samut Songkhram with 15. The Tha Chin River at Samut Sakhon separates them, and the only connection between stations on opposite banks is by boat. On the length there is a conflict we print rather than resolve: the line's own encyclopaedia entry describes the whole railway as nearly 65 kilometres while giving its two sections as 33 and 34, which do not add to that figure. Service is asymmetric: seventeen trains a day each way between Wongwian Yai and Mahachai, and four a day between Ban Laem and Maeklong. The whole line averages 30 km/h and has no signals.
The history explains the shape. The Tachin Railway Ltd, founded in 1901 on a crown concession, built the Mahachai Line and opened it in 1904 with eight stations; a year later the Ban Laem Line opened on this side with three steam locomotives — although the station entry credits the Tachin Railway with that section and the line entry credits the Maeklong Railway Company, a conflict we also leave standing. They merged in 1907 as Maeklong Railway Ltd. The government bought the company in 1926 and electrified the eastern section into an interurban tramway worked by electric tramcars from about 1927; the military took control in 1942; the State Railway of Thailand took it over in 1952 and fully absorbed it by 1955, removing the electrification. Steam and then diesel replaced the tramcars from 1959, the original Bangkok terminus at Pak Khlong San closed in 1961 in favour of Wongwian Yai, steam traction survived on this line until 1971, and diesel multiple units have worked it since about 1975.
Inside the province
Songthaews run set routes between the town, the markets and the neighbouring districts, without timetables you would recognise: they leave when they leave and stop when waved down. Motorbike taxis fill the gaps and are the quickest way across town if you are not carrying much. There are no metered taxis and ride-hailing apps are unreliable at best, so life here pushes you toward your own vehicle — and residents living outside the town centre, or working at a school in a rural tambon, universally run a motorbike or a car. The compensation is that this is the smallest province in Thailand: 416.7 square kilometres, three districts, and half an hour covers effectively all of it, including the run to the provincial hospital. Boats are a real form of local transport too, on the Mae Klong and the canals — the Mae Klong ferry pier sits beside Wat Ban Laem, and the firefly and floating-market boats at Amphawa are part of the same waterway network rather than a separate tourist system.
Samut Songkhram transport FAQ
How do I get to Samut Songkhram from Bangkok?
By road, almost certainly. Rama II Road — Highway 35 — starts on the Thonburi side of Bangkok and runs south past Samut Sakhon into Samut Songkhram and on toward Phetchaburi. The provincial sources give the distance as 63 kilometres; a teacher-written expat guide that has been maintained by residents gives about 70 kilometres and anything from an hour to an hour and a half in rush-hour traffic, and we print both rather than pick. Public options are vans to Mae Klong and buses toward the Damnoen Saduak floating market, departing from Victory Monument and the Southern Bus Terminal, and there are likely more departure points now than that guide records. The train is possible and is described below, but it is a day out rather than a transfer.
Why is the railway cut in half?
Because it was built in two pieces by two companies and the Tha Chin River was never bridged. The Tachin Railway Ltd, founded in 1901 under a concession from the Thai crown, built the 33-kilometre Mahachai Line from Bangkok to Samut Sakhon and opened it in 1904 with eight stations. A year later the 34-kilometre Ban Laem Line opened on the far side of the river, running to Mae Klong — Maeklong station's own record dates its opening to 10 June 1905, and note that the two sources disagree about who built it, the station entry crediting the Tachin Railway and the line entry crediting the Maeklong Railway Company. The two firms merged in 1907 as Maeklong Railway Ltd, the government bought the merged company in 1926 and electrified the eastern half as an interurban tramway, the military took control in 1942, and the State Railway of Thailand absorbed it between 1952 and 1955. Nobody ever built the bridge. To this day the only link between the two halves is a passenger boat across the Tha Chin at Samut Sakhon.
Can I commute to Bangkok by train?
No, and it is worth being blunt about it. Four trains a day run between Ban Laem and Maeklong. On the Bangkok half, seventeen run each way between Wongwian Yai and Mahachai — so the constraint is entirely on this side. Between the two you change to a boat across the Tha Chin. The whole line averages 30 kilometres an hour and has no signals at all. As a piece of living railway history it is superb; as a way of getting to an office it is not a serious proposition. If you need Bangkok regularly from Samut Songkhram, you drive Rama II Road or take a van.
How do I get around inside the province?
You drive, or you accept that local transport runs on local logic. Songthaews run set routes between the town, the markets and the neighbouring districts, but not on timetables you would recognise — they leave when they leave and stop when waved down. Motorbike taxis fill most of the gaps and are the fastest way across town. There are no metered taxis, and ride-hailing apps are unreliable at best. Most residents, particularly anyone living outside the town centre or working in a rural tambon, run their own motorbike or car. The saving grace is scale: this is the smallest province in Thailand at 416.7 square kilometres, so a motorbike genuinely covers all of it, and no village is more than about half an hour from the provincial hospital by road.
Is there an airport?
Not in Samut Songkhram. There is no airport in the province and none is needed at this distance: Bangkok's two airports are reachable on the road network, with Suvarnabhumi on the far side of the city and Don Mueang beyond it, so the practical answer for anyone flying regularly is that this is a province you leave by car. If frequent flying is central to your life, that is a real argument against basing yourself here rather than in Bangkok or Samut Prakan — and it is worth weighing before you commit, because Rama II Road is also one of the country's busier freight corridors.
Sources & References
- Maeklong Railway — Wikipedia
- Maeklong railway station — Wikipedia
- Samut Songkhram province — Wikipedia
- Samut Songkhram region guide (teacher-written, updated Jan 2026) — Ajarn.com
- Department of Land Transport, Thailand
- Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT)
- Tourism Authority of Thailand
Train frequencies, distances and market timings change. Confirm with the State Railway of Thailand and local operators before relying on them.
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