Hat Yai Junction is an international railway junction and a Class 1 railway station for the State Railway of Thailand in the center of Hat Yai City, Songkhla Province, Thailand. The station is located from Bangkok's Thon Buri railway station and serves as a junction for the mainline Southern Line towards Pattani, Yala and Sungai Kolok (border point with Malaysia at Rantau Panjang) and Padang Besar, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore Line (border point with Malaysia at Padang Besar). The station yard is the location of a large locomotive depot: Hat Yai Depot, the southernmost railway depot in Thailand.
Hat Yai Junction encouraged Hat Yai's economic boom and growth, making the city larger than the province's capital Songkhla.
History
The original station was known as U-Taphao Junction and was located to the north of the current station. The U-Taphao station also served as a junction for the Hat Yai–Songkhla Line. However, the junction often got hit by floods and was moved to the present location at Hat Yai Junction. U-Tapao was reduced to a halt and eventually closed. In 1978, the line from Hat Yai to Songkhla City closed down, leaving the junction to be only for the mainline to Sungai-Kolok and the branch to Butterworth.
Since the start of 2013, there have been plans to rebuild the line back to Songkhla City.
Services
There are 24 trains serving Hat Yai Junction daily, 12 each way. All types of trains must stop at this station. The trains are of the following:
Thaksinarat Express 31/32 Krung Thep Aphiwat – Hat Yai Junction – Krung Thep Aphiwat Thaksin Express 37/38 Krung Thep Aphiwat – Sungai Kolok – Krung Thep Aphiwat International Express 45/46 Krung Thep Aphiwat – Padang Besar – Krung Thep Aphiwat Special Express 41/42 Krung Thep Aphiwat – Yala – Krung Thep Aphiwat (suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic) Rapid 169/170 Krung Thep Aphiwat – Yala – Krung Thep Aphiwat Rapid 171/172 Krung Thep Aphiwat – Sungai Kolok – Krung Thep Aphiwat Rapid 175/176 Hat Yai – Sungai Kolok – Hat Yai Local 445/446 Chumphon – Hat Yai – Chumphon Local 447/448 Surat Thani – Sungai Kolok – Surat Thani Local 451/452 Nakhon Sri Thammarat – Sungai Kolok – Nakhon Sri Thammarat Local 455/456 Nakhon Sri Thammarat – Yala – Nakhon Sri Thammarat Local 463/464 Phatthalung – Sungai Kolok – Phathalung Eastern and Oriental Express 974/975 Bangkok – Singapore – Bangkok Special Cross-Border Service 947/948, 949/950 Hat Yai Junction – Padang Besar – Hat Yai Junction KTM Intercity Ekspres Sawadee 991/992 KL Sentral – Hat Yai Junction – KL Sentral (seasonal only)
The station also previously served the following routes: Local ??? Hat Yai Junction – Songkhla (ceased 1978) Local ??? Songkhla – Hat Yai Junction (ceased 1978) International Express 35 Bangkok – Butterworth (ceased 2016) International Express 36 Butterworth – Bangkok (ceased 2016)
Terrorist attacks
Hat Yai Junction has been a target of the "Land Separation Movement" (South Thailand insurgency).
29 June 1977 - Bomb, 14 injured
7 August 1977 - Bomb on Hat Yai–Bangkok Train
1989 - 2 Bombs, 7 dead
7 May 2001 - Bomb, 4 dead including a 5-year-old boy.
Pop culture
Hat Yai Junction railway station is the setting of at least 2 Thai pops, including (; RTGS: sanya jai) 'Love Promise') by Narathip Kanchanawat of Chatree band, it has been popular since 1980, with new recordings by many performers, and Thai protest song (phleng phuea chiwit), titled (; RTGS: kam sanya thi hat yai) 'Promise at Hat Yai') by Jew Khonkhianphleng in 1994.