I did the Bangkok to Chang Mai journey a couple of years ago, and it’s one that I wouldn’t want to repeat unless there was absolutely no alternative means of transport.

Firstly it’s a 12 hour journey, mostly through the night so you’re not going to see very much of the passing country. The train/carriages were well passed their sell by date and the tracks are not well maintained. As a result, even in the 1st class sleeper compartment, it’s a very tossed around uncomfortable journey. Added to which the onboard facilities were fairly basic.

During the trip I had a quick look into the 2nd class compartments and frankly I think you would need a holiday to recover after the trip.

The up side (if there was one) is that the fare was cheap.

I’m given to understand that State Railway of Thailand has recently taken delivery of a number of new trains and carriages which they are supposedly putting into service on the Bangkok to Chang Mai route. They did a publicity event a couple of months ago to show off the new stock which should now be in service. They also claimed that seats on the new trains can be booked online.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/...mai-next-month

From the pictures shown in the Bangkok Post the new trains look decent with modern facilities. However, I'm not sure what the ride will be like on the old tracks.

IMO I would opt for a 1 hour flight.