In shortThe Maeklong railway market trades every day from 07:00 to 16:00, with stalls and awnings set inside the railway alignment itself. The tracks only clear for trains on the Ban Laem to Mae Klong section, four a day arriving at roughly 08:30, 11:10, 14:30 and 17:40, when vendors fold canopies back and lift trays. Allow about 1.5 hours.
07:00 to 16:00Open every day
4 trains a dayBan Laem to Mae Klong
1.5 hoursTime to allow here
7.2 kmOnward to Amphawa
Maeklong railway market opening hours and the four train arrivals
Trading here runs 07:00 to 16:00, seven days a week, so there is no closed day to work around when you pick your date. Selling goes on right through those hours, so there is no wrong time to walk in, but the moment people travel for happens only four times, because the Ban Laem to Mae Klong section carries just four services a day. Scheduled arrivals at the Mae Klong end fall at roughly 08:30, 11:10, 14:30 and 17:40, and a clearance happens at each of those and at no other point in the day.
Treat the times as a plan to be confirmed on arrival. The arrival times quoted here come from third parties rather than a railway timetable page, so check them with the stall holders or at the station when you get in, and build in a margin rather than turning up at the minute. If you want the arrivals set out next to the rest of the day's timings, the train times page on this site covers them.
| Arrival at Mae Klong | How it fits a day out |
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| Roughly 08:30 | The first clearance of the day, and too early to reach from Bangkok on a normal morning start. |
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| Roughly 11:10 | The one that follows a Damnoen Saduak morning, 20 to 30 minutes away by road. |
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| Roughly 14:30 | Leaves you close to Amphawa, about 7.2 km on, which opens at 2 pm Friday to Sunday on its own site. |
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| Roughly 17:40 | Lands after the posted 16:00 closing time, so do not build a day around it. |
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Why it is called the umbrella pulldown market
The stalls stand inside the railway, not alongside it. Trays of goods sit on low frames pushed up to the sleepers, the aisle you walk down is the track itself, and the shade comes from cloth and canvas awnings cantilevered out over the rails on frames that slide or fold back towards the shopfronts. Between trains the only hint of what the ground is doing is the two steel lines under your feet.
Before an arrival the vendors start moving while most visitors are still looking the wrong way. Canopies are pulled back along their frames, the outermost trays are lifted clear or drawn in by hand, and a gap opens along the alignment that looks far too narrow until the train is actually in it. The locomotive comes through at walking pace, passes within touching distance of the stall fronts, and the whole arrangement goes back out over the rails within a minute or two of the last carriage clearing. That folding and reopening is where the name umbrella pulldown market comes from.
Train market and canal in one 8.5-hour day
This is the tour that includes a train ticket alongside the boat ride, so the railway market and the floating market are both timed for you from an 8.5-hour day starting from THB 792.
★ 4.9/5 · 3,750 reviews
What the market is like between trains
Most of your time here is spent in an ordinary provincial market that happens to be built on a railway. Fresh food dominates the track-side trays, with dry goods, snacks and souvenir stalls filling the covered aisles that run back from the alignment. Samut Songkhram's canal communities are known for coconut sugar, dried fruit and snacks, along with handmade soaps, woven bags, herbal products and wooden crafts, and those are the things worth carrying out with you rather than the trinkets aimed at coach parties.
About 1.5 hours is the right allowance, and it is the figure that workable day plans use. That gives you the walk end to end, something to eat, and a clearance to watch without standing in one spot for an hour. If your arrival and the train do not line up, do the market first and take up a position ten minutes before the time you were given.
Where to stand and how to photograph beside the rails
Stand where the vendors stand. Once the awnings come back, the stall fronts and shop doorways form a clear line along both sides of the alignment, and anyone inside that line is in the space the train needs. Pick your spot early, from behind the trays rather than between them, and look along the track rather than across it if you want the canopies folding in the frame.
- Keep both feet off the rails and the ballast once the warning goes round, and stay off them until the vendors step back out.
- Do not walk backwards while looking through a viewfinder or a phone screen; set your position first, then shoot.
- Hold cameras, selfie sticks and bags in tight against your body, not out over the track where the carriages pass.
- Leave tripods in the bag; there is no room for legs in the alignment and they block the awning frames.
- Give vendors clear access to their canopies and trays, and move the moment one of them signals.
- Skip the flash, and buy something from the stall whose doorway you are using.
Pairing it with a Damnoen Saduak morning or an Amphawa afternoon
Any day of the week, the straightforward pairing is Damnoen Saduak followed by the railway market. The canal needs about two hours from 07:30 while it is still trading properly, the drive between the two runs 20 to 30 minutes, and arriving here around 10:00 gives you 1.5 hours before the 11:10 clearance and a return to Bangkok early in the afternoon.
Friday to Sunday the better shape runs the other way round. Allow about 1.5 hours here, give Wat Bang Kung an hour, then move on to Amphawa, which the official site lists as Friday to Sunday, 2 pm to 9 pm, and closed Monday to Thursday. Amphawa to the railway market is about 7.2 km, roughly 7 minutes by taxi or 15 to 17 minutes by songthaew with departures every half hour, and Wat Bang Kung is about 6.6 km from Amphawa, open daily 08:00 to 16:30. Add about 1.5 hours for a firefly boat in the rainy months and the day finishes after dark.
Monday to Thursday that second plan is not available, because Amphawa is shut. On those days the Maeklong railway market and Damnoen Saduak are the two markets in this corner of the region still trading, which is exactly what the combined market tours on this site are built around.
Of those, check which ones include the train ticket. Bangkok: Floating Market and Train Market Experience bundles one into an 8.5-hour day from THB 792, rated 4.9 ★ (3750 reviews), alongside the boat ride, air-conditioned transport, accident insurance and a fully licensed English-speaking guide. Lunch sits outside the price, and the audio guide plays through your own phone, so pack headphones. The 9-hour Day Trip to Bangkok Floating Market & Maeklong Railway adds half an hour to the day, from THB 850 and rated 4.9 ★ (1703 reviews), stating 30 to 40 minutes in a boat at the floating market, admission to attractions, and a guide who can work in Chinese or English. If you would rather reach the track later and end the day at Amphawa, Bangkok: Amphawa Float Market & Maeklong Railway Evening Tour covers 8.5 hours from THB 1420, rated 4.5 ★ (88 reviews), and offers hotel pickup and drop-off when that option is selected.
Questions people ask
What happens if I arrive between trains?
You get a working market with awnings out over the rails and nothing to watch for a while. The gaps between arrivals run into hours, so check the next time as soon as you arrive and spend the wait eating and walking the covered aisles. If the next clearance is more than an hour off and you have a floating market to reach, go and come back to the track another day rather than standing around.
Is the market open on a Monday or a Tuesday?
Yes. It trades every day from 07:00 to 16:00, which makes it one of the few options in this part of the region on a weekday. Amphawa is closed Monday to Thursday according to its own site, so a midweek day out here normally pairs the railway market with Damnoen Saduak, which also trades daily.
Can I ride the train as well as see the market?
The Ban Laem to Mae Klong section carries four services a day, and one of the tours on this site includes a train ticket along with the boat ride at the floating market. The current railway timetable was not available to check for this page, so the arrival times given here are third-party figures and should be confirmed locally on the day.
Does the last train of the day still clear the market?
The posted closing time is 16:00 and the final arrival at Mae Klong is around 17:40, so that train comes in after the market's stated hours. Plan for the 11:10 or the 14:30 instead. The 14:30 also leaves you time to move on to Amphawa, which is only about 7.2 km away.
Can I combine the railway market with Taling Chan or Khlong Lat Mayom?
Not sensibly. Taling Chan and Khlong Lat Mayom sit inside Bangkok, about 14 km and about 15 minutes from Bang Wa BTS respectively, and they open at weekends only. The railway market belongs to the Samut Songkhram side of the day, where its natural partners are Amphawa, about 7 minutes away by taxi, and Damnoen Saduak, 20 to 30 minutes by road.
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