An Outdoor Market in Thailand That Shuts Down Eight Times a Day to Let a Train Run Right Through It
by Lori Dorn from Laughing Squid on (#3A2WR)
Great Big Story visited the Maeklong Railway Market in Samut Songkhram, Thailand to learn more about its rather unusual arrangement. Because the market occupies space on both sides of a railroad track, each vendor must close shop in order to let the train pass eight times per day. While one might wonder why a market would exist in the path of a commuter train, as it turns out, the market was occupied the space long before the train ever existed.
In 1905, the Maeklong Railway built a commuter train line through the center of the popular market. But rather than move, the vendors adapted to the new conditions, working around the train that passes through eight times a day, seven days a week.