Living with a Ghost Railway:
A Case of Hua Pom Commmunity

Railways in Thailand runs in a north-south axis like a long mountain range strategically placing Chiangmai at the northern end, Bangkok in the center, and the gulf of Thailand at the southern end. The State Railway of Thailand owns land on both sides of its tracks. It had, in the past, been leasing out this land to private developers as well as state agencies. However, there are building setback lines near the tracks that must be respected. Any strip of land beyond the setback lines cannot be leased out. And this is where the complexity lies.

In Thailand, these small strips of land along both sides of the tracks – usually 20 to 40 meters wide – were taken by the urban poor who needed a place to live. They built their dwellings out of corrugated metal and recycled wood scraps found along the train tracks. These communities of squatters usually settled near the train station because it is the nearest point of entry to the city where they work.

In the southern province of Songkla, there are also a number of squatter communities along the tracks; but there is something mysterious here: there is no more train and the tracks have been abandoned for over 30 years. The Hau Pom community is one such community that have lived on this phantom railway for over a generation. Legend has it that people could still hear the phantom whistle of the long gone war train; they could still see the dark shadow of the steam locomotive in the moonlight. People lived in constant fear of the phantom railway. As often the case with most folklores and legends - they tend to reflect the actual conditions of life here in the community.

Ever since the railway had been discontinued in 1977, the people in the community felt that the long vacant strip of land could be put to some use. So over the past 30 years, many houses have sprung up along this ghost railway; some houses are quite well built; equipped with air-conditioning, large screen TVs, and Karaoke machines. There are now over 110 families living here. Most of the pioneers were fishermen who were sailing the gulf of Thailand in small boats; taking advantage of the abundance of marine life here. They were freedom loving people who had enjoyed a good life and they felt that their children too could do the same.

The State Railway didn't see it that way however. It advised that people should strictly stay clear of the tracks because in the event of national emergency, the tracks would need to be uncovered. In 1994, bulldozers were sent to demolish entire communities. Helicopters were used to distribute propaganda leaflets calling for the ‘eviction of the city’s undesirable elements.’ Curiously, however, the State Railway seems to be less stringent when it comes to developers (who managed to build tourist resorts over the tracks without much trouble).

The 1994 incident galvanized the entire community of squatters. They started to form working groups with the purpose of negotiating with the State Railway. Some NGOs –such as the 4 provinces and the Southern Slums Network – helped them get through with community organizing efforts. The squatters also formed a financial-cooperative so as to be able to pay their individual member to attend hearing sessions. Progressive local newspapers joined their cause by running editorials in support of the community.

There are now over 61 communities of railway squatters that have fought and won their rights to lease the land from the State Railway. CODI was instrumental – along with the indispensible efforts of the NGOs – in helping these squatters negotiate and secured the land lease. In most cases, if the people were willing to compromise and move some houses out of the 30 meters setback line (from the middle of the tracks), they could get a renewable 30 year lease contract with the State Railway. If the houses were within 15 meters from the mid-point of the track, then they get only 3 years lease. Many communities opted for a more secured future, and formed housing cooperatives. The cooperative then held meetings over how to re-work the layout plan of the community so as to comply with the State Railway’s 30 meters setback line.

The Hau Pom community – working with CODI’s architects – changed the layout of the settlement in a fundamental way. More alleyways were drafted into the plan to give people more access to the densely built housing – many of which were built with entrances through an adjacent building. The new alleyways now give each family a ‘street front’ so that the family could open a small retail shop if they wanted to. We can now see children playing in the new alleyways; getting to know each other; strengthening the bond between people in the community.

The initial process of planning was not without social bickering and back-stabbing gossips. People with larger houses were understandably concerned that the alleyways would ‘carve’ out parts of their houses, while people with smaller houses wanted more public spaces. In the end, some form of compromise was set, and a few stubborn men were allowed to keep their old houses as is. Overall, the process planted the tradition of participatory discourse within the community. This tradition will remain a useful instrument of resolving conflicts in the years to come.

Each member of the cooperative is now paying on the average of 100 baht ($30) per month in rent. If you have more space then you’d pay more. The rent from each household is collected by the housing cooperative and it is paid to the State Railway each month. The land lease for the entire community belongs to the housing cooperative – not the individual members. After they got their land lease and legal street addresses, electricity and water services became available. There used to be one electric meter for every 20 households, now there is one meter for each household. During the entire process of reconstruction, the local building department had been very helpful in advising the community on codes and safety issues.

Unlike Hernando De Sotto’s land tenure experiments in Latin America, CODI tries not to give land rights to the individual. And like the Grameen Bank in Bangaladesh, it tries to give it to the cooperative instead. In this way, the individual cannot simply sell off his rights to corporations; resulting in some sort of ‘soft’ eviction.

The 1994 incident at Hau Pom – the same year that the Zapatistas had organized against NAFTA - tells people that without collective unity, the individual is helpless in the face of corporate globalization. And without networking, there will be no globalization for the masses. Until then, the distillation of fear into phantom folklores will continue.

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* In addition to providing free architectural and land negotiation services, CODI also gave Hua Pom community 2.75 milliion bahts in subsidy to improve public sanitation along with a 2% interest loan for housing renovation.