Nong Khai is the terminus of the Northeastern railway line from Bangkok via Khon Kaen and Udon Thani. The trip takes 10-12 hours and a first class sleeper ticket from Bangkok to Nong Khai or vice versa is currently about 1200 baht, and a second class sleeper ticket (not bad for the price) is 748 baht ($21.43 USD as of Jan 2009). Sleepers often sell out at peak times so you may need to book in advance.
Effective March 5th, 2009, shuttle services operate from Nong Khai to Tha Nalaeng, Laos (near Vientiane) twice a day, with departures from Nong Khai at 10 AM and 4:20 PM and trains back at 11 AM and 5:05 PM.
These are actually operated by the long-distance trains coming in from Bangkok, but you can only buy tickets at Nong Khai station, and you need to pass through immigration as well. (If coming in on train #69 from Bangkok, there's a 90-minute window to do this.) Once the formalities are done, the trip itself across the Friendship Bridge only takes 15 minutes. Visa on arrival is not yet available, so you need an advance visa to use this service.
Article from Wikitravel
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