From family travellers to big tourist groups to solo backpackers, Thailand is one of the most travelled country in the world. Being a such touristy country, Thailand has one of the best public transport system in Asia. In this blog we’re going to talk about Thailand train booking and overall train travel in Thailand.
Index
How to book Thai train tickets
Thai train ticket change and refund policy
Train Travel in Thailand
There are five different train lines in Thailand, namely Northern line, Northeastern line, Eastern line, Southern line and Kanchanaburi Line. All trains depart from Bangkok, which has three major terminal stations, namely Hua Lamphong, Krung Thep Aphiwat and Thonburi station.
Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal station
Krung Thep Aphiwat is the main terminal station in Bangkok. All long distance trains along Northern, Southern and Northeastern line depart from this station.
Thonburi Station
Thonburi station is located on the other side Chao Phraya river in Bangkok. Only trains along Kanchanaburi line depart from this station.
Hua Lamphong station
Hua Lamphong is the old main terminal station in Bangkok. Only excursion trains, commuter trains and trains along Eastern line depart from this station.
Popular train routes in Thailand
Bangkok to Nong Khai
Bangkok to Surat Thani
Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani
Bangkok to Padang Besar (Malayasia)
Bangkok to Sungai Kolok
Bangkok to Trang
Bangkok to Hat Yai Junction
Love travelling through Thailand? Take a look at this travel guides
How to book train tickets in Thailand
Tickets for all long distance trains in Thailand can be bought 30 days (90 days for special and special express) before scheduled train. Travellers can buy tickets through many different ways, however it is recommended buy train tickets directly at the station or through official Thai train booking website, dTicket.
Offline tickets can be bought at any major station in Thailand, there is no need to buy tickets at source or destination station to get tickets.
You can also book tickets through SRT (State Railway of Thailand) hotline number by calling them to book tickets and pay at the ticket counter. SRT hotline number is 1690.
Other than this methods, you can also book tickets through third party vendors like 12go Asia and Baolau.
Note : Commuter and Excursion train tickets cannot be bought via third party vendors. For commuter trains, you can only buy tickets at train station and for excursion trains you can only buy on official website and at the train station.
Thailand train booking online
- Go to official Thai train booking website and create an account or login to your existing account.
- Select source, destination, your travel dates and number of passengers in respective fields.
- After that, click on search button and different trains will be listed.
- Select your preferred train.
- Select your preferred coach type i.e. seating, sleeper, fan, air conditioner, etc.
- Input passenger details correctly and click on next.
- They will automatically select a seat for you. You can edit and select your preferred seat and click on next.
- Your passenger and booking details will be displayed. Recheck everything and proceed to payment.
- Select your payment method and complete your payment.
- Finally, A mail-on confirmation will be forwarded to the passenger with the train ticket.
Thai Train Ticket Change and Refund Policy
As of February 2024, train tickets in Thailand can be changed online or at the train station you bought your ticket at least one day before departure time. The change fee will depend on time when you change the tickets.
- If you change ticket more than 1 day before the date of departure, then you will have to pay 50% of fare price.
- If you change ticket more than 2 day before the date of departure, then you will have to pay 30% of fare price.
- If you change ticket more than 3 day before the date of departure, then you will have to pay 20% of fare price.
- If you change online, there will additional charge of 40 THB for 1st class, 30 THB for 2nd class and 20 THB for 3rd class.
If you want to change your train class, you can also do that with same fee plus fare difference.
If you wish to cancel your tickets, you are entitled to a refund on the tickets but you need to cancel on time. You can cancel either online or offline at the train station. If you paid with cash at train station then you get your money back straight away minus the fee and if you booked online, you’ll get your money back in your credit/debit card. The refund amount will depend on time when you cancel the tickets.
- If you cancel more than 3 hours before the date of departure, then you will get 30% of fare back.
- If you cancel less than three hours before departure, you won’t be eligible for refund.
- If you cancel online, there will additional charge of 40 THB for 1st class, 30 THB for 2nd class and 20 THB for 3rd class.
Important Reminder
We try to write our posts with best of our knowledge and try to keep them updated as frequently as we can, but we cannot guarantee information published is correct or updated all the time. So, we encourage everyone reading this to crosscheck with official websites before taking any action.
I hope this information helps you in booking train tickets in Thailand. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below. Happy travels!
