Booking Train Tickets in Thailand
There are a variety of ways for booking Train Tickets in Thailand.
A few things you should know before reading the rest of this page:
All 2nd class and 1st class travel on Thai trains will need a seat / berth reservation.
These can be either pre-booked or are sold up until departure time, if there are still spaces available.
All 3rd class travel is sold on the day and cannot be pre-booked.
Tickets can be purchased from 30 days, up to 90 days in advance (depending on distance travelled).
Buying Train Tickets at the Station
The most straightforward way to buy your train tickets is directly from a Thai train station.
Nearly all train stations in Thailand that you will encounter on your travels around the country, will be linked up with the computerized Thai booking system, meaning that you can book tickets for any train journey within Thailand, from any station.
The only problem that you will encounter is that during busy times of the year around Songkran (Thai New Year) and during the busy tourist season months of December, January and February, when tickets can be sold out weeks in advance, so if you are not in the country, you may want to pay a little extra and make an advance booking :
Booking Thai Train Tickets Online
Up until the start of 2013 you could book your Thai train tickets online from The State Railways of Thailand online booking website, for just a 20 Baht fee.
This was a nice easy and cheap way of booking train tickets in Thailand from outside the country.
But, for some unknown reason this service has stopped and now the only way you can book online is via ticket agents websites that charge extra fees per ticket.
*** You can now book direct from SRT, as their booking system is up and running again (from 1st of February 2017).
Click here for more information >
Some agents will leave your
ticket for you at your hotel reception desk and some you can pick up from the station. Some can also send your
tickets to your home country, but this is a very expensive option.
If you would like to book your Thai train tickets online you can :
Visit our online Thai train ticket page to check for seat availability and prices here >
Buying Thai Train Tickets by Telephone, Fax or E-mail
You can also make a train reservation or get information by calling the 24 hour Thai Railways Call Centre.
Just dial from anywhere in Thailand 1690.
It is also possible to book your ticket by sending an e-mail to :
passenger-ser@railway.co.th
or by sending a telefax to 02 225 6068 (International code for Thailand: + 0066)
This must be done at least 2 weeks before your expected travelling date and this service is priced 200THB.
In your message you must indicate: the train number, the class, seat or berth (specify upper or lower), the date of travel, the number of people with their names and your contact details.
You will get an e-mail answer explaining you the different steps to follow and giving you a specific time frame to buy your ticket(s).
If you don't buy your ticket(s) within this time frame, your reservation will be cancelled.
Booking Train Tickets in Thailand from Local Travel Agents
All local travel agents within Thailand will be more than happy to book your train tickets for you. Of course you will have to pay a fee for this service (usually 200 Baht upwards), but it will save you the time and effort of travelling out to the station yourselves.
Agents will also be able to book you connecting ferry services out to the Islands like Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Koh Tao etc or connecting bus tickets to places like Phuket and Krabi on the west coast.
These combination train/bus, train/ferry tickets - "combo tickets" are not available at Bangkok's main train station, Hua Lamphong, directly from the State Railway of Thailand.
Of course it is much cheaper to do this all yourself and usually no more hassle. Whenever you arrive at one of the stations where there are island ferry services, like Chumphon and Surat Thani, there will be many people trying to sell you boats tickets as soon as your foot hits the platform.
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