Trains in Thailand – everything travelers need to know

General info about trains in Thailand

Trains in Thailand are a great way to travel, especially for budget travelers. Their downside compared to planes is obviously speed, but they are much cheaper. Compared to intercity buses in Thailand, trains are more comfortable (easier to sleep on long-distance trips) and safer (bus companies often neglect safety in pursuit of profit).

As for cost, it varies greatly depending on the train class and even the specific type of carriage, as well as the distance: if you travel long distances by train in sleeper class, it will be slightly more expensive than a bus; if you compare with second or third class bus seats, trains are mostly much cheaper than buses. Trains are also generally slower than buses.

Routes and schedules

The route network allows you to visit almost all the most interesting tourist destinations in the country, and combined with buses, you can get almost anywhere, even to neighboring countries. Conveniently, at ticket offices you can buy Joint Tickets to places where trains don't go. For example, you can buy a ticket from Bangkok to Koh Samui that includes the train, transfer from the station to the pier, and ferry delivery.

Where to find train schedules

You can get information on all routes, schedules and prices on the official Thai railway website https://www.railway.co.th/. The price shown on this site will match the ticket price when buying at station ticket offices, but when buying tickets online, a fee will be added.

However, don't be surprised if this site opens once in ten tries. If it won't open, you'll need to use tools that simulate a Thai IP address. You can also try opening not the main page but this one – https://www.dticket.railway.co.th/, sometimes that helps, but you won't find suburban train schedules there, only long-distance trains available for online booking.

Another option for schedules is a site for tracking current train movements and schedules by station and train – essentially real-time tracking – https://ttsview.railway.co.th/v3/. You can find schedules by station and train number there.

If you still can't access the sites, you can use the commercial site 12go.asia for schedules and also buy tickets there (Russian cards don't work).

Here's a railway map to help you plan your train journey through Thailand:

Thailand railway map

Thailand railway map on a separate page

Bangkok is the country's main railway hub. Most trains to the north, south, east, and west of Thailand start here. To get from one part of the country (e.g., the north) to another (e.g., the south), you'll have to go through Bangkok, transferring from one train to another.

Bangkok has as many as 5 stations:

• Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal or Bang Sue (this is the new main national station)
• Hualamphong Train Station (this is the former main station)
• Thonburi Train Station (also known as Bangkok Noi – a small station with trains only to Kanchanaburi province and the River Kwai)
• Don Muang Rail Station (an intermediate station next to Don Mueang Airport, convenient for leaving this airport directly on certain routes)
• Wongwian Yai Railway Station (this station is the starting point of a separate railway line to Maha Chai village and the famous railway market)

More details about all Bangkok stations.

Popular train routes in Thailand

The most popular tourist train routes in Thailand are:

• Bangkok-Ayutthaya
• Bangkok-Chiang Mai
• Bangkok-Surat Thani (southern direction, to reach Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Koh Tao, Phuket, Krabi)
• Bangkok-Aranyaprathet (eastern direction, to reach Siem Reap in Cambodia)
• Bangkok-Pattaya
• Bangkok-Kanchanaburi
• Bangkok-Nong Khai (to reach Vientiane in Laos)
• Bangkok-Malaysia-Singapore (Langkawi, Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka, Singapore)

For more details on how to get to a specific place in Thailand by train, read the relevant sections:

• How to get to Ayutthaya
• How to get to Chiang Mai
• How to get to Chiang Rai
• How to get to Pattaya
• How to get to Phuket
• How to get to Koh Samui

Train carriage classes in Thailand

The comfort level of train carriages is in no way inferior to Russian trains, and sometimes even surpasses them, but this only applies to the most expensive tickets on long-distance routes. You have three classes to choose from, which are further divided into seating and sleeping, air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned. But this doesn't mean that every Thai train has all these classes – it varies by route and train number. Every long-distance train has a dining car.

Trains in Thailand include:

• 3rd class. These are only seating carriages, reminiscent of our commuter trains. Mostly non-air-conditioned carriages with wooden or leather benches, with fans on the ceiling. Not suitable for long trips, but for short trips, nothing beats them given the price. Tickets on these trains are very cheap: for example, 15 baht from Bangkok to Ayutthaya, and 31 baht to Pattaya.



• 2nd class seats. As the name suggests, this is a seating class. Mostly air-conditioned, but occasionally (rarely) you might find non-air-conditioned ones. An excellent option for daytime travel, but if you're keen on saving money, you can also travel at night. Seats recline and you can sleep quite comfortably, like on a plane. Just remember to dress warmly, otherwise you'll get very cold: the air conditioning runs ruthlessly.

  Among the 2nd class seating, there are DRC or PDR carriages. These are like a higher comfort 2nd class, where the seat backs recline further.

  You'll have to pay about twice as much for 2nd class seating than for 3rd class.



• 2nd class sleeper. This class is like a Russian platzkart carriage. An excellent option to get some sleep during a long or overnight journey without paying almost double for the more expensive 1st class. 2nd class in Thailand comes in two types: similar to ours with compartment-like sections but without doors, and simply with beds along the aisle without compartment divisions. What's very convenient is that each berth can be closed off from the rest of the carriage with a thick curtain.

  Among 2nd class sleepers, you'll find non-air-conditioned carriages, which are much cheaper and therefore sell out faster. A non-air-conditioned 2nd class can be a great option for overnight travel (it won't be too hot).

• 1st class. This class costs almost as much as a budget airline flight, but it's fully worth the price. Travel is in a two-person compartment that even has a sink where you can wash up and wash your hands. Toilets are shared at the ends of the carriage, but unlike Russian trains, they're clean, and there's even a shower, though with cold water.

Where and how to buy train tickets in Thailand

A paper train ticket in Thailand looks roughly like this:

All information on the ticket is duplicated in English and is quite clear.

The Thai train ticket sales system allows you to buy tickets online from home, directly at the station, as well as at ticket offices and travel agencies in Thai cities.

Tickets can be purchased just before departure, but you can also buy them up to 30 days in advance. Whether to buy tickets in advance is up to you, but we still recommend taking care of ticket purchases in advance, especially for long distances and higher class carriages. There's no need to buy tickets for 3rd or 2nd class seating in advance – they're always available before departure.

• Buying tickets online

  You can buy tickets online on the official Thai railway website – https://www.dticket.railway.co.th/DTicketPublicWeb/home/Home. English is available, and the site opens from Russia without bypass tools. But it works very slowly, and has for several years now. We ourselves have tried to buy tickets on it many times, but never succeeded due to the site's "sluggishness," and now with Russian cards being blocked, it's completely impossible.

  However, there's a simple working alternative that we use – the site 12go.asia. It even allows you to buy tickets more than a month before departure, which you can't do on the official site. You can pay with PayPal, foreign cards, and there are other payment methods through wallets or cash at payment points, but that's only while in Thailand. Mir cards and Russian UnionPay cards are not accepted by 12go.

  🔍 Set your search criteria

  💲 Pay for your ticket online

  ✉ Get your itinerary receipt by email

  🚌 Arrive at the point of departure

• Buying at the station

  You can buy tickets at the station just before departure, as well as up to 30 days in advance. Buying tickets at the station has no fees.

  To buy tickets for long-distance trains with seat assignment for any class, even third class seating, you need to show your passport. The ticket is personal, with your name written on it.

  There's no need to buy 2nd and 3rd class seating tickets in advance – they're always available. For sleeper class, it's worth buying tickets in advance, especially during holidays (New Year's Eve and the Thai New Year Songkran, see holidays in Thailand)