The Department of Rail Transport reported lively usage of the rail system on the last holiday of the 2026 Songkran festival, exceeding 1 million trips. Meanwhile, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) is rapidly arranging extra trains to support people returning to Bangkok until 17 April.
Mr. Pichet Kunathumrak, Director-General of the Department of Rail Transport (DRT), revealed the overall rail travel on 15 April 2026, the last public holiday of Songkran and the sixth day of the Ministry of Transport’s safety and convenience plan. He said travel was very busy, with a total of 1,057,171 rail trips, exceeding estimates by 4.44%. This was due to people traveling across provinces returning to Bangkok to prepare for work and to celebrate the last day of Songkran.
For intercity train travel (SRT), there were 90,125 trips served. The inbound passengers clearly outnumbered outbound, with 51,191 trips arriving in Bangkok and 38,934 trips departing. SRT managed operations fully to prevent passenger backlog by running 208 scheduled trains plus 4 special trains on main routes: Southern, Northeastern, Northern, and Eastern lines.
Within the city’s urban rail systems, total ridership reached 967,046 trips, 6.58% above estimates. Stations were crowded due to two main factors: people using urban trains to return home and those traveling to Songkran water festival events on the final day. The Green Line had the highest ridership at 489,129 trips, followed by the Blue Line with 275,981 trips, and the Airport Rail Link with 54,406 trips.
Regarding safety incidents, there was one reported disruption on the MRT Blue Line at 23:10 on 15 April near Queen Sirikit National Convention Center Station. The operator promptly resolved the issue, and service resumed normally soon after.
Mr. Pichet added that on 16 April 2026, the first workday after the holiday, the DRT has instructed all urban rail operators to prepare extra trains during rush hours. Meanwhile, SRT is running additional special trains to accommodate travelers continuing their journeys on 16 and 17 April as follows:
Thursday, 16 April 2026
Train No. 983 Bangkok Apiwat – Yala, departure at 19:30.
Train No. 5 Bangkok Apiwat – Chiang Mai, departure at 19:05.
Friday, 17 April 2026
Train No. 984 Yala – Bangkok Apiwat, departure at 15:35.
Train No. 6 Chiang Mai – Bangkok Apiwat, departure at 19:35.
The DRT also sent well wishes to travelers who have reached their destinations safely and urged those still on the road to drive cautiously, especially at railway crossings, to ensure maximum safety.
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