Mr. Pichet Kunathamrak, Director-General of the Department of Rail Transport (DRT),DRTrevealed after chairing the meeting of the Rail Transport System Regulatory and Management Committee that the DRThas collaboratedwith relevant rail service providers, monitoring issues affecting the public and rail transport users, and establishing guidelines to improve and resolve problems. Key discussion points included statistics on electric train malfunctions in Bangkok and its vicinity from March to April 2026, totaling 15 incidents, comprising
The Department of Rail Transport (DRT) hasemphasized the importance of collectingstatistics on damaged spare parts as data for analysis to enhance maintenance efficiency and maximize service quality. The meeting acknowledged the issuance of rail transport licenses (under transitional provisions) according to the Rail Transport Act B.E. 2568 (2025), with excellent cooperation from all service sectors. Recently, 2,456 "Operator Licenses" have been approved from 2,651 applications, representing over 92.60%, covering operators such as the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), Mass Rapid Transit Authority (MRTA), SRT Electric Train Company Limited, and private sector providers. Meanwhile, vehicle registration and license plate issuance have progressed continuously.
A total of 7,004 trains have been registered, with ongoing data verification together with rail transport operators. Additionally, both SRT and MRTA have fully received their rail transport operation licenses. Furthermore, six training institutes for operators are preparing to join the system to help develop internationally standardized rail system training centers.
Moreover, the meeting discussed preparations to support the rights under the"Thai Chai Thai Plus"project within the rail mass transit system, following the Cabinet resolution on 19 May 2026. This aims to mitigate the impact of the energy crisis affecting people from all professionsand operators rapidly,severely, with high uncertainty and a tendency to be prolonged. The focus is on assisting vulnerable groups through the State Welfare Card mechanism and alleviating living costs to sustain public purchasing power,as well as supportingsmall vendors to continue their occupations, thereby maintaining the country's economic stability as an urgentand unavoidablepriority.
The participating rail mass transit service providers in the project include SRT, MRTA, SRT Electric Train Company Limited, Bangkok Mass Transit System Public Company Limited (BTSC), Bangkok Expressway and Metro Public Company Limited (BEM), Eastern Bangkok Monorail Company Limited, Northern Bangkok Monorail Company Limited, and Asia Era One Company Limited (ERA1).
The meeting resolved that the DRT will notify the rail mass transit operators’ intention to confirm participation rights in the"Thai Chai Thai Plus"(60/40) project through the "Thung Ngern" application from 25 May to 30 September 2026 to the Fiscal Policy Office.
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