The Ministry of Transport has canceled the all-day 40 baht flat fare plan for all metro lines, shaking up plans to implement a unified fare price of 17–45 baht per trip. This price range is designed not to overly burden the government’s subsidy obligations and avoids negotiating buybacks of train concessions. Instead, compensation for fare differences to passengers will come from the unified ticket fund. The ministry expects an average annual subsidy of about 4 billion baht and plans to propose this to the Cabinet next week, targeting implementation in 2027.
Mr. Siripong Angkasakulkiat, Deputy Minister of Transport, revealed progress on the 40 baht flat fare project for all lines, stating that the government has decided this scheme can only be applied to the Red Line commuter trains and the Purple Line between Tao Poon and Khlong Bang Phai. This is because these are government-operated metro projects, and the Cabinet has already approved continuing the project, with plans to extend it by one year beyond its scheduled end on 30 Nov 2026 GMT+7.
Regarding the policy to push the 40 baht all-day fare for all metro lines by 2027, he admitted it cannot yet be realized and must be abandoned. This is because the process would require lengthy negotiations with private sector concessionaires to amend contracts. Therefore, the ministry plans to propose to the Cabinet a project to adjust unified metro fares to 17–45 baht per trip, covering transfers across all lines, while eliminating duplicate system entry fees.
“The 40 baht all-day fare principle requires transferring ownership of the metro lines to the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA), but current concession contracts with private companies remain. So, what can be done immediately is a policy to reduce living costs by setting passenger fares at 17–45 baht per trip, allowing transfers across lines without extra charges. The government will compensate the fare difference to passengers. This approach avoids renegotiating concession contracts since private operators will still receive their original income.”
Mr. Siripong added that the 17–45 baht fare range has been evaluated not to significantly impact government subsidy burdens. The subsidies for this project are expected to come from the unified ticket fund and accumulated revenues of the MRTA, with estimated annual subsidies around 4 billion baht. The project is expected to begin immediately in 2027.
The ministry will submit the project principles to the Cabinet for consideration next week. Afterwards, relevant agencies will study details before returning to the Cabinet for approval and fare implementation. Passengers eligible for the project must pay via EMV Contactless cards—debit cards from VISA, MasterCard, or UnionPay bearing the EMV Contactless logo. The government will refund fare differences to these EMV cards within three business days.
Once the Cabinet approves the project, public and private sectors will jointly discuss establishing a revenue management system (Clearing House). This will revoke the previous Cabinet resolution assigning the Digital Government Agency (DGA) and instead assign the Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Finance to manage it, using the existing system of Krung Thai Bank. Meanwhile, private operators will need to install EMV card readers to support travel under this policy.
Mr. Siripong addressed negotiations with private concessionaires, stating that since the government’s policy sets fares at 17–45 baht with compensation paid to passengers, the concessionaires’ revenues and contracts remain unaffected. Therefore, there is no need to negotiate buybacks of concessions; negotiations will only concern private operators adopting the Clearing House system per government policy.
A reporter from the Ministry of Transport reported that there are currently no negotiations to buy back metro concessions or to change contracts from PPP Net Cost to PPP Gross Cost. Instead, there will be proposals to the Cabinet regarding a Single Ownership management concept—transferring ownership of metro lines to MRTA—specifically for the Green, Gold, and Red lines.
This ownership transfer means shifting management contracts from Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), previously the contracting party with private companies, to MRTA. Similarly, the Red Line’s ownership will move from the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) to MRTA to unify fare management. When the Green Line concession contract ends in 2029, MRTA will be able to manage fares and assets fully.
. Ministry of TransportThe 17–45 baht fare policy is based on current passenger travel behavior, with most trips falling within this fare range. Therefore, it is believed this will not heavily burden government subsidies, though passengers will pay more than under the previous 40 baht flat fare policy covering all lines all day.
“The 17–45 baht policy will use compensation funds from the unified ticket fund to reimburse passengers. In its first year, the fund will be seeded by the budget proposed for 2027. In subsequent years, if the fund balance is insufficient, additional budget requests will be made annually.”