SRT unit set to take over Airport Rail Link operations after four months
Asia Era One will run the Airport Rail Link until Sunday (January 31, 2027), retaining fare revenue and remaining responsible if the service is not viable before an SRT unit takes over.
- The current private operator will continue to run the Airport Rail Link for a four-month period, until January 31, 2027.
- After the four months, S.R.T. Electrified Train Company Limited (SRTET), a subsidiary of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), will take over the service.
- The Transport Minister confirmed that this is a firm deadline with no further extensions, and the SRT subsidiary has operated the line previously.
- During the interim four-month period, the private operator will only receive the fare revenue collected, not a fixed monthly fee.
Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn spoke to reporters at Government House on Monday (September 14, 2026) about talks held on September 11, with Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, in his capacity as chairman of the Eastern Economic Corridor Policy Committee, together with the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) board chairman and the SRT governor.
The discussions covered a request by Asia Era One Company Limited, a CP Group affiliate, to terminate its contract for the High-Speed Rail Linking Three Airports Project, as well as efforts to resolve the Airport Rail Link issue, which was due to conclude on September 30.
Phiphat said the private operator would continue running the Airport Rail Link for four months, until January 31, 2027, following discussions with the prime minister and SRT executives.
He stressed that this was not a one-year extension and that the operating fee would not be THB60 million a month.
The arrangement would instead be based on fare revenue from the service.
The private operator would receive only the fares collected. If the service was not financially viable, responsibility would rest solely with the operator.
Phiphat added that after the four months, SRT would have its subsidiary, S.R.T. Electrified Train Company Limited (SRTET), take over the service.
He said the subsidiary had previously operated the line and would return to manage it.
SRT would inspect the condition of the trains and tracks before SRTET resumed operations.
He stressed that there would be no further extension and that the subsidiary would take over immediately after the four-month period ended.
Phiphat said the High-Speed Rail Linking Three Airports Project would have to be referred back to the Eastern Economic Corridor Policy Committee, which is chaired by the prime minister.
The Office of the Attorney General had been consulted, while an objection had been raised that the matter should first be submitted to the Cabinet before any further action was taken.
Further discussions within the committee were therefore required, and Phiphat believed the prime minister would first need to consult the Office of the Council of State.
