Traffic slows on Bangkok-bound Mittraphap Road as rush to return begins after holidays

Monday, the last official holiday, saw a lot of motorists driving on the Bangkok-bound Mittraphap Road.

Long lines of vehicles were seen at all major intersections in Nakhon Ratchasima, including the Sida intersection in Sida district, the Ban Wat intersection in None Sung district and the Ban Pho intersection in Muang district.

Traffic was still flowing but at a slow speed.

Traffic police expected more motorists from other northeastern provinces to join the exodus back to work on Mittraphap, the main gateway to the Northeast later on Monday, so the police would monitor the traffic situation throughout the day and might turn an opposite lane into an extra Bangkok-bound lane.

Meanwhile, railway stations in northeastern provinces also reported huge numbers of passengers coming to use train services to travel back to Bangkok.

A lot of passengers were heading to Buri Ram railway station since Monday morning.

Prawit Pungsawat, chief of the Buri Ram railway station, said that train tickets from Buri Ram to Bangkok have been fully booked until Wednesday. The State Railway of Thailand is running an extra train a day to facilitate return to Bangkok for those who have not booked their tickets, he said.