Southern train route most popular for Bangkok residents heading home for New Year
More than 2.2 million people used Thailand’s train services on Thursday and Friday, almost 70,000 or 3.26% higher than an earlier estimate, Department of Rail Transport director-general Pichet Kunadhamraks said on Saturday.
The South route had the largest share of passengers among trains departing from Bangkok Railway Station. Routes heading to the Northeast and North were second and third, respectively.
The capital’s annual New Year exodus began on Thursday as many city residents left for their home provinces.
Interprovincial train services provided by the State Railway of Thailand saw 175,474 passengers on Thursday and Friday, with 98,571 of them leaving Bangkok and 76,903 arriving in the capital, Pichet said.
Those traveling to or from the South were the most numerous: 53,764 (28,635 outbound and 25,129 inbound).
They were followed by people travelling to or from the Northeast, which saw 47,968 passengers (28,909 outbound and 19,059 inbound). The route connecting Bangkok and the North saw 39,266 passengers (22,293 outbound and 16,973 inbound).
The East route saw 21,530 passengers/trips (11,663 outbound and 9,867 inbound) while the Western route (Mahachai-Mae Klong) was the least popular, with 12,946 passengers in total on Thursday and Friday (7,071 outbound and 5,875 inbound).
Commuter trains covering Bangkok and its satellite provinces saw 2,026,162 cumulative passengers over the two days, Pichet said.
The Airport Rail Link, which connects Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport with the city’s centre, had 100,325 passengers, while SRT’s Red Line had 28,683.
The MRT Purple Line had 62,342 passengers, the Blue Line 562,575, and the Bangkok Mass Transit System’s Green and Gold lines transported 1,272,237 passengers on Thursday and Friday.
