The Department of Rail Transport has reported significant increases in passenger numbers on the first Saturday following the introduction of a 20 Baht flat fare on the Red and Purple metro lines.
According to data from October 21st, a total of about 1.19 million passengers used rail services, compared to 1.12 million passengers on the previous Saturday.
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) operated 213 train services, recording a total of 75,500 passengers. Of these, 30,000 were on commercial train lines and 45,400 were on social train lines. Metro services in the Bangkok metropolitan area saw 1.12 million riders, an increase of 71,600 or 6.81% compared to the previous week.
Specifically, the Red metro line saw a 36.32% increase with 22,300 passengers, while the Purple line noted an 18.33% increase with 44,400 passengers. Additionally, the Blue metro line recorded 367,600 passengers, up 9.83%, likely influenced by a connecting station at Tao Poon with the Purple line and events at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC), such as the Book Expo Thailand 2023 and Thailand Game Show 2023.
To manage the influx, additional train services were arranged, especially for the evening until late at night. For Sunday, October 22nd, the Department of Rail Transport increased train frequency and deployed additional staff during high-traffic hours.
On-site officers from the Department were also deployed to monitor and troubleshoot any operational issues. (NNT)
