BANGKOK, Dec 20 – Thailand’s rail and air travel services will be augmented to cope with a massive increase of holidaymakers during the New Year’s celebrations, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) announced.
Currently operating 242 trains a day , the SRT announced that it will add 24 more trains between December 28 and January 3 while carriages will be added to some trains to transport at least 115,000 passengers a day.
Special carriages will be connected with some trains, if necessary, to service stranded passengers in Bangkok and outlying areas.
The SRT Airport Rail Link between downtown and Suvarnabhumi International Airport announced that operating hours for the City Line, normally between 6 am and midnight, will be extended to 2am on January 1.
The Express Line which has two trains – Phyathai-Suvarnabhumi and Makkasan-Suvarnabhumi – will operate normally between 6am and midnight.
Baggage check service at Makkasan station is open from 7am to 9pm, and passengers can check baggage 3-12 hours before their flight departure. Parking at Makkasan Station, accommodating 300 vehicles, is free of charge.
Airports of Thailand, which operates six airports in the country, expects at least 255,000 passengers a day at the six airports between December 25 and January 5 – a possible increase by 24 per cent from the same period of last year.
The six airports will serve an average 1,476 flights a day during the coming holiday season, an 11 per cent increase from last year.
Somchai Sawasdipol, acting director of Suvarnabhumi Airport, said a coordination centre will be specially set up at the departure lounge of the airport to provide security and conveniences to travellers.
Airport and tourist police, security officials and medical personnel will be on duty at the 24-hour centre from December 25 to January 5.
