10 hours ago, katana said:

Back in 1996 I went into a BKK tavel agency for a BKK - CNX train ticket. They booked it on line and printed it out for me there and then for a small fee while I was in the shop.

 

There were (and perhaps still are) travel agencies that were wired into SRT's reservations system, complete with an official ticket printer - so not exactly "online" in the sense of being on the public internet, but more like having access to the same proprietary terminal used at SRT ticket windows. That was fine if one of those agents happened to be nearby, but reserving/ticketing wasn't something you could do on your own with that system.

Two Bang Sue Junction stations - why?

Site has English language option but seems when booking trip it's all in Thai? Simple enough to translate but why?

2 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

Two Bang Sue Junction stations - why?

Site has English language option but seems when booking trip it's all in Thai? Simple enough to translate but why?

Because that station is divided into 2 parts. One part for the Southern bound trains and the other part for the other trains.

If you live near a staffed station, it's much easier to book in advance down at the station as you can choose exactly which seat/bed you want and there's no online fee and they can sell you any "reservable" tickets between any two stations within the country. 

12 hours ago, bannork said:

You chose the ice- cream train, stops at every station.

In contrast, the long distance overnight sleepers are excellent value for money. Usually punctual, the trains depart in the early evening. With a comfortable bed, one arrives early the next morning, hundreds of kilometres away, refreshed and ready for the world.

That wasn't my experience. My son (who lives in Bangkok) went to the main station & booked 3 1st class sleeper cabins for me/wife, sister/husband and himself.  When we turned up for the journey to Chiang Mai we were brusquely told no '1st class cabins on the train'; a refund of the excess to be repaid at our destination.

An hour out from BKK the train broke down.  A replacement arrived - eventually. The journey took over 15 hours & was the last experience of Thai rail.

 

What? I've been buying my Thai railway tickets online for years through their website. You just pick your seat, pay with your card, and then print your tickets.

8 hours ago, IgboChief said:

You can make it with a bus for the same money in only 7 hours or so.

That possibly depends on whether your wearing the right amulet or any at all. Derailments are quite uncommon.....

8 hours ago, IgboChief said:

 

Unfortunately, I can't confirm that. Did Bangkok/Udon Thani once and it was a hell of a ride. Very very slow train and too bumpy to close an eye.  (As frequent flyer I can sleep almost everywhere and am gone before the plane lifts off, but that was really bumpy and loud.)

Also, you must be a short person to fit into the bed. Normal sized man (185cm or more) won't fit into the bed and I am quite tall.

 

Although it was beautiful to be up 5 am in the morning when the train inched its way through Isaan and the rice paddy fields. Amazing atmosphere. But no good coffee and only the normal styrofoam box food (although I bought the best ticket available). 600THB if I remember. You can make it with a bus for the same money in only 7 hours or so.

 

Long story short: I would have love to experience the orient express but I got quite disappointed and would never do that again until they come up with a real luxury offer. Pay 6k THB for a private Taxi ride BKK-UTH gives you more sightseeing and more fun and you also arrive faster.

 

 

Normal sized man (185cm or more)

 

Well, with my 174cm I am qualified as a  dwarf.

1 hour ago, mikebell said:

That wasn't my experience. My son (who lives in Bangkok) went to the main station & booked 3 1st class sleeper cabins for me/wife, sister/husband and himself.  When we turned up for the journey to Chiang Mai we were brusquely told no '1st class cabins on the train'; a refund of the excess to be repaid at our destination.

An hour out from BKK the train broke down.  A replacement arrived - eventually. The journey took over 15 hours & was the last experience of Thai rail.

Well, until I retired last March I took the train frequently from Bangkok to Udon and vice versa. Years ago the train was frequently late with engine breakdowns. But the last few years have seen a dramatic improvement, at least on this line. 

Let the train take the strain.

19 hours ago, Jan Dietz said:

Why does the link www.railway.co.th actually link to facebook?

more tracking needed?

I doesn’t. It’s your system.

1 minute ago, sometimewoodworker said:

I doesn’t. It’s your system.

A few posts down:

 

  20 hours ago, Jan Dietz said:

Why does the link www.railway.co.th actually link to facebook?

more tracking needed?

 

Thanks for pointing that out. The link has been corrected.

1 hour ago, Myran said:

What? I've been buying my Thai railway tickets online for years through their website. You just pick your seat, pay with your card, and then print your tickets.

That system stopped working a couple of years ago and was  at thairailwayticket  dot com it now redirects to dticket dot railway dot co dot th

10 hours ago, IgboChief said:

Unfortunately, I can't confirm that. Did Bangkok/Udon Thani once and it was a hell of a ride. Very very slow train and too bumpy to close an eye.  (As frequent flyer I can sleep almost everywhere and am gone before the plane lifts off, but that was really bumpy and loud.)

Also, you must be a short person to fit into the bed. Normal sized man (185cm or more) won't fit into the bed and I am quite tall.

You are several years (to many years) out of date. The Non Kai service has upgraded track and the new trains have been in service for a couple of years now, the trip is at least 2 hours shorter to Udon.

13 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

That system stopped working a couple of years ago and was  at thairailwayticket  dot com it now redirects to dticket dot railway dot co dot th

The old system still works and should be used if purchasing tickets for travel before the new system first travel dates on the 18th of December.

 

 

 

20 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

happy to see this until this stupidity. 

With respect, I think this is aimed at mainly Thai travelers who book well in advance of public holidays to travel home to families, as they do with the airlines and bus companies.

40 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

That system stopped working a couple of years ago and was  at thairailwayticket  dot com it now redirects to dticket dot railway dot co dot th

Remarkable, considering I used it a couple of days ago to check the availability of tickets for my wife and bought tickets through it just a few months ago...

For those that tried it yesterday and got the "no data" message, try it again for travel on 18th December and it should offer you train choices.

 

 

17 hours ago, samsensam said:

 

i was under the impression they could already be bought on line... i think i've seen travel agents using an online booking system, maybe i'm wrong, maybe travel agents only...? anyway better late than never,

Correct, I purchased train tickets from the SRT website more than three years ago already. Perhaps this was available in Thai language only at that time, don't really remember.....

On 11/18/2020 at 9:00 AM, DLock said:

This a good, but I don't understand the 30-day in advance.

 

If a seat is sellable 1 hour before the train leaves, sell it.

My interpretation is that seats can be booked a maximum of 30 days prior to departure and anytime in between but no earlier hence yes you can book online up to the time of departure

On 11/18/2020 at 2:38 PM, samsensam said:

 

i was under the impression they could already be bought on line... i think i've seen travel agents using an online booking system, maybe i'm wrong, maybe travel agents only...? anyway better late than never,

No they will send someone to the station to stand in line and physically buy the ticket for you. You then collect the ticket from their office which is near the station and catch your train

10 hours ago, RobU said:

My interpretation is that seats can be booked a maximum of 30 days prior to departure and anytime in between but no earlier hence yes you can book online up to the time of departure

2 days to 29 days before the travel date.  See the image on page 2 of this thread.

4 hours ago, treetops said:

2 days to 29 days before the travel date.  See the image on page 2 of this thread.

 

It's actually two HOURS to 29 days before departure - so you can (theoretically) buy a ticket online on the day you're traveling, but not at the very last minute.

6 minutes ago, khunjeff said:

 

It's actually two HOURS to 29 days before departure - so you can (theoretically) buy a ticket online on the day you're traveling, but not at the very last minute.

Thanks, the post on page 2 actually says it correctly, but with the memory of a goldfish I'd forgotten when I came to post. ????

 

On 11/19/2020 at 12:33 PM, treetops said:

The old system still works and should be used if purchasing tickets for travel before the new system first travel dates on the 18th of December.

The old system had a period of time, months/years when it did not function.

23 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

The old system had a period of time, months/years when it did not function.

Agreed, it's only been since February 2017 it's been truly functional and reliable.

On 11/20/2020 at 1:24 AM, treetops said:

2 days to 29 days before the travel date.  See the image on page 2 of this thread.

 

On 11/20/2020 at 6:02 AM, khunjeff said:

 

It's actually two HOURS to 29 days before departure - so you can (theoretically) buy a ticket online on the day you're traveling, but not at the very last minute.

Thanks for the clarification both of you