sbk Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 SRT to offer e-tickets By: BangkokPost.com Published: 28/01/2009 at 02:53 PM People will be able to buy railway tickets online, starting Sunday, according to State Railway of Thailand (SRT) governor Yutthana Thapcharoen. He said the online ticketing system will initially be tested for 16 routes for six months, and believed it can help increase the number of railway passengers by 30 per cent. Some of the routes include Bangkok-Chiang Mai, Bangkok-Ubon Ratchathani, Bangkok-Trang, Bangkok-Nakhon Si Thammarat, Bangkok- Sungai Kolok, and Bangkok-Butterworth. Continued here at the Bangkok Post: http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/13...offer-e-tickets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbk Posted January 30, 2009 Author Share Posted January 30, 2009 The website only appears to be offering this service on the Thai Language section so far: www.railway.co.th. click on the e-star banner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackr Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 Although unlikely going to be using any trains in the near future, nice to know, cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geriatrickid Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 Good news for me since I have been nagging the gang that we should take a train adventure. Never been on a train here and I want the magical experience. Awww go on, trains are fun and I'm excited to see this. thanks for posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wileycoyote Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 I have misgivings,this could be worse than the Rail Centers in UK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apetley Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 At least being able to book online should reduce the attempts at dual pricing for farangs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briggsy Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 At least being able to book online should reduce the attempts at dual pricing for farangs. Dunno what you're talking about. There is double pricing on Vietnamese trains but not Thai trains. Care to elaborate? The stations have been linked to a nationwide ticketing system for over 5 years now. From any station you can buy a ticket from any other station to any other of any class up to 60 days in advance. That is quite amazing for Thailand. And it works almost all the time. I'm very interested to see if the online ticketing works. I would expect major teething problems for at least the first 6 months. That way you won't be disappointed. No problem for me and many other TV posters as I can read Thai. Look forward to hearing feedback on the system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozfarang81 Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 This sounds great. hope it can be converted into english! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsurin Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 Excellent news, as trying to book it through on-line agents they charge you a fortune for what is a very cheap ticket. I usually use the trains to travel home when I arrive or leave Thailand. No problem it being in Thai as I, and many others, can just get their wives/GF's to book it. John..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
writeshack Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 Excellent news, as trying to book it through on-line agents they charge you a fortune for what is a very cheap ticket.I usually use the trains to travel home when I arrive or leave Thailand. No problem it being in Thai as I, and many others, can just get their wives/GF's to book it. John..... Okay, for anyone who hasn't bothered to look yet, or can't read it. You must sign up for membership (make up a login and password). That's in English. You must give your sex, name, passport number, residential address, date of birth and, ultimately, your credit card number. At the moment you can book for only one or two people max, up to 60 days in advance, in theory, and a minimum three days. You can print the ticket at home. Although it gives options for all services it seems to be available only for sleepers at the moment. Maybe that's not the case it you actually join up. I refuse to make all that information public just to buy a train ticket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apetley Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 At least being able to book online should reduce the attempts at dual pricing for farangs. Dunno what you're talking about. There is double pricing on Vietnamese trains but not Thai trains. Care to elaborate? The stations have been linked to a nationwide ticketing system for over 5 years now. From any station you can buy a ticket from any other station to any other of any class up to 60 days in advance. That is quite amazing for Thailand. And it works almost all the time. I'm very interested to see if the online ticketing works. I would expect major teething problems for at least the first 6 months. That way you won't be disappointed. No problem for me and many other TV posters as I can read Thai. Look forward to hearing feedback on the system. I have been asked to pay extra for a ticket on two occasions. Once there was a hand written sign in English with the fare, a sign in Thai gave the price for the locals. My wife(Thai) queried this and we both got the 'Thai' price. Another time I was simply asked to pay more than my wife. Again it was queried and I once again got the same fare as my wife. I am sure these were just locally operated scams, one of the things online ticketing will help eliminate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris26be Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 (edited) Booking online in English IS possible. Edited February 1, 2009 by chris26be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crosbief Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 Excellent news, as trying to book it through on-line agents they charge you a fortune for what is a very cheap ticket.I usually use the trains to travel home when I arrive or leave Thailand. No problem it being in Thai as I, and many others, can just get their wives/GF's to book it. John..... Someone said new e-ticket for SRT only avail in Thai !!! not true use Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gonzobrains Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 It's about time..their website really sucks! SRT to offer e-tickets By: BangkokPost.com Published: 28/01/2009 at 02:53 PM People will be able to buy railway tickets online, starting Sunday, according to State Railway of Thailand (SRT) governor Yutthana Thapcharoen. He said the online ticketing system will initially be tested for 16 routes for six months, and believed it can help increase the number of railway passengers by 30 per cent. Some of the routes include Bangkok-Chiang Mai, Bangkok-Ubon Ratchathani, Bangkok-Trang, Bangkok-Nakhon Si Thammarat, Bangkok- Sungai Kolok, and Bangkok-Butterworth. Continued here at the Bangkok Post: http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/13...offer-e-tickets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbk Posted February 1, 2009 Author Share Posted February 1, 2009 Excellent news, as trying to book it through on-line agents they charge you a fortune for what is a very cheap ticket.I usually use the trains to travel home when I arrive or leave Thailand. No problem it being in Thai as I, and many others, can just get their wives/GF's to book it. John..... Okay, for anyone who hasn't bothered to look yet, or can't read it. You must sign up for membership (make up a login and password). That's in English. You must give your sex, name, passport number, residential address, date of birth and, ultimately, your credit card number. At the moment you can book for only one or two people max, up to 60 days in advance, in theory, and a minimum three days. You can print the ticket at home. Although it gives options for all services it seems to be available only for sleepers at the moment. Maybe that's not the case it you actually join up. I refuse to make all that information public just to buy a train ticket. OK, so you have to sign up for membership which is annoying but I wonder how else would you pay for tickets online if not with your credit card? And it does appear to be a Verified By Visa site, which is, from my understanding, pretty secure. Also, the direct link to the railway booking site in English: http://www.thairailwayticket.com/Default.aspx?language=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackr Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Good news for me since I have been nagging the gang that we should take a train adventure. Never been on a train here and I want the magical experience. Awww go on, trains are fun and I'm excited to see this. thanks for posting. Good fun but stick to 2nd class sleepers. Northern line is more interesting that the southern Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ovenman Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 I just booked Chiang Mai-Bangkok, Bangkok-Chiang Mai rail e-tickets using the SRT website. The entry point into the online booking system is through the SRT's Thai language front page. Once into the online booking system, there is an option to switch to English. As said above you do need to register prior to booking, but you do not disclose credit card information during the registration process. Tickets do need to be paid for with a credit card online as is the norm for such booking systems. It does appear that only seats for the two Special Express sleepers are loaded into the system now for the Northern line. One can only book a single one-way ticket for a maximum of two passengers per transaction. For the most part, the system worked well but... The credit card payment system used by the online SRT e-ticket booking facility is a little weird. They're actually using a Bangkok Bank payment processing system so I suppose it's not technically the SRT's fault. The weirdness comes in the form of a question asked regarding the issuing bank for your credit card. You first select the issuing bank country, then the actual bank name from a list box of choices built based the selected country. Problem is that the bank choices don't seem to work all that well and apparently this information is very important for Bangkok Bank to have in the exact format they perceive to be correct. I have two cards issued by Citibank. I could not get either card to process. Kept telling me that my bank choice was wrong. None of the four list box choices for Citibank worked, entering 'Citibank' manually in the Other box didn't work. I then tried a card issued by Bank of America. Again, no-go on the list box choice for Bank of America N.A. As an absolute last ditch attempt, entered 'Bank of America' in the Other box and the transaction processed. The system then presented me with my e-ticket in the form of a PDF file. Saved the file on my hard drive but you can access that PDF e-ticket any time by logging into your account on the SRT website. Nice start but the system needs work... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sriracha john Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 (edited) I have two cards issued by Citibank. I could not get either card to process.I then tried a card issued by Bank of America. The reason you struggled with it is because your cards are not affiliated with any of the more major-sized banks. If you changed your accounts to a major banker, I bet your problem with the processing would be solved. While small, tiny hometown banks such as yours can be beneficial in their friendly, down-home manner of dealing with banking issues, you do suffer when it comes to them not being recognized while doing international banking transactions. I'm afraid you'll have to move up from Bob and Margaret's Credit Union Bank or whatever your banks names were. Edited March 27, 2009 by sriracha john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zpete Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 (edited) This is great news. I am a reg overniter to Chiang Mai and return. Website is is simple and in English. Really, it HAD to be in English at least, not only Thai. Trains may not be new, but we enjoy our trips. Food and staff could not be faulted on any trips we have made. Good onyas, Thai Rail. QUOTE (ovenman @ 2009-03-27 22:05:04) I have two cards issued by Citibank. I could not get either card to process.I then tried a card issued by Bank of America. Only cards worth having are banks whose cards are affiliated with "VISA or "MASTERCARD". Amex and Diners command extra fees by vendors. Edited March 30, 2009 by Zpete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ovenman Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 I have two cards issued by Citibank. I could not get either card to process.I then tried a card issued by Bank of America. Only cards worth having are banks whose cards are affiliated with "VISA or "MASTERCARD". The Citibank cards are both MasterCards. The Bank of America card is a Visa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred2007 Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 At least being able to book online should reduce the attempts at dual pricing for farangs. Dunno what you're talking about. There is double pricing on Vietnamese trains but not Thai trains. Care to elaborate? The stations have been linked to a nationwide ticketing system for over 5 years now. From any station you can buy a ticket from any other station to any other of any class up to 60 days in advance. That is quite amazing for Thailand. And it works almost all the time. I'm very interested to see if the online ticketing works. I would expect major teething problems for at least the first 6 months. That way you won't be disappointed. No problem for me and many other TV posters as I can read Thai. Look forward to hearing feedback on the system. correct, there is no double pricing on Thai trains at all I book every 3 month to go to Malaysia and never paid a single baht more then my wife Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torrenova Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 I do all online stuff in Thailand with my Kasikorn web card. That stops all this stupidity with outside banks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ave Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 It would be nice to be able to chose sleepers with fan. I have travelled twice in aircon and was as stiff as a frozen chicken in the morning.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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