Buy Tickets for Thai Trains Online

More Convenience

Starting from August 1, 2011, The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) will launch advance seat reservation service on the Internet or e-SRT. The service is open 7 days and 24 hours.Those who have already been the members can use their current Member IDs without having to register again.Reservation can be made up to 4 passengers at a time and 60 days in advance (before date of journey). Payment for the ticket can be made by Visa and Master cards.

Source: http://www.thairailticket.com/esrt/Default.aspx?language=1

-- thairailticket.com 2011-08-04

This is a great idea!

The next step would be to have a process in the convinience stores which people without credit cards can pick up their tickets after making a reservation online. Make your reservation online, get a code and if you do not have a credit card, go to 7-11 to have your ticket/voucher printed.

This should be good for travel agencies as they could process tickets book for the customer.

TheWalkingMan

Agreed a great idea but ...............................

Fee

Internet booking fee is 20.00 baht/passenger and credit card processing surcharge is 3% of the total amount.

thanks for the info

Great news. I don't like the credit card surcharge but what can you do.

I don't like the credit card surcharge but what can you do.

Buy at the station as usual, or on the train.

the surcharge seems to cover the time and transport

no, the surcharge goes directly to Visa or Mastercard, as usual

no, the surcharge goes directly to Visa or Mastercard, as usual

Bloody rip-off merchants. What is their profit?. Can I say ,I do not have a credit card. I buy my tickets ,when needed at a Railway Station.Too lazy to visit one? Stiff, get ripped off. Can book 60 days in advance. Got a Problem? With that?

Edited August 4, 201114 yr by afarang

Bloody rip-off merchants. What is their profit?. Can I say ,I do not have a credit card. I buy my tickets ,when needed at a Railway Station.Too lazy to visit one? Stiff, get ripped off. Can book 60 days in advance. Got a Problem? With that?

Agreed. I'd rather spend 50 baht in transportation costs to go to the station to buy a ticket rather than give those greed-merchants 30 baht (3% of a 1,000 baht ticket).

Most Thai people would probably never use a credit card for an advance booking; they know someone at the SRT (local station) who they call and can hold a ticket. This may/will appeal to tourists, who are used to using a credit card for travel reservations and see value in the ability to secure a ticket in advance, regardless of the relatively small fees/charges.

What exactly is so horrible about the fee? "Rip-off merchants"? You expect this service for free? 20 baht + 3% of the ticket? Whoopee! Someone call the wambulance....

If you think the time/money/opportunity cost that is required to physically go to the station is more than that cost, your time must be worth less than mine.

That said, WalkingMan's suggestion being able to purchase without a card would be nice for those of us without a Thai credit card.

What exactly is so horrible about the fee? "Rip-off merchants"? You expect this service for free? 20 baht + 3% of the ticket? Whoopee! Someone call the wambulance....

If you think the time/money/opportunity cost that is required to physically go to the station is more than that cost, your time must be worth less than mine.

That said, WalkingMan's suggestion being able to purchase without a card would be nice for those of us without a Thai credit card.

For the record, my comment was meant to parody the idiocy of the preceding comments re: the service and credit card fees; I forgot to add the 'rolling eyes' smiley.

Obviously the convenience, savings on transportation costs (~ 100 baht for me: to/from) and time (for 2011 Songkhran travel I went to Hua Lumphong 60 days** ahead of travel, at 7:00 AM, tickets start selling at 8:30 AM and I got number 87; then there were TA's buying hundreds of tickets so sold out an hour later before I could buy*) more than off-set these relatively miniscule fees.

* but a call to an SRT employee/friend in the local station produced two tickets that were supposedly unavailable.

** then a second trip to buy the return tickets 60 days ahead of travel.

Has anyone tried to register on the website?I kept receiving an error message that my user name had either been taken (even though I changed it a few times) or that my passport number had previously been registered (not possible because I have a new passport with a new passport number). When I tried to "recover" my password I was told my email was not on file!

What exactly is so horrible about the fee? "Rip-off merchants"? You expect this service for free? 20 baht + 3% of the ticket? Whoopee! Someone call the wambulance....

If you think the time/money/opportunity cost that is required to physically go to the station is more than that cost, your time must be worth less than mine. Time is a very relative concept. I suspect that I have lived In Thailand ,long enough , NOT to have this insanity that says " Time Is Money"

That said, WalkingMan's suggestion being able to purchase without a card would be nice for those of us without a Thai credit card.

I sincerely hope my time, in your words ,is worth less than "mine". When I travel by train ,I want my money to go to the Railways, not to rip-off merchants, like mastercard, who steal from me every time I go to an ATM. I actually enjoy my travel to the railway station and the PERSONAL interaction with the Railway/s staff

Edited August 7, 201114 yr by afarang