Guide to train travel in Thailand

When and how to buy train tickets to travel in Thailand?

There are two main ways to buy train tickets for traveling in Thailand: purchasing them at any train station in the country or buying them online. You can also buy them through local travel agencies, but this is becoming less common. If you want to book your train journeys before arriving in Thailand—which is recommended for overnight sleeper trains—online booking will be your only option.

The official release dates for train tickets in Thailand vary depending on the train and the distance and, to be honest, can be a bit complex to understand, although things are becoming clearer with more standardized rules. That’s why using websites like the first one in my list below can be very helpful! Here is the general rule (applicable since April 30, 2026, the date of the latest update) for trains with reservable seats:

• If you are traveling less than 25% of the total train route: tickets can only be purchased 1 day in advance.
• If you are traveling between 25% and 59% of the total route: tickets can be purchased up to 30 days in advance.
• If you are traveling 60% or more of the total route: tickets can be purchased up to 90 days in advance.

Note that for trains departing from Thonburi station (notably towards Kanchanaburi) or Wong Wian Yai station in Bangkok, tickets can only be purchased at the station on the same day.

Keep in mind that for overnight sleeper trains, which require advance booking, you will almost always fall into the category allowing reservations up to 90 days in advance. Due to the very limited number of sleeper berths, they tend to sell out quickly once released, especially on the Bangkok – Chiang Mai route.

If you want to calculate the ticket release date for a specific train journey in Thailand, you can use this calculator.

Buy your Thai train tickets online

There are several options for purchasing your train tickets to travel in Thailand:

• the SRT (State Railway of Thailand) website which allows you to buy your tickets online and receive them in PDF form. The website is unfortunately a little complicated to use and not very intuitive. Just changing the language to English is difficult if you don't can't read Thai. Hopefully that will change! Tickets can only be booked (except in special cases mentioned below) 30 days before the departure date at the earliest. Another complication is that the site does not allow you to search for all trains departing from Bangkok in a single search. You must choose ''Bangkok'' for those leaving from the old station and ''Krung Thep Aphiwat'' for trains leaving from the new Bangkok Railway Terminal.
• 12go website, an online transport ticket sales agency. As for me; it is the most reliable and efficient website for booking transport in Thailand. Obviously, there are additional costs but their website is much easier to use. It also allows you to pre-book your train tickets on the most popular routes before the 30 days official sale. They will take care of buying them for you as soon as tickets are on sale.
• Boalau website, a competitor to 12go that arrived later and does not have the reputation of 12go.
• the SRT D-Ticket smartphone application which, like the official website, is not very intuitive.

Reserve your tickets before they go on sale

Sites like 12go, allow you to buy your train tickets before the official sale date. However, your tickets are only confirmed once they are actually on sale. (the site buys tickets as soon as they are officially on sale which opens at 8:30 a.m., by booking in advance, it almost never happens that the tickets are not confirmed in the end). I'm just telling you this to explain how it works. Going through them also allows you to secure your sleeper train seats. Otherwise, you will have to put an alert on the SRT website at the right time.

There are also two things to know: the trains in Thailand are slow, often late and there is, except for night trains and Super Express trains sometimes, always available seats, even at the last minute. But once again for a night train berth, book in advance!

Customer Support and Service

In case of problem or need to modify or cancel your train tickets, if you purchased them via the SRT website, you will need to contact the train hotline at 1690 (onmy from Thailand). They have English-speaking staff but depending to the people you speak to, even in English, it's not always easy to be understood.

12go as a better english speaking staff. You can contact them via their online support form in many languages. They are quite responsive and accommodating, when possible, especially when it comes to ticket modifications. That being said, verify your dates and times twice before confirming an order.

Thai Train Baggage Policy

There are theoretically limited baggage weights per person depending on the type of ticket purchased but in reality, you can board a train in Thailand with the weight and number of bags you want. There is only a specific procedure with fees for loading a bicycle. And you cannot load a bicycle on all trains. You must find out beforehand at the station.

Train Delay Policy

In Thailand, no compensation is provided for a train delay regardless of its duration. And the trains are often late. No very big delays most of the time but allow for some margin. Because big delays are still much more frequent in Europe. Especially if you have to connect train and other means of transport. With a flight from Don Muang airport for example.

Taking the train in Thailand with a pet

Animals are only allowed in 3rd class carriage in Thai trains. A specific fee must be paid and any animal over 30 kilos will not be allowed onboard. I have not tested and I've never seen anyone at a train station buying a ticket for its dog or cat, so I don't actually know how actually works. You will need to find out details at the station.