Transport News
Thailand transport news, infrastructure updates, public transit, and traffic reports—stay informed on groundbreaking developments and real-time travel updates. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted source for transport news in Thailand.
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Sponsored Do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?
Thailand’s healthcare system is well-regarded across Southeast Asia, with options ranging from public hospitals to world-class private facilities. But when it comes to foreign residents or tourists, healthcare access isn’t as straightforward. So, do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?...
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Phuket taxis: outsiders are undercutting our prices
Operators from outside Phuket are the target of a recent complaint filed by representatives from 30 taxi, van, tuk tuk and bus operators on the island. The association is complaining that outside taxis are invading their province and stealing their tourist customers by undercutting their prices. The complaint alleges that these outside operators are greatly affecting the income of local…
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10,000 Bangkok taxis have adjusted meters to match recent rate hikes
Almost 10,000 Bangkok taxis have reportedly adjusted their meters to match recent rate hikes. The Department of Land Transport (DLT) made the announcement, saying that since Monday, January 16, taxis have been visiting the Krung Thep Aphiewat Central Terminal to have their metres adjusted. The taxi’s base fares have risen from 35 to 40 baht with drivers being required to…
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Bidding method for train station redesign project inappropriate
An investigation into the 33-million-baht redesign project for Bang Sue Grand Station revealed that the selection method to choose a nameplate and logo designer was inappropriate. The probe, headed by Sorapong Paithoonpong, a deputy interior permanent secretary, revealed its findings yesterday. After His Royal Majesty King Vajiralongkorn decided to rename the station “Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal” in September last…
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Locals point out dangerous railway crossing in central Thailand
More than 50 people gathered to point out the dangers presented by a railway crossing in the Photaram district of Racha Buri province, central Thailand, this morning. Firstly, the crossing has no automatic barriers or lights to warn cars or pedestrians when a train is coming. Secondly, the “slope” up to the crossing is so poorly constructed that even pickup…
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Pink Line monorail 95% complete, opening soon
The Pink Line monorail project in Bangkok is expected to be completed this year, with construction currently 95% finished. Construction began in 2016 on the 53.5 billion baht public transit project. When it is finally opened, it will connect Khae Rai in Nontha Buri to Min Buri in east Bangkok. The Pink Line monorail Is hoped to bring some breathing…
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Thailand’s Surat Thani Airport welcomes chartered flight from Taiwan
A chartered Thai Lion Air flight carrying 143 tourists from Taiwan landed at Surat Thani Airport in southern Thailand yesterday. It was the first chartered flight to land on the airport’s runway in three years. Surat Thani Governor Wichawut Jinto welcomed passengers on flight SL-7391 from Taipei yesterday evening, handing out flower garlands and gifts to tourists to celebrate the…
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Pakistani man caught smuggling 80,000 pills into Thailand
A Pakistani man was arrested at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport on Friday after he attempted to smuggle a suitcase brimming with drugs from Pakistan into the Kingdom of Thailand. Airport security flagged down a suspicious suitcase from Karachi, Pakistan, found to contain a plethora of Type 2 and Type 4 psychotropic substances. In total, police at the airport seized 79,200 pills…
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Missed trains and confusion with new station changes
Commuters in Thailand are facing confusion and frustration due to a lack of coordination between railway stations after the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) moved almost half of its long-haul train services from Hua Lamphong station to Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal. The newly revamped station, formerly known as Bang Sue Grand Station, is now servicing 52 rapid service, express,…
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Is BMW really Thailand’s favourite car?
BMW is Thailand’s favourite car marque. It might not be the best-selling vehicle, but when Thai people have plenty of money to spend, they choose BMW. The company saw growth in registrations across its range, driven by last year’s marketing initiatives. BMW and Mini have led Thailand’s premium market for the past three years. Both have seen an increase in their…
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Passengers left waiting hours at Bangkok’s new central train station
The opening of Bangkok‘s new central train station Bangkok Aphiwat Central Station did not go so smoothly yesterday with the first service to Chiang Mai departing three hours later than scheduled and many more delayed services. BBC Thai and CH7 report that services were delayed to await the arrival of Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob, who was rather late to an…
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Southeast Asia’s biggest railway station opens to passengers
Southeast Asia’s biggest railway station officially began operations yesterday, a potential new age of train travel in Thailand. The cost of the new terminal, including the station, tracks and a connecting station for Bangkok’s mass transit system, was around US$1 billion (30 billion baht). Officially, the station’s name is Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal, a name bestowed by the king,…
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Passengers at Bangkok’s main train terminal to get help from new robots
Passengers at Bangkok’s Krung Thep Aphiwat Train Terminal will be getting help from new service robots. The massive train station, formerly known as Bang Sue Grand Station, will feature six robots which can communicate in English, Thai and Chinese. The robots can guide passengers to certain locations in the train station such as the food centre, ticket booths, and taxis.…
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Ukraine helicopter crash kills Interior Minister, at least 18 others
A Ukraine helicopter crash reportedly killed Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky and at least 18 others. The crash occurred near a kindergarten in the town of Brovary, just northeast of the capital of Kyiv yesterday. Yehvheniy Yenin, Monastyrsky’s deputy, along with a state secretary, was also killed in the crash. According to the Interior Ministry, three children were killed among the tally…
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Five airlines launch direct flights between Phuket and China this week
Five airlines are launching direct flights between China and Phuket in southern Thailand this week. The services will connect Phuket to Shanghai, Nanjing, and Chengdu. Today, Phuket will welcome three direct flights from Shanghai on Spring Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, and Juneyao Airlines. All three services will fly daily. Juneyao Airlines’ inaugural daily direct service from Nanjing will also land on…
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Bangkok’s 2 main train stations linked by free bus
Tomorrow, a complimentary shuttle bus service between Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal (Bang Sue Grand Station) and Hua Lamphong Station will make commuting in Bangkok more convenient. The bus service is a joint venture being operated by the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) and the State Railway of Thailand (SRT). The free bus service was created in response to the…
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Nepal crash pilot is the widow of a pilot who died in 2006 crash
Dipak Pokhrel was a pilot with Yeti Airlines whose career ended abruptly in 2006 when he died in an aeroplane crash. The small Twin Otter passenger plane he was flying went down minutes before landing in Jumla. Four years later, his widow, Anju Khatiwada joined Yeti Airlines in 2010, after receiving pilot training with the money she received from the…
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Bus hits overpass injuring student footballers aboard
A school football team and their coaches were left reeling after their bus met with a shocking accident while transporting them from the Nong Chok district of Bangkok to a field in the Bang Sao Thong district, Samut Prakan. The bus slammed into the top of a motorway overpass, causing the roof to cave in and injuring 13 of the…
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Video inside the Nepal plane crash, 68 confirmed dead
As rescue work continues, at least 68 people have been confirmed dead in a plane crash in Nepal, making it the country’s deadliest aviation accident in over 30 years. A new video has surfaced that appears to have been taken inside the plane in its final moments as well. Some 72 people, including four crew members and 68 passengers, were…
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40 bodies found so far in Nepal plane crash
A tragic event took place in Nepal today, as a commercial plane with 72 people on board crashed and caught fire near an airport in the central region of the country. The Yeti Airlines flight, which was en route from Kathmandu to the popular tourist destination of Pokhara, crashed during its landing attempt. Social media posts captured videos of the…
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Isuzu dominates Thai pickup sales 2022
Pickups are an integral part of the landscape in Thailand, with a long history and a big impact on the economy and culture. These versatile and durable vehicles dominate Thailand’s auto industry. In 2022, pickups accounted for 46% of all vehicles sold in Thailand. Some 390,000 pickup trucks were sold in Thailand in 2022. Two models regularly outsell the rest…
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Bangkok’s electric tuk tuks to triple this year
MuvMi, Bangkok’s electric tuktuk operator, will nearly triple the number of Bangkok’s electric tuk tuks this year, from 350 to 1,000. Krisada Kritayakirana, CEO of Urban Mobility Tech, said Friday that demand for rides in Bangkok’s electric tuktuks is growing. Krisada said… “Our initial goal is to provide environmentally friendly vehicles for city dwellers who struggle to find public transportation…
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Patong-Chalong road construction nears completion
The construction of a new road connecting Chalong to Patong in Phuket is expected to open to the public soon, according to the Phuket Provincial Administration Organisation (PPAO). The announcement came after the PPAO President and Deputy President conducted in-person inspections along the construction site yesterday and the day before. The PPAO Deputy President has closely monitored progress, frequenting the…
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Nok Air to launch flights between Bangkok and Hyderabad
Budget airline Nok Air will launch direct flights between Bangkok in Thailand and Hyderabad in India on February 19, 2023. A state-of-the-art Boeing 737-800 aircraft with 189 Economy Class seats will service the nonstop route from Don Mueang International Airport to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport four times per week. Flight DD959 will take off from Hyderabad at 00.45am on Mondays,…
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Bangkok taxi fare increase effective today
Bangkok taxi fares will increase to a minimum fare of 40 baht today after staying at 35 baht for 30 years. The increased fare, which applies to Bangkok registered taxis with no more than seven seats, is effective today according to its announcement in the Royal Gazette yesterday. However, passengers may not notice a rise in fares straight away as…
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China’s air travel regulator to allow airlines to fly more routes to US
China’s air travel regulator is gearing up to allow more routes to the United States after the country lifted its strict anti-virus travel restrictions this month. According to The Korea Times, China Central Television reported on its website that the US and Chinese airlines are among around 40 carriers that have submitted applications covering about 700 flights per week involving 34…
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Indian flight departs with 55 passengers left on bus
Every flight passenger hates being packed into a busy terminal transport bus from the gate to the stairs before climbing onto their aeroplane. But on Monday morning 55 passengers crammed onto a bus and sat there for an hour while their flight forgot about them and took off. The incident took place in India on a flight operated by budget…
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Bangkok’s controversial Bang Sue Grand Station name change on hold
Bangkok’s controversial Bang Sue Grand Station name change is on hold after it received heavy backlash for its US$1 million price tag. When His Majesty the King renamed Bang Sue Grand Station, “Krung Thep Abhiwat Central Terminal,” in September, some questioned the need to spend such an amount in taxpayers’ money. Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Transport Minister Saksayam…
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Thai AirAsia ranked 3rd most on-time low-cost airline in the world
Thai AirAsia is ranked the third most on-time low-cost airline in the world and the most punctual carrier in Asia-Pacific countries in 2022, according to Cirium, a data analytics company in the aviation and travel industry. The average on-time rate reported by Cirium was 97.47% The Chief Executive Officer of Thai AirAsia, Santisuk Klongchaiya, announced the company’s good news yesterday,…
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Thailand informs airlines about removal of Covid-19 vaccine rule
Unvaccinated travellers heading to Thailand can now feel at ease knowing airlines around the world have been informed that Thailand no longer requires arrivals to prove they are vaccinated against Covid-19. Thailand momentarily reintroduced the two-dose Covid vaccine entry requirement with barely any notice as a measure to mitigate the risk of importing a caseload of coronavirus from China, which…
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Thailand’s second-hand car sales industry predicted to rise modestly
The Association of Used Car (AUC) predicts the second-hand car market in Thailand will increase by 15% this year despite the ongoing shortage of semiconductors needed for the production of new vehicles. The worldwide shortage of semiconductors is exacerbated by a political game of cat and mouse between China and Taiwan. Taiwan is largely known as the semiconductor capital of…
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