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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Thai government looks to revive Pak Bara and Songkhla deep-sea port projects
The government is looking at reviving deep sea-port projects in the south of Thailand. They were shelved two years ago as the government bowed to public opposition at the time. The Transport Ministry is considering reviving the Pak Bara, Satun, and Songkhla deep-sea port projects. Both projects are in the south of the country. The projects have been shelved at…
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Second passenger terminal opens at U-Tapao International Airport
U-Tapao International Airport, serving the cities of Pattaya and Rayong in eastern Thailand, has officially opened a second passenger terminal, with ambitious plans for growth and an increase in passenger capacity from over 2 million a year to 5 million over the next five years. The Nation reports that airport officials are also waiting for the outcome of the bidding…
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New MRT stations in Bangkok take you to the city’s historic spots
Thailand’s Mass Rapid Transit Authority, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, and Bangkok Expressway and Metro Public Company Limited are inviting locals and tourists to visit attractions near four of Bangkok’s MRT stations. Attractions include China Town, temples, palaces and shopping areas. The new Wat Mangkon, Samyot, Sanam Chai and Itsaraphap MRT stations have been designed to include retro styling to…
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All national highways in Thailand to have four lanes by 2022
Thailand’s Highways Department says all national highways in the country will be four-lane roads, two lanes in each direction, within three years. Daily News says the Director-General of the Highways Department, Sarawut Songsiwilai, made the announcement yesterday. Sarawut says the expansion will mean the country’s highways are better prepared to accommodate an increase in traffic using the network. It’s understood…
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Thailand’s high speed rail future “not the right fit”
After years of delays, negotiations and more negotiations, bullet trains (high-speed trans) are coming to Thailand. But with one project underway, another already approved and others being considered, many speculate if high speed rail is the right fit for the Kingdom. Critics say the existing contracts with the Chinese are more about a political jibe at the US over its criticism…
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Wedding bus burns, passengers unharmed in Chai Nat
A chartered bus from a wedding was gutted by fire on Sunday in central Chai Nat Province. All 46 bus passengers escaped unharmed, according to police. The bus caught fire on the highway in Chai Nat, forcing all the passengers and the driver to urgently evacuate. One passenger told Thai media the bus had taken the groom and guests to the…
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Truck causes buses to collide at BKK construction site, 11 injured
PHOTO: khaosod.com Eleven people have been injured when a ten-wheeler truck cut in front of a bus, causing to swerve into another bus. Bus #195 crashed into Bus #205 on Rama 3 Road, Klong Toey in Bangkok. The injured passengers are recovering in hospital and assisting police with their enquiries. Tungmahamek Police headed to the location of the incident with emergency…
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Thai Airways’ losses reach 11 billion baht this year
Thai Airways International has announced the turnover of the company and its affiliates for Q3 of 2019, reporting net losses of 4.68 billion baht, a full 27% higher than last year’s result, an additional loss of 994 million baht. In the third quarter of 2019, the company and its affiliates generated revenue of 45.016 billion baht, which is 6.1% or…
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Police tracking down Mercedes driver who wouldn’t give way to an ambulance – VIDEO
MONTAGE: Daily News Police are tracking down the driver of a Mercedes Benz who gave ambulance drivers ‘the finger’ after refusing to give way to the screeching sirens of the ambulance trying to get a patient to hospital. The ambulance travelling between Phyathai 2 and Phyathai Hospital (Sri Racha) in central Bangkok on Saturday. The relatives of the patient described the incident as…
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Thai Airways management ‘asked’, staff ‘told’, to cut expenses
PHOTO: Both management and staff likely to lose some entitlements under new policy to reduce costs In a move that will likely contribute little to the airline’s rehabilitation, Thai Airways is trying to reduce expenditures on staff travel. Meanwhile the airlines’ management is being ‘asked’ to reduce some of their expenses. The moves are part of a range of new…
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Transport Ministry succumbs to increase in luggage charges for airport taxis
Items of luggage that measure 26 inches (66 centimetres) or more in length will now incur a taxi ‘handling fee’ of an additional 20 baht in an agreement reached between airport taxi drivers and the Transport Ministry. It’s understood the Ministry approved the increase after caving in to a protest by taxi drivers on Thursday. Over 100 members of the…
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Bangkok to move all motorcycle taxi ranks off sidewalks
PHOTO: Win Drivers in Bangkok awaiting their next fare – Yahoo News The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration says they will move all motorcycle taxis ranks (also known as “Wins”) off the city’s pavements by the end of this year. The awaiting motorcycle taxis, with their colour-coded high-viz jackets, are ubiquitous around the capital Naew Na reports that 495 ranks currently use the…
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BMA adds pedestrian walkways and better disabled access
PHOTO: Bangkok Post The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has launched a program to improve flyovers in high-traffic areas with pedestrian crossings which will also include facilities to help the elderly safely cross Bangkok’s busy roads. The report says that road-crossing signals will be established along with flyovers with lifts for the elderly and disabled, particularly in high-traffic areas. Flyovers with ramps linking…
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“Three year ban is too long” – Bangkok ‘win’ riders complain about new penalties
Win riders, Bangkok’s ubiquitous and slightly notorious motorcycle taxi drivers, are claiming that proposed penalties for riding on the sidewalk are too severe. Currently the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority has laid down bans of up to three years for motorbike riders caught riding on the city’s pavements. But Win riders say losing their jackets for three years is unfair. The Bangkok…
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Bangkok airport taxi drivers protest over ride-sharing apps
With app-based ride services set to be legalised in Bangkok from March next year, taxi drivers at Suvarnabhumi airport are threatening to protest over what they see as the government’s failure to ensure fair competition. The Bangkok Post reports that the drivers are threatening to limit the number of bags they will accept from November 1, accusing both the Transport…
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High-speed rail link approved
Plans for a new 7.4 billion dollar high-speed rail link from Bangkok to Pattaya got the thumbs-up Thursday (October 24). The approval comes after months of acrimonious negotiations. The government said it had signed an agreement on Thursday to begin construction with a consortium led by conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group (CP) and including China Railway Construction Corporation. Japanese banks have…
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Commerce Ministry will appeal US GSP decision
Thailand will ask the United States to reconsider removal of trade preferences for Thai exports under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), according to the Ministry of Commerce. In the past, whenever trade benefits for Thai products exported to the US were suspended, Thailand has appealed to the US, according to the commerce minister, who added that it is ultimately…
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Thai exports will suffer from Trump labour rights decision
The Thai export sector will suffer another blow after the US President Donald Trump announced on Friday the suspension of 1.3 billion dollars worth of duty-free trade for certain Thai goods, claiming Thailand has not taken steps to protect the labor rights. In a letter to US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence, Trump said…
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Viral video of Pattaya bus driver arguing with suspected illegal tour guides sparks investigation
Pattaya Tourist Police have begun an investigation into suspected illegal tour guides after a video of a frustrated bus driver arguing with the guides went viral on social media. The Pattaya News reports that the bus was carrying Chinese tourists and the video shows the driver asking the tour guides where they wanted to go. The guides appear to be…
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Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport moves domestic passenger security screening
From 5.00am on November 19, Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok will relocate screening of domestic passengers to alleviate overcrowding on the fourth floor. The Nation reports that the airport is moving the security screening to concourse screening, including Concourse A and B on the second and third floors. The measure is also being put in place to address the confusion and…
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Visa fee waiver to run until end of April
The government will extend the waiver of visa-on-arrival fees for another six months to boost the number of foreign tourists entering the Kingdom. A government spokesperson announced on Tuesday (October 22) that the Cabinet had approved a six-month extension to the exemption until the end of April next year. The visa fee waiver was implemented in November last year and…
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Biometric scanning system to be tested at five provincial airports
The Ministry of Transport is considering using biometric facial scanning of air passengers, initially at five provincial airports, as part of a pilot project to develop smart airports across the kingdom. The deputy transport minister said Tuesday that a working committee, comprising members of the Department of Airports, the Royal Thai Police Office and the Ministry of Interior, has been…
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Points deduction system for drivers to be introduced mid-December
The point deduction system, for traffic and road infringements, is tentatively scheduled for activation for motorists and motorcyclists in mid-December. It is hoped that the system will help reduce road fatalities and injuries on Thai roads. The deputy commander of Highways Police Command says that every licensed driver will be given an allocation of 12 points. Each time the driver…
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Thai High Speed Railway linking airports now to be signed off on October 25
The State Railway of Thailand and the Charoen Pokphand Group-led consortium are putting pen to paper and signing the contract for the high-speed train project on October 25. The much-discussed high speed railway will link Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang and U-Tapao international airports. The new SRT board was approved by the Thai cabinet today. Deputy PM Anutin Charnvirakul says he is…
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Transport Minister pressures State Railway board to resign
PHOTO: The Nation Board members of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) are expected to tender their resignations to Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob ‘soon’, according to sources to The Nation. There has been speculation for some time that the members have been under pressure to resign, as the minister reportedly wants to reconstitute the board. Among many other issues, the…
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Renting a motorbike in Thailand? Have a valid license.
Transport minister Saksayam Chidchob says he’s intent on tackling Thailand’s shameful road toll. Recognising that motorcycles are the main culprit (75% of road deaths in Thailand involve motorcycles and motorbikes), he’s proposing some new laws, at least for tourists at this stage. Up until now tourists have been easily able to rent a motorcycle by just showing a passport, according…
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Bangkok bus union is opposing plan for private sector operation
PHOTO: Daily News The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority labour union is voicing its strong objection to the Transport Minister over his plans to contract private companies to operate the city’s bus services, and the shelving plans to procure a fleet of 3,000 new buses. Thai PBS reports that the union president, Veerapong Wongwaen, says that the union will submit a…
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Three Thai high-speed train projects shelved
“As the high-speed train system in Laos is nearing completion, he said that Thailand must speed up its construction of the Bangkok-Nong Khai project.” Three high-speed train projects are being shelved by the Thai government due to lack of interest from co-investors. Sources at the Transport Ministry have told Thai PBS World that none of the three projects were included…
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Thailand planning new rules and speed restrictions for big bikes
PHOTO: www.geonoise.co.th The Deputy Permanent Secretary for Transport, Chirute Visalachitra says new rules are being introduced for big bikes, including a ban on “lane-splitting” and a lower speed limit in built-up areas. Lane-splitting is the practice of riding between vehicles, with the Transport Ministry saying that under new rules, riders of big bikes will have to remain behind vehicles that…
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Shake-up at the top in Thai state enterprises – Transport Minister
PHOTO: BTS station – YouTube In a major management shakeup in Thai state enterprises, the transport minister has now appointed a new chairmen to the boards of the Port Authority of Thailand, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) and the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMA). The list of new chairmen has been…
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