Thailand’s transport minister has set out a two-stage plan to overhaul fares on Bangkok’s electric train network, beginning with a flat fare of between 17 and 45 baht per journey from the start of 2027 and eventually buying back the private operating concessions for an estimated 200 billion baht.
Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, who is deputy prime minister and minister of transport in the cabinet of Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, said the long-term goal of placing every line under a single state owner could not happen yet because of Thailand’s high level of public debt. Instead, the government will start with a common ticketing system that lets passengers move between lines on one fare.
The legal groundwork is already in place. The Common Ticketing Act and the Rail Transport Act have both come into force, allowing the state to introduce the capped fare of 17 to 45 baht per trip, with the New Year of 2027 as the target start date.
To make that possible, the right to collect fares on every line, including the Airport Rail Link, will be transferred to the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA), the state agency that will act as the single fare collector. The MRTA will also run a back office to settle payments with the train operators and to refund any overpaid fares to passengers within one to three days. Mr Phiphat said the system should be ready by the end of this year.
One practical hurdle is the BTS Green Line, run by Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTSC), where passengers currently pay using the Rabbit card. They will need to upgrade that system to accept contactless debit and credit cards, known as EMV Contactless, or possibly QR code payments.
The minister said the MRTA would work out how to do this and estimate the cost.
Mr Phiphat acknowledged that the capped fare would require the state to subsidise operators through a common ticketing fund, drawn mainly from the MRTA’s own revenue. He added that the government would also seek a larger share of revenue from the extra passengers the cheaper fares will likely attract, describing that growth as income the private firms would gain without effort. Talks with operators are under way on a suitable share, starting at 5 to 10 percent or more.
The second phase would be the buy-back of the concessions, bringing the lines under the MRTA so it can offer day passes with unlimited trips, along with weekly and monthly passes and fares based on travel zones. The plan would later extend to buses, beginning after the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority starts receiving electric buses from March 2027, and eventually to passenger boats, through further negotiations with operators.
To fund the buy-back, Mr Phiphat said he had discussed with finance minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas a plan to raise money through the Thailand Future Fund (TFF), an infrastructure investment fund. Early estimates put the amount needed at more than 200 billion baht, and he expressed confidence that strong returns would attract investors. The process is expected to take at least 18 months to two years.
Once the money is raised, the government intends to begin the buy-back of all lines without waiting for BTSC’s Green Line concession to expire in 2029, calculating compensation based on the time left on each contract.
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