DRT unveils zonal fare model for Bangkok rail network, final proposal due by end-2026

The Department of Rail Transport is studying a zonal fare model for Bangkok’s rail network to cut high travel costs, with a final proposal expected by the end of 2026. Pichet Kunadhamraks, director-general of the Department of Rail Transport (DRT), said after chairing the first focus group meeting on the study into zonal fares for rail mass transit, linked to congestion charging in high-traffic areas, that the agency is accelerating work on a new fare structure for Bangkok and its surrounding provinces. He said the Ministry of Transport had previously floated the idea of buying back electric rail concessions so that the state could take charge of revenue management and set fares itself. This, he said, would allow the policy to be applied across all rail lines in Bangkok and the metropolitan area without creating an excessive public debt burden or requiring overly high state subsidies. The DRT is now studying several new fare models, including distance-based fares, flat fares and zonal fares. These will be considered alongside the proposed congestion charge to ensure the system covers all eight rail routes in Bangkok and its surrounding areas. As part of the new fare structure study, zoning is being designed to better reflect actual travel distance and costs. At present, two main models are under review: Area-based zones, divided by location or station Time-based zones, where fares are calculated according to journey duration, such as one rate for trips completed within 60 minutes and another rate for longer journeys “We believe a time-based fare system is the fairest and easiest for the public to understand. People would be less likely to dispute the issue of distance,” Pichet said. However, data collected by the department show that the average rail journey in Bangkok is around eight stations, or 11.25 kilometres, taking only about 20 to 25 minutes. He said that if the base time were set at one hour, most commuters would not be affected and would still be able t