Transport minister vows B15 fare for trains with no subsidies

The Airport Rail Link is one of the two rail routes targeted by the Transport Ministry for a 15-baht flat-rate fare.

Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob has vowed to implement a 15-baht flat-rate fare on two state-run electric trains with no state subsidies.

Financial help from the state may not be necessary as reduced fares will draw more passengers, enough to make up for the shortfall and also generate sufficient revenue, according to Chayatham Phromson, deputy chief of the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP).

Earlier, Mr Saksayam said he expects to have all the essential information about the flat-rate fare ready by the end of this year.

Mr Saksayam plans to apply the fare on two rail routes operated by the State Railway of Thailand -- the Tao Poon-Bang Yai section of the Purple Line and the Airport Rail Link, which connects Phaya Thai and Suvarnabhumi airport.

At present, the Purple Line charges passengers between 14 and 42 baht while the Airport Rail Link charges 15 baht to 45 baht.

Mr Saksayam said earlier this week he had yet to decide whether to apply the 15-baht rate for the two routes as the fares need to be considered carefully.

"But I insist I'll do everything possible to avoid affecting the state budget," he said.

Experts, however, said state subsidies will be unavoidable. The flat-rate proposal is estimated to require a government subsidy for train operators of at least 700 million baht a year.

The money issue is being studied by the OTP, Mr Saksayam said, adding; "I want the office to come to a conclusion within a month."

Mr Chayatham said the Transport Ministry may not need to request state subsidies if supply and demand is factored in.

If passengers are charged 30 baht on average and daily ridership of the two lines stands at 50,000, operators will get 1.5 million baht in daily revenue. But if the fare is reduced to 15 baht, the number of commuters must increase to 100,000 daily to sustain the operation and maintain profitability.