Bangkok’s Red Line suburban train service will begin daily operations half an hour earlier, at 5am, from tomorrow (Tuesday) and will increase the train frequency from every 12 minutes to 10 minutes from 7am to 9am and from 5pm to 7.30pm.

The train frequency during the off-peak hours will also be changed from every 20 minutes to every 15.

Sutep Punthupeng, CEO of the SRT Electrified Train Company, a subsidiary of the State Railway of Thailand, said that the adjustment of service hours and the increased train frequency are intended to offer more convenience to commuters, many of whom are air passengers travelling to Don Mueang airport before dawn to catch flights.

As for the western route, from the Krung Thep Aphiwat (Bang Sue) station to Taling Chan, the frequency of service during the peak hours remains unchanged, at 20 minutes between trains, but the frequency during off-peak hours will be changed from every 30 minutes to every 20.

The Red Line is currently serving up to 24,000 passengers per day, except for Fridays when the volume increases to about 25,000.

The SRT Electrified Train Company has set a target to increase the number of passengers using the service by 10%this year and next, which is higher than the annual average increase of 7-8%.