The Ministry of Transport has ordered the State Railway of Thailand to reduce fares on the Red Line extension routes, from Bang Sue to Taling Chan and from Bang Sue to Rangsit, due to their high price compared to those charged by the Blue Line operator.

The SRT has set the fares for the 15km Bang Sue to Taling Chan extension at 1.5 baht/km, while the 26km extension, from Bang Sue to Rangsit, is set at 2 baht/km.

Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob said today (Thursday) that the SRT must have a good explanation for why the fares are different and why the charges on the two routes are higher than the .88 baht/km fare charged by the Blue Line.

He said that the SRT has been given a month introduce revised fares.

The SRT are to start trial runs on the two extension routes, on March 26^th until July 28^th, during which members of the public ride free of charge.

Saksayam said schools or large groups, who want to use the free train service during specific times, can contact the SRT, which may consider adjusting the free trial service to suit their needs.

As for the other extensions to the Red Line, which are yet to be constructed, the minister said that he expects talks on the projects to be concluded this year.