Transport in Thailand is varied, with no one dominant means of transport. For long-distance travel, bus transport dominates. Low-speed rail travel has long been a rural long-distance transport mechanism, though plans are underway to expand services with high-speed rail lines extending to several major regions of Thailand. Road transportation is the primary form of freight transport across the country.
Khon Kaen is the capital of Khon Kaen province and the fourth-largest city in Thailand. It is one of the four major cities of Isan, Northeast Thailand, also known as the "big four of Isan", the others being Udon Thani, Nakhon Ratchasima, and Ubon Ratchathani.
Northeastern Thailand or Isan consists of 20 provinces in northeastern Thailand. Isan is Thailand's largest region, on the Khorat Plateau, bordered by the Mekong River to the north and east, by Cambodia to the southeast and the Sankamphaeng Range south of Nakhon Ratchasima. To the west it is separated from northern and central Thailand by the Phetchabun Mountains. Isan covers 167,718 km2 (64,756 sq mi), making it about half the size of Germany and roughly the size of England and Wales. The total forest area is 25,203 km2 (9,731 sq mi) or 15 percent of Isan's area.
Don Mueang International Airport — known as Bangkok International Airport before 2006 — is one of two international airports serving Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, the other being Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK).
Hat Yai International Airport is in Khlong La subdistrict, Khlong Hoi Khong district, Songkhla province in southern Thailand, near the city of Hat Yai. It is under the management of Airports of Thailand, PLC (AOT). It serves more than 3 million passengers per year, 12,000 flights, and 3,000 tons of cargo, making it the fifth busiest airport in the country by passenger traffic in 2023.
Phuket International Airport is an international airport serving the island of Phuket and its province in southern Thailand. It is located 32 km (20 mi) north of downtown Phuket in the Mai Khao subdistrict of Thalang district. The airport plays a major role in Thailand's tourism industry, as Phuket is a popular resort destination. It is the third-busiest airport in Thailand in terms of passengers, after Suvarnabhumi Airport and Don Mueang International Airport in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region. The airport set a record of 15.1 million arrivals and departures in 2016, up 17.8 percent from 2015.
Thai Airways Company or Thai Airways was the domestic flag carrier of Thailand. Its main base was the domestic terminal at Don Mueang International Airport. Its head office was located in Pom Prap Sattru Phai, Bangkok. In 1988, Thai Airways merged to become Thai Airways International.
Suvarnabhumi International Airport is the main international airport serving Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. Located mostly in Racha Thewa subdistrict, Bang Phli district, Samut Prakan province, it covers an area of 3,240 ha, making it one of the biggest international airports in Southeast Asia and a regional hub for aviation. The airport is also a major Cargo Air Freight Hub, which has a designated Airport Free Zone, as well as road links to the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) on Motorway 7.
U-Tapao–Rayong–Pattaya International Airport, also spelled Utapao and U-Taphao, is a joint civil–military public international airport serving the cities of Rayong and Pattaya in Eastern Thailand. It is in the Ban Chang district of Rayong province.
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) is the state-owned rail operator under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transport in Thailand.
Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, or Guwahati Airport, is an international airport serving Guwahati in Assam, India. It is the primary airport of North-East India, and the 12th busiest airport in India. It is located at Borjhar, 26 km (16 mi) from Dispur, the capital city of Assam and 28 km (18 mi) from Guwahati. It is named after Gopinath Bordoloi, a freedom fighter and the first Chief Minister of Assam after India's independence. The airport is managed by Airports Authority of India and serves as an Indian Air Force base.
Krabi International Airport is in Nuea Khlong subdistrict, Nuea Khlong district, Krabi province in southern Thailand. It is about 7 kilometres (4 mi) east of downtown Krabi. The airport opened in 1999. In 2017, the airport handled over 4.3 million passengers. The terminal is designed for three million passengers, a number that has already been exceeded, and expansion will push its capacity to over 8 million.
Bangkok has 9.7 million automobiles and motorbikes, a number the government says is eight times more than can be properly accommodated on existing roads. And those numbers are increasing by 700 additional cars and 400 motorbikes every day. Charoen Krung Road, the first road to be built by Western techniques, was completed in 1864. Since then, the road network has expanded to accommodate the sprawling city's needs. Besides roads, Bangkok is served by several other transport systems. Bangkok's canals and ferries historically served as a major mode of transport, but they have long since been eclipsed by land traffic. A complex elevated expressway network and Tollway helps bring traffic into and out of the city centre, but Bangkok's rapid growth has put a large strain on infrastructure. By the late-1970s, Bangkok became known as "the city of traffic disaster". Although rail transport was introduced in 1893 and electric trams served the city from 1894 to 1968, it was only in 1999 that Bangkok's first rapid transit system began operation. Older public transport systems include an extensive bus network and boat services which still operate on the Chao Phraya and two canals. Taxis appear in the form of cars, motorcycles, and tuk-tuks.
Kannithi Aviation Co. Ltd, operated as Kan Air, was a small airline with its hub at Chiang Mai Airport. Kan Air operated charter and scheduled services in Thailand. As of September 2016, Kan Air flew nine routes. Flights from Chiang Mai were to Mae Hong Son, Pai, Nan, Khon Kaen, Ubon Ratchathani, Phitsanulok, Hua Hin, Chiang Rai, and U-Tapao. On 21 April 2017, Kan Air suspended all of its operations.
R Airlines, legally incorporated as Skyview Airways Co. Ltd., was a Thai charter airline headquartered in the Don Mueang District, Bangkok and based out of nearby Don Mueang International Airport. It ceased operations on 18 February 2018.
The Northeastern Line is a railway line in Thailand that connects the capital Bangkok with the northeast region of Isan. The section from Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima is Thailand's first line that opened for passenger service. The line is also a key section on the central route of the Kunming–Singapore railway.
Nakhon Ratchasima is the capital of Nakhon Ratchasima province, the largest city in Northeastern Thailand and the third-largest city in Thailand. It is 250 km northeast of Bangkok, one of the four major cities of Isan, known as the "big four of Isan", and has a population of 466,098 people as of 2021. The city is commonly known as Korat, a shortened form of its name.
The Khon Kaen Light Rail Transit Project is a planned 22.6-kilometre (14.0 mi) light rail transit system consisting of an initial 16 stations to serve Khon Kaen Province in north-east Thailand. A Phase 2 3.5-kilometre (2.2 mi) five-station extension is also planned. The line will have both at-grade and elevated sections. Fares are expected to be a flat 15 baht. Construction is set to begin in 2024.
The Department of Airports (DOA) is a Thai government department under the Ministry of Transport. It operates 28 civil airports throughout the country. The department was split off from the Department of Civil Aviation in 2015, part of a restructuring response to ICAO's downgrading of Thailand's aviation safety rating. The other agency that previously formed part of the old department is the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand.
