The cost of a journey for the subway depends on your location and destination, but it is a cheap system to use and attracts many people to use it and has helped ease the traffic situation but the subway is limited in length and fewer people use it than the Skytrain. It has now been open 4 years and not a single new station has opened. Expect to pay between 15 and 50 Baht for a token which can be purchased from a vending machine. The machine takes 5 and 10 Baht coins which can be obtained from the change counter, oryou can feed notes into the machine which uses a touch screen monitor to select your destination. The screen will probably be in Thai, but you can select English. Your token will drop out the bottom along with any change.

Did You Say A Token?

Yes, the Bangkok subway system takes tokens instead of tickets. The gates which you pass through to enter have a plate to the right of the gate you choose and you touch the token to the plate and the gates in front of you open. On passing through the gates to leave the subway, you put the token in the slot and the token is retained.

If you choose to buy a travel pass, it will be like a credit card and you tap the card on the sensor to enter and leave through the gates.

Travel Cards and Travel Passes

There are a number of travel cards or travel passes available. You can get day travel cards for adults and students, or, if you are staying longer and will use the subway often, you might want to get a stored value card.

Is It Safe & Reliable ?

The underground in Bangkok is both safe and reliable. In rush hour, starting around 7 am until about 9 am trains run very frequently at roughly 3 minute intervals but not much is open at those times and the trains can get very busy with people heading off to work but with the security at every station, and with bags, packages, backpacks etc being searched before being allowed down into the station, it's a safe system. Trains run approximately every 5 minutes when not rush hour.
There are also station guards at each end of the platform to ensure the safety of the passengers. A yellow line is on the platform to indicate a safe distance to stand before a train arrives although the track and the platform is separated by glass with sliding doors which open to give access to the train. There is no chance of falling or being pushed onto the tracks.

The subway covers fewer business and shopping areas than the skytrain and stops at almost none of the malls or department stores. Hua Lampong train station, The Thai Cultural Center, Fortune Tower, Silom Road, Queen Sirikit Convention Center and Chatuchak Weekend Market are the main stations for visitors, but it allows for a change at Asoke which is a central spot for the Skytrain.It also does not go to the sight seeing tourist areas such as temples.