Bangkok to Chiang Mai by train: sleeper, day train and tickets

The short answer

This guide is research, not a first-hand visit. We built it from the official sources listed at the end, as of the date in the ticket.

The train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai leaves from Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal, in the north of the city. D-Ticket, the booking system of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), lists five trains a day on the route, all from Krung Thep Aphiwat. It lists none from the old Hua Lamphong station.

If you want a bed, take train 9 at 6.40pm. It reaches Chiang Mai at 7.15am the next morning, and it is the only train to Chiang Mai that D-Ticket labels “CNR”. Train 13 at 8.05pm is the other sleeper with first-class cabins. If you would rather see the country, take train 7 at 7.30am, the fastest train on the line at 10 hours 20 minutes, with air-conditioned seats.

Book early. Sleeper berths can sell out. Check D-Ticket for live availability.

The timetable and fares below come from D-Ticket, read on 20 October 2026. Check them again before you travel.

Which Bangkok station: Krung Thep Aphiwat or Hua Lamphong

D-Ticket lists two Bangkok terminals: “Krung Thep Aphiwat” (station code KTW) and “Bangkok”, the old Hua Lamphong station. A search from Bangkok (Hua Lamphong) to Chiang Mai returns no trains. A search from Krung Thep Aphiwat returns five. Older guides may still send you to Hua Lamphong, so check the station on your ticket.

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Fig. 1 Northern line arrivals, Krung Thep Aphiwat. Photographed in February 2024. Photo: MNXANL (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab) · modified

Krung Thep Aphiwat stands at Bang Sue Junction, on Kamphaeng Phet Road in Chatuchak district. The station is large. According to the SRT Red Line’s station page, the long-distance platforms are on the second floor and the Red Line commuter platforms on the third. The ticket halls and waiting areas are on the ground floor. Give yourself time to find your platform.

To get there:

• MRT Blue Line. The station page says a walkway from ticket hall 2 links to the MRT’s Bang Sue station.
• SRT Red Line. The Red Line commuter trains start at Krung Thep Aphiwat and run north through Don Mueang.
• From Don Mueang Airport. You can skip the city. Every Chiang Mai train stops at Don Mueang station, 15 to 17 minutes after it leaves Krung Thep Aphiwat, and D-Ticket sells tickets from there. Train 9, for example, leaves Don Mueang at 6.57pm.

Bangkok to Chiang Mai train timetable

These are the five trains that D-Ticket listed from Krung Thep Aphiwat to Chiang Mai. The times were the same on each of the four dates we searched, between 5 November 2026 and 15 January 2027. SRT names each train by its number and type.

Train 109 reaches Chiang Mai at 4am, before dawn. If you take it, plan where you will wait until your room is ready.

The main stops below are for train 9. The times come from D-Ticket searches between each pair of stations.

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Fig. 2 Train 9, Bangkok to Chiang Mai Source: SRT D-Ticket (opens in a new tab), October 2026.

Chiang Mai to Bangkok

The trains back run at different times. All five that D-Ticket listed end at Krung Thep Aphiwat.

Ordinary trains do not appear in this list. D-Ticket’s terms say ordinary, commuter and local trains cannot be booked online.

Sleepers, seats and classes

D-Ticket sells each train by car type. Here is what it offered on each train to Chiang Mai.

• First-class sleeper (trains 9 and 13). Air-conditioned cabins, sold as an upper berth, a lower berth, or the whole cabin for one person. D-Ticket calls the last option a “charter room”, and its booking screen says only one passenger may use a chartered cabin.
• Second-class sleeper (trains 9, 13, 51 and 109). Air-conditioned, with an upper and a lower berth. There are no cabins: D-Ticket sells this car by berth only.
• Second-class seat (trains 7, 13, 51 and 109). On train 7 it is an air-conditioned seat in a diesel railcar. On the other trains it is a fan-cooled seat.
• Third-class seat (trains 13, 51 and 109). Fan-cooled seats, and the cheapest way north.

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Fig. 3 Second-class berths in a CNR sleeper car. Photographed in January 2017. Photo: MNXANL (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab) · modified

A lower berth costs more than an upper berth in every class, on every train.

Train 9 also has two special second-class sleeper cars. D-Ticket lists a car for women and children, and a car for passengers with disabilities. The car for passengers with disabilities has 36 berths, against 40 in a standard car. Train 10, back to Bangkok, has the same two cars.

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Fig. 4 A first-class cabin in a CNR sleeper car. Photographed in January 2017. Photo: MNXANL (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab) · modified

D-Ticket asks for each passenger’s gender, and its seat map marks taken places as male, female or monk. Its booking screen warns that a woman cannot share a cabin with a man or a monk, and asks you to choose another berth. If you are a couple or a family and want to share a first-class cabin, ask SRT how this rule applies before you book. The SRT hotline is 1690.

Fares by class

These are the one-way adult fares D-Ticket showed for Krung Thep Aphiwat to Chiang Mai, in Thai baht. They were the same for each date we checked.

The same class costs more on a faster train. A third-class seat is 230 baht on rapid train 109 and 310 baht on special express 13. A second-class lower berth is 758 baht on train 109 and 1,038 baht on train 9. The fares on the five trains back to Bangkok matched these, class for class. Train 102, the morning rapid train back, has seats only: D-Ticket lists no berth on it.

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Fig. 5 One-way adult fare to Chiang Mai, baht Source: SRT D-Ticket (opens in a new tab), October 2026.

D-Ticket shows adult fares by default. For child fares and discounts, check D-Ticket or ask at a station ticket office.

How to book on D-Ticket

D-Ticket is SRT’s own booking site, at dticket.railway.co.th, with an English version and a phone app. The booking runs in this order: search, choose a train, choose a car with free places, enter passenger details and pick your seat or berth, pay, and print your ticket.

Before you start, note these terms:

• When you can book. The terms say express, special express and rapid trains can be booked up to 180 days ahead. D-Ticket’s help page gives 90 days for a trip that covers 60% or more of the train’s route, as Bangkok to Chiang Mai does. On 20 October 2026, the search showed trains up to 18 January 2027, 90 days ahead. Bookings close 3 hours before departure.
• Who is travelling. Because of SRT’s passenger insurance, you must enter the real name, ID card or passport number and phone number of each traveller. You cannot change the name on a ticket later.
• Payment. Pay the full amount by credit or debit card, or with PromptPay.
• Your ticket. The terms say you must print the ticket to travel.
• Sold out. When a car has no free places, D-Ticket offers to add you to a waiting list.

How fast do sleepers sell out?

Sleeper berths can sell out. Check D-Ticket for live availability.

If you want a berth on train 9 or 13, book as soon as your date opens. If the berths are gone, try trains 51 or 109, join the waiting list, or take the day train.

Changes and refunds

You can change a ticket online or at any station, as many times as you like. Each change has a fee, set by how close to departure you change it:

• 3 days or more before departure: 20% of the ticket price.
• 2 days before: 30%.
• 1 day before: 50%.

You can cancel online up to 3 hours before departure. D-Ticket refunds the card you paid with, within 45 days, depending on your bank. D-Ticket’s own pages disagree on the refund fee. The terms, in English and in Thai, say the fee is 70%. An older section of the help page, in its English version, gives 20% to 50% of the fare, plus a service charge. Before you cancel, ask the SRT hotline (1690) how much you will get back. A ticket paid with PromptPay can be refunded only at a station.

Day train or night train?

The day train (7 north, 8 south) is the fastest service. It has one class only, second-class air-conditioned seats at 558 baht. You see the country in daylight, but you spend most of a day on the train and arrive in the evening.

The night trains save a day and a night in a hotel. Train 9 at 6.40pm arrives at 7.15am, a good hour to start a day in Chiang Mai. Train 13 at 8.05pm arrives at 8.45am. Train 51 at 10.30pm is the latest departure and arrives at 11.40am, with no first class: second-class berths and seats, and third-class seats.

Train 109 at 2.15pm suits a traveller who wants to sleep part of the way for less: its second-class berths cost 688 to 758 baht. It arrives at 4am.

Food and drink on board

D-Ticket sells seats and berths only. It does not show which trains carry a dining car or sell meals. Ask at the station or call the SRT hotline (1690) about your train, and bring water and something to eat in case.

Arriving in Chiang Mai

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Fig. 6 Chiang Mai station. Photographed in April 2017. Photo: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab) · modified

Chiang Mai station is the end of the northern line, so you cannot miss your stop. The stop before it is Lamphun (Lam Phun in D-Ticket). Train 9 calls there at 6.49am, about half an hour before Chiang Mai.

The station is outside the old city, so plan your last few kilometres before you arrive. Taxis, ride-hailing cars and the red shared trucks called songthaew are the usual ways on.

Train, plane or bus?

The train is the slow option. A flight between Bangkok and Chiang Mai is far shorter in the air, but you add the trips to and from the airports and the time at security. Long-distance buses also run between the two cities overnight.

The train makes sense when the journey is part of the trip: a bed instead of a hotel night, time to read, and the countryside going past. If you are short on time, compare flight times and fares with the airlines directly.

Safety on the train

The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) gives this advice for all of Thailand:

• Theft. The FCDO advises you to avoid sleeping on buses and trains, because people have had items taken from bags while asleep. It also advises you to carry your valuables and cash securely. On a sleeper, that means keeping your passport, money and phone with you in your berth.
• Terrorism. The FCDO says terrorists are likely to try to carry out attacks in Thailand, and that attacks could take place anywhere, including tourist destinations. Targets might include transport infrastructure. It asks you to stay aware of your surroundings, keep up to date with local media and follow the advice of local authorities.

Read the full advice from your own government before you travel.

Questions before you go

How long is the train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai?

D-Ticket’s timetable gives 10 hours 20 minutes on day train 7, the fastest. The night trains take 12 hours 35 minutes (train 9) to 13 hours 10 minutes (train 51). Rapid train 109 takes 13 hours 45 minutes.

Which station does the Chiang Mai train leave from?

Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal. D-Ticket lists no train to Chiang Mai from Hua Lamphong. Every train also stops at Don Mueang, near the airport.

How much is the sleeper train to Chiang Mai?

On D-Ticket, a second-class berth costs 688 to 1,038 baht, depending on the train and on upper or lower. A first-class berth costs 1,246 to 1,646 baht. A first-class cabin for one person costs 1,946 baht on train 13 and 2,446 baht on train 9.

How far ahead should I book?

As early as you can. D-Ticket showed trains up to 90 days ahead. Sleeper berths can sell out. Check D-Ticket for live availability.

Can I take the train to Chiang Mai from Don Mueang Airport?

Yes. All five trains stop at Don Mueang station, 15 to 17 minutes after Krung Thep Aphiwat. D-Ticket sells tickets from Don Mueang, so book from there and you do not need to go into the city.