The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) will launch an online train ticket reservation service via www.railway.co.th and www.thairailwayticket.com on Wednesday.
The new e-TSRT service will cover adult tickets without a discount and half-price child tickets, SRT governor Wuthichart Kalyanamitr said on Monday.
Reservations could be made for first, second and third class, but not special trains for festivals or free trains.
Online reservations could be made from two hours to 60 days in advance. Each booking could be for up to four seats. Payment via credit cards would be subject to a surcharge of 20-40 baht per seat.
Travellers can print out their e-tickets at home or at the station before boarding the train.
Mr Wuthichart expected about half the SRT's passengers would use the new electronic ticket reservation service.
SRT carries about 80,000 passengers daily on weekdays and 90,000 a day on weekends, SRT deputy governor Thanongsak Pongprasert said.
Seat occupancy was about 80% on the northern line to Chiang Mai province and 60-70% on other routes. The modern trains put in service late last year were at 90%, he said.
The SRT took delivery of 115 new carriages from China as part of its modernisation programme to improve passenger safety and comfort.
Some of them are first-class sleeper cars. Each first-class seat is equipped with a TV screen with movies and music content and a USB slot for battery recharging. Passengers can also order food and beverages from their seats.
The 120-year-old state enterprise also plans to renovate 148 older passenger carriages for its low-cost services.