Sooner or later you will be standing at a gate with a card that will not open it. In Bangkok the elevated รถไฟฟ้า and the underground รถไฟใต้ดิน are run as separate systems rather than two branches of one, and a stored-value card for one may be no use on the other — even though people say รถไฟฟ้า loosely for either, which is exactly why you ask rather than assume. The State Railway is a different thing again, and it reaches the whole country: long-distance trains sold by class, with sleeper carriages, a booking counter and a platform to find before it leaves. The words split the same way, lines and cards and exits inside a city station against classes and berths and platforms at a railway counter, and this set covers both — the asking and the listening, since the station you are told to change at and the gate that refuses you are things you hear rather than say.
What you say first.
ขอเติมเงินในบัตรหน่อยครับ
khǎw dtoem ngoen nai bàt nàwy khráp
I'd like to top up my card, please.
Male speaker
Same verb as topping up a phone, เติมเงิน, add money. บัตร is the stored-value card you tap at the gates of the รถไฟใต้ดิน (rót-fai dtâi-din), the underground, literally the under-earth train, and of the รถไฟฟ้า (rót-fai-fáa), the elevated line — the word the taxi and ride hailing page uses for the skytrain. The two run separately, so a card for one is not always a card for the other. The counter comes straight back with เติมเท่าไหร่คะ, how much, so have a number and บาท ready before you get there. Buying your first one is ขอซื้อบัตรใหม่ครับ (khǎw séu bàt mài khráp).
สายนี้ไปสถานีหัวลำโพงไหมคะ
sǎai níi bpai sà-thǎa-nii hǔa-lam-phoong mǎi khá
Does this line go to Hua Lamphong station?
Female speaker
The same สาย that numbers a bus route on the songthaew and bus page now means the rail line, and this is the question for a guard on the concourse before you tap in rather than three stops later. Put the station name in and you get a yes, a no, or a change instruction. If you are already on the platform and only want the direction, ask ไปทางหัวลำโพงใช่ไหมคะ, this way for Hua Lamphong.
ต้องเปลี่ยนสายที่สถานีไหนครับ
dtâwng bplìan sǎai thîi sà-thǎa-nii nǎi khráp
Which station do I change lines at?
Male speaker
เปลี่ยนสาย is for rail. A road vehicle takes ต่อรถ (dtàw rót), the phrase on the songthaew and bus page for swapping vehicles, and เปลี่ยนสาย is the one you will hear inside a station. The answer is a station name you will not catch the first time, so hold your phone out and ask them to point at it. The รถไฟใต้ดิน and the รถไฟฟ้า are run as separate systems, so ask ใช้บัตรใบเดียวกันได้ไหมครับ (chái bàt bai diao-gan dâi mǎi khráp), can I use the same card, rather than finding out at a gate. Name the two systems in the question and the answer comes back in words you have met.
ไปตลาดออกทางไหนคะ
bpai dtà-làat àwk thaang-nǎi khá
Which way out do I take for the market?
Female speaker
An underground station puts you out at several points that can be streets apart, and the wrong one costs you a walk back and a road crossing you did not want. ทางออก (thaang àwk) is the exit and they are numbered, so the answer is usually just a number: ทางออกสาม (thaang àwk sǎam). Ask before you commit to an escalator, not at the top of it. The same question works for the exit of a mall or a covered market.
นั่งรถไฟไปเชียงใหม่ใช้เวลากี่ชั่วโมงครับ
nâng rót-fai bpai chiang-mài chái wee-laa gìi chûa-moong khráp
How many hours does the train to Chiang Mai take?
Male speaker
ใช้เวลา, uses time, is the normal way to ask how long a journey runs, and กี่ชั่วโมง forces a number out of it. Ask นานเท่าไหร่ instead and you invite นานเหมือนกัน (naan měuan gan), quite a while, which tells you nothing you did not know. Swap ชั่วโมง for นาที on a short hop. Whatever number comes back, treat it as the plan rather than the outcome and do not book anything tight at the far end.
ขอจองตั๋วรถไฟตู้นอนเตียงล่างค่ะ
khǎw jawng dtǔa rót-fai dtûu-nawn dtiang-lâang khâ
I'd like to book a train sleeper, lower berth.
Female speaker
ตู้นอน is the sleeper carriage, ตู้ being the same cabinet word inside รถตู้ (rót-dtûu), the minibus on the songthaew and bus page. The clerk will ask เตียงบนหรือเตียงล่างคะ, upper or lower, so say which you want before she has to ask. This is a statement, so it ends in ค่ะ with a falling tone, not the high คะ you would use on a question. Then give the date, because ไปวันไหนคะ is coming next.
มีชั้นไหนบ้างครับ
mii chán nǎi bâang khráp
What classes do you have?
Male speaker
Thai trains sell by ชั้น: ชั้นหนึ่ง, ชั้นสอง, ชั้นสาม. ไหนบ้าง asks for the whole list rather than making you guess one and be told no, and it is worth reaching for whenever you want your options laid out — at a counter, a clinic or a phone shop. The follow-up is the either-or frame from the songthaew and bus page: แอร์หรือพัดลมครับ (ae rěu phát-lom khráp), aircon or fan.
รถไฟขบวนนี้เข้าชานชาลาไหนครับ
rót-fai khà-buan níi khâo chaan-chaa-laa nǎi khráp
Which platform does this train come in at?
Male speaker
A train takes the classifier ขบวน where a bus, van or songthaew takes คัน, so ขบวนนี้ is this service and คันนี้ would be wrong here. ชานชาลา is the platform; at a bus terminal the numbered bays are ช่อง instead, the word used on the songthaew and bus page. Hold your ticket out while you ask, so they can read the train number off it rather than off your accent.
What they will say back, and how you answer it.
ต้องเปลี่ยนสายที่สถานีสีลมค่ะ
dtâwng bplìan sǎai thîi sà-thǎa-nii sǐi-lom khâ
You have to change lines at Si Lom.
Female speaker
This is what comes back when the line you are standing on does not reach where you are going. The only word you must catch is the station name, so repeat it back as a question, สีลมนะคะ, and let her nod. If she adds ลงแล้วเดินต่อ (long láew doen dtàw), get off then keep walking, you are being sent between two systems on foot rather than across a platform.
เงินในบัตรไม่พอค่ะเติมที่ตู้ตรงนั้นนะคะ
ngoen nai bàt mâi phaw khâ dtoem thîi dtûu dtrong-nán ná khá
There isn't enough on your card — top up at that machine.
Female speaker
What the staff say when the gate will not open on you, usually while a queue builds up behind your shoulder. ไม่พอ, not enough, is the entire diagnosis and you do not need the rest of the sentence. ตู้ here is the top-up machine she is pointing at, the same cabinet word as in รถตู้ and ตู้นอน. Step out of the gate line first and top up there; nothing gets fixed standing in the barrier.
ตู้นอนเต็มแล้วครับเหลือแต่ชั้นสาม
dtûu-nawn dtem láew khráp lěua dtàe chán sǎam
The sleeper's full; there's only third class left.
Male speaker
เหลือแต่ is what is left once the good option has gone, and it turns up at ticket windows, restaurants and pharmacies in exactly this shape. Do not simply take it. The two follow-ups that change the answer are ตู้นอนว่างวันไหนบ้างครับ (dtûu-nawn wâang wan nǎi bâang khráp), which days still have one free, and มีรถทัวร์ไปคืนนี้ไหมครับ (mii rót-thua bpai kheun-níi mǎi khráp), is there a coach tonight — รถทัวร์ being the long-distance coach from the songthaew and bus page.
You did not catch it, or something is not right.
ลงผิดสถานีต้องกลับไปทางไหนคะ
long phìt sà-thǎa-nii dtâwng glàp bpai thaang-nǎi khá
I got off at the wrong station — which way back?
Female speaker
Built on the same ผิด as ขึ้นผิดคัน on the songthaew and bus page: the verb first, ผิด straight after it. Ask at the booth rather than on the platform, because the answer may not be a platform at all. The question that belongs with it is ต้องซื้อตั๋วใหม่ไหมคะ (dtâwng séu dtǔa mài mǎi khá), do I have to buy another ticket — ask it rather than guessing at a gate.
บัตรแตะไม่ผ่านช่วยดูให้หน่อยครับ
bàt dtàe mâi phàan chûay duu hâi nàwy khráp
My card won't tap through — could you take a look?
Male speaker
แตะ is the tap, and ไม่ผ่าน, does not go through, is what fails: a card, a payment, an inspection. Notice ผ่าน is the same verb the songthaew and bus page uses for a bus that passes the hospital, and the sense is identical — something either gets through or it does not. ช่วย plus a verb plus ให้หน่อย is the ask-a-favour frame used all over this site, and it is worth having ready before you are stuck in a barrier with a queue behind you.
ทำตั๋วหายทำยังไงดีคะ
tham dtǔa hǎai tham yang-ngai dii khá
I've lost my ticket — what should I do?
Female speaker
ทำ ... หาย is the frame for losing anything and the thing goes in the middle: ทำกระเป๋าหาย, ทำบัตรหาย, ทำพาสปอร์ตหาย. ทำยังไงดี, what should I do, hands the problem to the person in front of you instead of describing it and hoping, and it is the most useful four syllables on this page. Say it at the counter, not to the barrier that just refused you.
A1.1 Get through it
Hand the card over and say ขอเติมเงินในบัตรหน่อยครับ (khǎw dtoem ngoen nai bàt nàwy khráp), top up my card, please; when เติมเท่าไหร่คะ (dtoem thâo-rài khá), how much, comes back, a number and บาท (bàat), baht, is a complete answer. For the journey itself, name the station and let the guard drive — สายนี้ไปสถานีหัวลำโพงไหมคะ (sǎai níi bpai sà-thǎa-nii hǔa-lam-phoong mǎi khá), does this line go to Hua Lamphong — then ไปตลาดออกทางไหนคะ (bpai dtà-làat àwk thaang-nǎi khá), which way out for the market, at the far end, because the answer is only a number: ทางออกสาม (thaang àwk sǎam), exit three.
A2 Handle it
The reply is mostly one word you have to catch. Out of ต้องเปลี่ยนสายที่สถานีสีลมค่ะ (dtâwng bplìan sǎai thîi sà-thǎa-nii sǐi-lom khâ), you have to change lines at Si Lom, the only word you need is the station name, so repeat it back as a question, สีลมนะคะ (sǐi-lom ná khá), and let her nod; ไม่พอ (mâi phaw), not enough, is the entire diagnosis when the gate refuses you, and ลงแล้วเดินต่อ (long láew doen dtàw), get off then keep walking, means you are being sent between two systems on foot rather than across a platform. Get the complications asked before they happen: ต้องเปลี่ยนสายที่สถานีไหนครับ (dtâwng bplìan sǎai thîi sà-thǎa-nii nǎi khráp), which station do I change at, and ใช้บัตรใบเดียวกันได้ไหมครับ (chái bàt bai diao-gan dâi mǎi khráp), can I use the same card — asked at the concourse, not while standing in the barrier.
B1 Work it
Stop taking the first answer. เหลือแต่ชั้นสาม (lěua dtàe chán sǎam), only third class left, is an opening position rather than a verdict, so come back with ตู้นอนว่างวันไหนบ้างครับ (dtûu-nawn wâang wan nǎi bâang khráp), which days still have a sleeper free, or มีรถทัวร์ไปคืนนี้ไหมครับ (mii rót-thua bpai kheun-níi mǎi khráp), is there a coach tonight. Open the counter with มีชั้นไหนบ้างครับ (mii chán nǎi bâang khráp), what classes do you have, instead of guessing one and being told no; book with the detail already in it, ขอจองตั๋วรถไฟตู้นอนเตียงล่างค่ะ (khǎw jawng dtǔa rót-fai dtûu-nawn dtiang-lâang khâ), a train sleeper, lower berth, and force a real number with กี่ชั่วโมง (gìi chûa-moong), how many hours, rather than นานเท่าไหร่ (naan thâo-rài), how long, which only buys you นานเหมือนกัน (naan měuan gan), quite a while.
C1 to native Belong in it
Under pressure a Thai speaker hands the problem over instead of reporting the fault: บัตรแตะไม่ผ่านช่วยดูให้หน่อยครับ (bàt dtàe mâi phàan chûay duu hâi nàwy khráp) asks someone to look rather than announcing that the gate is broken, and ทำตั๋วหายทำยังไงดีคะ (tham dtǔa hǎai tham yang-ngai dii khá) makes the clerk the owner of the solution instead of leaving you to argue for one. ทำยังไงดี (tham yang-ngai dii), what should I do, is the whole move, and it works because it offers her the small authority of fixing you — worth far more at a barrier with a queue behind you than being right; the นะ (ná) that makes สีลมนะคะ a check rather than a challenge, and her เติมที่ตู้ตรงนั้นนะคะ (dtoem thîi dtûu dtrong-nán ná khá), top up at that machine, a nudge rather than an order, belongs on your own requests too. The rest is register, and it is a live one because you use rail and road in the same week: ขบวนนี้ (khà-buan níi) and never คันนี้ (khan níi), the classifier a bus or a van takes, ชานชาลา (chaan-chaa-laa) for a rail platform and not the ช่อง (châwng) that numbers the bays at a bus terminal, เปลี่ยนสาย (bplìan sǎai) rather than ต่อรถ (dtàw rót) once you are inside a station — the split that separates someone who commutes here from someone visiting one line.