Hundreds of thousands of people thronged provincial railway stations, bus terminals and airports to return to Bangkok Tuesday after the end of the long New Year holidays.
Extra trains and buses were mobilised to transport people back to the capital, while almost all seats on domestic flights from major cities to Bangkok were occupied.
State Railway of Thailand (SRT) deputy governor Tanongsak Pongprasert said the SRT increased its overall daily capacity to 120,000 passengers from Dec 29 to today to help transport people travelling from Bangkok to their home provinces and back during the New Year holidays.
Mr Tanongsak said 242 trains are running each day and the SRT has added extra trains on busy lines such as Sila At to Bangkok, Ubon Ratchathani to Bangkok, Udon Thani to Bangkok and Chiang Mai to Bangkok, which would enable it to carry 5,000 more passengers a day.
"The number of passengers heading back to Bangkok on Monday was at 95,923 and it increased to 115,000 on Jan 2. However, we expect the number will decline to 110,000 on Jan 3, so with our capacity there will be no passengers left behind," Mr Tanongsak said.
On the roads Tuesday, Transport Company (Bor Kor Sor) president Jirasak Yaovatsakul said he expected about 160,000 passengers on buses to arrive at three terminals -- Chatuchak (for the North and Northeast), Ekamai (for the East), and Boromratchonnanee (for the South) as at the half-day mark the number of travellers had already reached 90,000.
Mr Jirasak said more buses could be put into service if demand is higher than anticipated.
"Apart from preparing sufficient buses, we will also ensure there are no intoxicated drivers operating vehicles under any circumstances," he said.
Mr Jirasak said the company has also worked with the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority and taxi cooperatives to arrange enough buses and taxis at the three bus terminals to transport arriving passengers.
It was also reported that 90% of seats on domestic flights to Don Mueang airport on Tuesday were already booked up.
Low-cost airlines that offered cheap tickets were fully booked on flights from major provinces to Bangkok.
Many passengers arriving at Don Mueang airport had to wait in long queues to catch taxis home.
Meanwhile, police also strictly enforced traffic regulations to ensure road safety and prevent road accidents as the government has set a target of reducing the rate of deaths and injuries via all forms of transport by at least 5% from last year's statistics.
About 2,000 road checkpoints were set up to examine vehicles and check drivers across the country.
Checkpoints were manned by police and soldiers in busy traffic areas.
Vehicles driven by drink drivers were seized by the authorities and will be given back to their owners after the holidays are over.
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Royal Thai Police deputy spokesman Pol Col Kritsana Pattanacharoen said 317 people have been killed so far in New Year holiday road accidents.
The death toll was from Dec 28 to Monday, the first five days of the seven-day danger period when road accidents normally peak.
The number is lower than the 371 recorded in the same period last year.
Almost half of the accidents were caused by drink driving, while over a quarter were attributed to speeding, he added.
Government spokesman Lt Gen Sansern Kaewkamnerd said the lower number of road deaths during the New Year period this year reflects the effectiveness of the government's measures.
"The prime minister thanks all officials who sacrificed and worked hard to improve road safety and prevent road accidents. He also thanks citizens who abided by road safety law," Lt Gen Sansern said.
