Exodus of Songkran revelers continues

Bangkok’s Hua Lampong Railway Station and Mor Chit Bus Terminal, as well as nationwide airports have been crowded, as passengers packed the places for their trips during the ongoing Songkran long-holiday period. More than 100,000 train passengers left Bangkok on Thursday for home so that they would be able to join their families and friends in celebrating the water-splashing festival holidays, officially set from April 12-17 this year. The state-run State Railway of Thailand (SRT) expected almost the same amount of passengers should leave for upcountry on Friday. In the meantime, general atmosphere at Mor Chit Bus Terminal has also been active since Thursday, when more than 250,000 passengers boarded provincial buses and left Bangkok. Executives of the capital's main bus station projected that the number of passengers using bus services on Friday would drop from Thursday. More than 170,000 air travelers are expected to, on the other hand, use Thailand's main Suvarnabhumi International Airport on Friday, as Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited (AOT) has forecast that most passengers should travel via the Suvarnabhumi Airport; while foreign tourists have gradually arrived in Thailand to join Songkran or the traditional Thai New Year celebrations.(TNA)