Travel support for people attending Royal Cremation of late Thai King

BANGKOK, October 16 (TNA) - PTT Public Company Limited (PTT) has joined forces with three other state-run firms to support people who will attend the Royal Cremation of late His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej late this month. Auttapol Rerkpiboon, PTT's Chief Operating Officer of Downstream Petroleum Business Group, told journalists on Monday that his company has cooperated with the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) and the Transport Co., Ltd. on a joint project on providing free transport service to people to facilitate their travels to attend the Royal Cremation of the late and beloved Thai monarch late this month. Auttapol said under the joint project, PTT has agreed to deliver fuel to the three state-firms free of charges to support their free-ride service to the public during the October 22-31 period. Auttapol explained that PTT will provide fuel, free of charges, to SRT during October 22-31 and to BMTA during October 25-26 to support their free-ride service to the public during the periods, while also providing fuel to the Transport Co., Ltd. to support its 20-per cent discount to people in far-away provincial areas with the distance of over 300 kilometers from Bangkok who will be travelling to attend the Royal Cremation of the late and revered Thai monarch on October 26. SRT Acting Governor Anont Luangboriboon, told the reporters, meanwhile, that SRT has prepared four daily speed ​​trains of the economy class to provide the free-ride service to passengers from the northern Chiang Mai Province and Hat Yai in the southern Songkhla Province, as well as the northeastern Ubon Ratchathani and Nong Khai Provinces. Besides, SRT has prepared 28 daily diesel trains from Bangkok's outskirts, Ayutthaya, Nakhon Pathom and Chachoengsao Provinces, together with 244 trailer trains for passengers of express trains that can serve up to 120,000 people daily. BMTA announced that it will provide free-ride service to people in 45 routes passing through Sanam Luang ceremonial ground near the Grand Palace in the capital, covering shuttle buses running specially during the Royal Cremation period late this month. BMTA stated that people can see "free-ride service" stickers on the front, the back and the left and the right sides of its buses running from five designated places to Sanam Luang and vice versa. Transport Co., Ltd. announced, in the meantime, that, apart from providing the 20 per cent-discount to its passengers from far-away provincial areas, it will also provide free parking service for rented buses taking groups of people to attend the Royal Cremation at its Mo Chit and southern bus terminals. (TNA)