Thailand Opens M6 Motorway Free on Weekends from August 2026

Thailand's Department of Highways (DOH) has confirmed it will begin trial operations of the M6 motorway section between Bang Pa-in and Pak Chong free of charge on weekends starting 21 August 2026, allowing motorists to travel continuously toward Nakhon Ratchasima. DOH Director-General Piyapong Jiwattanakulpaisan said the 110-kilometre section will be open every Friday, Saturday and Sunday without toll fees as part of a trial service. The motorway will operate from 12:00 on Fridays until 24:00 on Sundays, beginning on 21 August 2026, with the schedule continuing every weekend through the New Year holidays in 2027. The department plans to eventually expand the trial into a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week free service along the entire route. The newly opened section extends the existing trial operation on the Pak Chong–Nakhon Ratchasima Bypass stretch, which has been available free of charge around the clock since late 2023. However, the temporary entrance and exit at Kilometre 65 on Mittraphap Road, near the Nakhonchaiburin Stray Animal Shelter, will close from 12:00 on 21 August 2026, and motorists will instead be required to use the Pak Chong interchange. Outbound from Bangkok, drivers can enter the M6 at Bang Pa-in and exit at Pak Chong on Thanarat Road, or continue directly to the Nakhon Ratchasima Bypass. Inbound to Bangkok, construction on the inbound carriageway between Pak Chong and Muak Lek remains unfinished, so drivers leaving Pak Chong must travel via Thanarat Road and Mittraphap Road before rejoining the motorway at the Muak Lek interchange. The following interchanges will be available: Bang Pa-in, Hin Kong, Kaeng Khoi, Muak Lek, and Pak Chong, with vehicles entering at Pak Chong able to travel only toward Sikhio or Nakhon Ratchasima. Two rest areas at Thap Kwang (Kilometre 65) serving both directions will be open with toilets and drinks available, though there are no fuel stations or electric vehicle charging facilities. As the motorway remains under construction with system installation work continuing, only four-wheel passenger vehicles will be permitted, with a speed limit of 80 km/h, and motorists are advised to strictly follow traffic signs and instructions from highway officials.