Tram for Bangkok's Chinatown

[Gaybutton]

The following appears in THE NATION:

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Tram for Chinatown will be in Service this Month

 

The project to develop Bangkok's Yaowarat area is more than halfway complete and the "red route" tram service should be running by the end of this month, a senior official said Thursday.

 

Samphanthawong district office director Prasert Inthusoma said that of the project's nine tasks, the renovation of the Chinese arch to mark HM the King's birthday should be finished by March 16, cars had been banned on the arch roundabout from yesterday; and the tram service to transport tourists from Hualumpong subway station to Yaowarat was scheduled to start running in the next few weeks.

 

[Guest fountainhall]

I had not heard of this tram service. Traffic in that area of Bangkok is hugely congested for most of each day. If the tram is at street level, goodness knows how much worse it will become.

[Gaybutton]

I had not heard of this tram service.

Until this article was published, neither had I. The article is not very detailed. Perhaps someone who lives in Bangkok can tell us more about it.

[Guest Geezer]

In Thailand “tram” is often used to denote a rubber tired vehicle to transport passengers, as is used at Tukcom, rather than a light rail system.

[Guest GaySacGuy]

What about the Sky Train from the airport to downtown Bangkok?? That would sure be handy when a person doesn't have much baggage!!!

 

Being in Ubon, everywhere we want to go, requires us to travel through Bangkok, and often because of schedules we have to spend the night in Bangkok, so the Sky Train will be nice. Also, you can get from the airport to the train depot fairly easy that way.

[Guest fountainhall]

That would sure be handy when a person doesn't have much baggage!!!

 

Just one word of caution. As has been proved in other parts of the world, when a dedicated airport railway links in with a city's underground or overground systems - especially when, as now, the Skytrain is absolutely jam packed at peak hours and the authorities totally refuse to add a fourth carriage - the addition of passengers with luggage can make a journey very uncomfortable for all passengers.

 

Coming from Ubon, you may only have a small wheelie bag. But what if you are joined by even a hundred or so others from long haul flights each with a large and a small bag getting out of the airport express and straight on to the Skytrain. Granted many may decide to take taxis from the train terminal. But I still predict growing chaos on the MRT and Skytrain as more and more air travellers start using the link.

[Guest lvdkeyes]

And let's stop making cars because the roads are already too crowded!

[Guest jtrack33]

GaySacGuy, the airport-to-Asok elevated express train will have one carriage solely dedicated to baggage. But as Fountainhall says, there will be problems if the passenger with bags continues on to Phayathai BTS station on the airport line and tries to take heavy bags from one line to the other. The two lines meet at 90 degrees with the airport line ending immediately having crossed over the top of the existing BTS line. This is due to open in August this year. From the Asok airport line main terminal, there will be a fairly direct(walking distance) route to the existing Petchaburi MRT underground line line.

This is the Yawarat tram on a recent testing run(Picture courtesy of 2.bangkok.com)

 

[Guest Geezer]

Bangkok was a much nicer place seventy years ago -- no billboard clutter, no sidewalk vendors obstructing the walkways. It looks like a livable city. I don’t even see any Indian tailors blocking the way.

[Guest]

A better job woud be done if the underground was extended into Chinatown.

[Gaybutton]

I don’t even see any Indian tailors blocking the way.

But I do see what appears to be the advent of Bangkok's traffic jams.

[Guest MonkeySee]

Bangkok was a much nicer place seventy years ago -- no billboard clutter, no sidewalk vendors obstructing the walkways. It looks like a livable city. I don’t even see any Indian tailors blocking the way.

Aaaaahhhh yes, the good old days, where everyday was a holiday and every meal a banquet!

[Guest lvdkeyes]

Aaaaahhhh yes, the good old days, where everyday was a holiday and every meal a banquet!

As my grandmother told me when I asked her to tell me about the good old days, "Honey, these are the good old days."

[fedssocr]

That airport line keeps getting pushed back. But the stations seem to be coming along pretty far construction wise. At least when I was driving along the highway they looked far along. Wasn't the reason why it has taken so long that the original piers for holding up the tracks were sinking in the soft ground? I wonder if there is really a way to fix that or if the whole thing will fall down once it starts running.

[PattayaMale]

Bangkok was a much nicer place seventy years ago -- no billboard clutter, no sidewalk vendors obstructing the walkways. It looks like a livable city. I don’t even see any Indian tailors blocking the way.

 

Yes, when I visited in 1939, Bangkok was not cluttered. But the air conditioning and satellite TV was not very good. One good thing though was you did not have to buy your boyfriend a mobile phone!