Guest MonkeySee Posted February 8, 2009 Posted February 8, 2009 Bangkok Governor affirmed the extended Silom electric train line spanning to Thonburi, western side of Bangkok, would be unofficially launched for service on May 15. Bangkok Governor M.R. Sukhumbhand Paripatra said during his inspection of extended Silom electric train line spanning from Thaksin bridge and Thaksin road on Thursday (February 5) that Mr. Teerachon Manomaipubul, Bangkok Deputy Governor, has reported progress of the construction for the extended line to him. While Mr. Chumphon Sampaothong, Director of Traffic and Transportation Department, Bangkok Metropolitan, also conducted site survey and reported progress of construction of the project which also indicated that the 2.2 kilometres extended route would definitely be opened for service on May 15. The test run for the system would be held on April 13. The unofficial launch on May 15 would be open for service free of charge until August 13 when riding fares would be imposed at the rate of between 15 and 40 baht per trip. The Wong Wian Yai station, the main station for the extended line, would be equipped with full facilities, including those for the disabled and the aged people, such as elevators, footpaths designed exclusively for the impaired eye sighted people. Shuttle bus station which could accommodate up to over 100 buses would also be available at the spot. - ThaiNews / 2009-02-06 Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted February 8, 2009 Posted February 8, 2009 Yes, but will they now increase the number of carriages - as many have requested for more than 2 years now? My bet is they won't and so congestion at peak hours will just get worse, alas. Quote
Guest MonkeySee Posted February 16, 2009 Posted February 16, 2009 Yes, but will they now increase the number of carriages - as many have requested for more than 2 years now? My bet is they won't and so congestion at peak hours will just get worse, alas. I guess you have to walk before you run. For me, it will be nice just to have the airport BTS link open. Here is another news article. BANGKOK: -- The Airport Link from the Phaya Thai and Makkasan to Suvarnabhumi airport is set to open for passengers on Aug 12, deputy Transport Minister Sopon Zarum said on Friday. He conceded some facilities, including the baggage carousel system, would not be ready on the opening day, but he said he needed to speed up its launch. The luggage-loading service at Makkasan station would not be operational, so there might be some inconvenience for passengers with heavy bags. The construction of the 28-km route is 96%-complete with delays to work at some stations and route sections due to hold-ups in land acquisitions, said SRT deputy governor Prasert Attanan. The SRT plans to collect a fare of 150 baht from passengers taking non-stop trains while those travelling on trains that stop at every station will pay between 15 and 45 baht. -- Bangkok Post 2009-02-13 Quote
Guest lvdkeyes Posted February 17, 2009 Posted February 17, 2009 Now we need a link from Airport to Pattaya. Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted February 17, 2009 Posted February 17, 2009 He conceded some facilities, including the baggage carousel system, would not be ready on the opening day, but he said he needed to speed up its launch. The luggage-loading service at Makkasan station would not be operational, so there might be some inconvenience for passengers with heavy bags. This is just so typically Thai. The airport opens years before the airport train is ready - but it's been planned for as long as the airport! The airport railway opens before its infrastructure is complete - but it's been planned for goodness knows how long. As suggested in my earlier post, once bags of any sizeable description find their way on to the Skytrain and subway systems, they will certainly start to block carriage exits - unless each train has an extra carriage dedicated to travellers with luggage or the design of all carriages is modified. Without these, travelling by public transport will become even more congested. But no doubt it will still be some time before the authorities realise this. Quote
Guest MonkeySee Posted February 18, 2009 Posted February 18, 2009 This is just so typically Thai. The airport opens years before the airport train is ready - but it's been planned for as long as the airport! The airport railway opens before its infrastructure is complete - but it's been planned for goodness knows how long. I am thankful that it is finally opening. It is better than nothing. Look at the big cities in the US and many do not have railway infrastructure at all. Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted February 18, 2009 Posted February 18, 2009 Look at the big cities in the US and many do not have railway infrastructure at all True. And I accept that other major Asian airports like Kuala Lumpur and Narita took years before they had a train system up and running. But Tokyo managed perfectly well for years with the dedicated non-stop airport limousine buses. When living in Tokyo for a couple of years, I rarely saw people with suitcases on the subway system. Most seemed to take a taxi to link to one of the Narita Express stops or the limousine buses. My gut feel is that a lot of people will want to try Bangkok's airport train. Lower budget tourists will also link on to the Skytrain/subway system. I can recall when London extended its Piccadilly subway line to Heathrow. There was talk then about there not being enough room on carriages, but London Transport assured the public that they would have new baggage-friendly ones in operation. That meant they took out a few seats near the exits. And once those trains got to the city, there were many times I had to clamber over suitcases to get off at my stop. Good luck in trying to get someone with a suitcase to move into the centre of a carriage! Dedicated airport trains are great. I just think it is fundamentally wrong to expect a city's overstretched public transport system to cope with the additional demands of airport traffic. Quote
Guest Posted February 18, 2009 Posted February 18, 2009 Japan is the land of the Shinkansen, but oddly the dedicated Narita Express trains are very slow. The BKK link should be much quicker, due to the close proximity of the airport to the city. Quote
Guest Astrrro Posted February 18, 2009 Posted February 18, 2009 Now we need a link from Airport to Pattaya. That would be great! Much safer than the roads. With stops at Sunee Plaza and Dongtan Beach! Quote
Guest GaySacGuy Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 That would be great! Much safer than the roads. With stops at Sunee Plaza and Dongtan Beach! Sunee Plaza will be the very last place that they would ever put a stop in Pattaya!! Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 Japan is the land of the Shinkansen, but oddly the dedicated Narita Express trains are very slow That's because the Narita Express uses exisitng track. All shinkansen run on their own dedicated and specially built tracks (like the Bangkok airport railway). I guess doing the 40 mile journey to Tokyo station in less than an hour and to Shinjuku less than an hour and twenty minutes may seem slow. But they sure crawl compared to Shanghai's Maglev airport train which gets up to speeds of 420 kms per hr! Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 Sunee Plaza will be the very last place that they would ever put a stop in Pattaya!! Great! Airport train to Pattaya - last stop Sunee Plaza! Quote
Guest MonkeySee Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 A few years ago I was at SFO and took public transportation into town. I remember the bus driver denied entry to a couple of people because they had suitcases. Luckily I travel light and was able to put my bag on my lap. The US airports are way behind Europe and Asia in the public transportation area. Quote
Guest GaySacGuy Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 A few years ago I was at SFO and took public transportation into town. I remember the bus driver denied entry to a couple of people because they had suitcases. Luckily I travel light and was able to put my bag on my lap. The US airports are way behind Europe and Asia in the public transportation area. San Francisco has finally put a BART leg to SFO....many years too late. That airport has been there forever, and BART has been around for decades...so maybe Thailand isn't so slow after all????? Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 San Francisco has finally put a BART leg to SFO It's great, and I recall it has plenty of room for all types of baggage. But i have never connected from it with bags on to a city bus or trolley. I wonder if many people do that? At 6:30 pm last night I took the MRT subway six stops going out of town. It was absolutely jam-packed. Any tourist wth bags trying to get on to it would have been in for a major disappointment - and a long wait. Quote
Guest shebavon Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 Great! Airport train to Pattaya - last stop Sunee Plaza! In actuality there are plans to extend the rail link from Bangkok to the airport on to Pattaya. But I do not think a stop in Sunnee is planned. B) It will probably stop somewhere on the Dark Side. In addition a Highway extension is planned in the same area with exits on Tappraya and Chaiyapruek. This may be part of the grand scheme to fill what we are perceiving as an overbuilt condo market. Quote
Guest GaySacGuy Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 It's great, and I recall it has plenty of room for all types of baggage. But i have never connected from it with bags on to a city bus or trolley. I wonder if many people do that? One of the good things that comes from BART going directly to SFO is that a lot of Sacramento area and Northern CA simply drive to the BART stations in East Bay (Richmond, etc.) and park at free BART parking areas, and take the train to SFO. This not only saves them a bunch of money from parking at SFO, but it reduces the traffic on the Bay Bridge and I-80, and reduces the car flow around the airport. There may be problems with the airport train in BKK, but something is probably better than nothing. Quote
