BTS stations crowded as signal system breaks down during rush-hour

[webfact]

BTS stations crowded as signal system breaks down during rush-hour

By The Nation

 

People make long queues under the BTS Onnuj station Monday morning.//Photo by @watcharate

 

Passengers cried foul as Bangkok’s entire Skytrain network was hit by signal malfunctioning, causing overcrowding at the worst possible time of the week -- Monday morning rush-hour.

 

BTS announced via its Twitter page at 6.15am that the signal system at Siam station had malfunctioned, causing trains on the Sukhumvit route to move slowly, with a knock-on effect to the Siam line too. The message said technicians were trying to fix the problem as soon as possible but warned there might be a build-up of passengers at all stations.

 

At On Nut, for example, passengers had to form long queues by the side of the road because the station itself had become too crowded and couldn’t take any more people in.

 

The operators then delivered a follow-up message 35 minutes later (6.50am) that the signal system had malfunctioned on both the Silom and Sukhumvit routes and said all trains would be delayed by 15 minutes.

 

In a third message, at 7,15am, BTS said the delay was expected to be cut to 10 minutes.

 

An hour later, BTS said the signal system on both the Silom and Sukhumvit lines was still faulty, causing the trains to move slowly – and said technicians were still trying to fix the problem.

 

Many passengers posted photos on Facebook of crowded BTS stations and cried foul, saying the operator should take responsibility.

 

They said some stations were so crowded that officials had to organize queues in the street before allowing people to go up in an orderly manner into the stations.

 

One woman passenger said the problem didn’t end there – she had lost about 30 minutes, having to keep changing trains and then finding herself on others that had come to a complete halt.

 

Others complained that similar problems had occurred too often and BTS should make sure it stopped happening again, especially during rush-hour.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30348529

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-06-25

[shady86]

Took me more than an hour to travel 6 stops on Sukhumvit line, I'm still in train. I was told they would not refund fares if commuter decides to not to board and get out from the station. What a disgraceful level of customer sevice by this company.

 

 

 

 

[Mattd]

Wondered why the office is like a morque today.

[impulse]

4 minutes ago, shady86 said:

Took me more than an hour to travel 6 stops on Sukhumvit line, I'm still in train. I was told they would not refund fares if commuter decides to not to board and get out from the station. What a disgrace of customer sevice by this company.

 

Probably the humane thing to do.  Imagine waiting in line for 2 hours to get a 35 baht refund, because they're not really set up for it.

 

[NoMeAmes]

I took the bus to work today. Surprisingly, there was less traffic on the road. Usually, Ekkamai-Thong Lor and then Phrom Pong-Asok are very badly jammed, barely moving forward. But today, I got through these areas quicker than usual and after BTS Phrom Pong, the road was actually empty. I thought many people would resort to taking road vehicles due to the BTS malfunctioning, but apparently not...

[ExpatOilWorker]

9 minutes ago, shady86 said:

Took me more than an hour to travel 6 stops on Sukhumvit line, I'm still in train. I was told they would not refund fares if commuter decides to not to board and get out from the station. What a disgraceful level of customer sevice by this company.

 

 

 

 

Sunday afternoon had a similar problem, the train stopped 5-10 minutes at each station.

[shady86]

4 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Probably the humane thing to do.  Imagine waiting in line for 2 hours to get a 35 baht refund, because they're not really set up for it.

 

Most commuters travel with rabbit card. If they want, they could program the gates not to deduct fares or trips during delays or service problems. Of course, profit is above everything else.

[chippendale]

Fares keep increasing, in return for worsening service.

[ExpatOilWorker]

3 minutes ago, shady86 said:

Most commuters travel with rabbit card. If they want, they could program the gates not to deduct fares or trips during delays or service problems. Of course, profit is above everything else.

Most commuters travel every day, so they could also just offer free travel for everybody another day, say tomorrow. They have done that before on December 31st.

Edited June 25, 2018 by ExpatOilWorker

[VocalNeal]

26 minutes ago, shady86 said:

I was told they would not refund fares if commuter decides to not to board and get out from the station. What a disgraceful level of customer sevice by this company.

Poor entitled me?

 

Sh1t happens. Although maintenance is not usually high in Asian's list of things to do?

 

Maybe tomorrow you will appreciate how great the service is and usually is?

 

6 stations? You could have walked that in an hour?

 

Quote

Most commuters travel with rabbit card. If they want, they could program the gates not to deduct fares or trips during delays or service problems. Of course, profit is above everything else.

 

This is a "what if" statement like what if Superman had worked for the Germans. Don't rabbit card users get a discount on fares? It should be the full fare people who get anything first?

 

Have you ever tried to get a refund from say Tesco and know how long that takes. By the time someone had authorized said action and woken the programmer up and..and.. The train system would be back up and running. 

 

 

Edited June 25, 2018 by VocalNeal

[shady86]

7 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

Poor entitled me?

 

Sh1t happens. Although maintenance is not usually high in Asian's list of things to do?

 

Maybe tomorrow you will appreciate how great the service is and usually is?

 

6 stations? You could have walked that in an hour?

 

 

This is a "what if" statement like what if Superman had worked for the Germans. Don't rabbit card users get a discount on fares? It should be the full fare people who get anything first?

 

Have you ever tried to get a refund from say Tesco and know how long that takes. By the time someone had authorized said action and woken the programmer up and..and.. The train system would be back up and running. 

 

Did you actually took the ride this morning or wanted to to praise BTS?

 

They did announced trains will be coming every 10 mins but trains not moving on platform for more than 15 mins. 

 

Normal trip takes me 10 mins, if they have made clear announcement, people dont wait like dogs in train and would have leave and took other transports.

 

Not only slow in fixing problems but not announcing the actual delay times pissed me off.

 

Refund from Tesco - takes me less than 10 mins. 

 

[kannot]

Long overdue increase in the  maximum amount of  carriages  needed, went from 3 to 4  now needs at least 5-6

[MaxLee]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

BTS stations crowded as signal system breaks down during rush-hour

What,..... again????...... How many more times in a million smile-land-lifetimes.......  

[anon789561]

47 minutes ago, shady86 said:

Did you actually took the ride this morning or wanted to to praise BTS?

 

They did announced trains will be coming every 10 mins but trains not moving on platform for more than 15 mins. 

 

Normal trip takes me 10 mins, if they have made clear announcement, people dont wait like dogs in train and would have leave and took other transports.

 

Not only slow in fixing problems but not announcing the actual delay times pissed me off.

 

Refund from Tesco - takes me less than 10 mins. 

 

wait like dogs in train? i don't understand. i've never seen a dog waiting in a train

anyway, if i saw a queue like the one at on nut in the pic i'd sure as hell jump in a taxi wherever i was going in bkk

Edited June 25, 2018 by Happy enough

[GarryP]

11 minutes ago, Happy enough said:

wait like dogs in train? i don't understand. i've never seen a dog waiting in a train

anyway, if i saw a queue like the one at on nut in the pic i'd sure as hell jump in a taxi wherever i was going in bkk

I'm a tight arse so took the bus to work this morning. Got a seat too. Woo, woo. 

[anon789561]

1 minute ago, GarryP said:

I'm a tight arse so took the bus to work this morning. Got a seat too. Woo, woo. 

the bus is fine to mate

[George Bowman]

I remember when the BTS was first opened to the public. Back then it was the Sukhumvit and Silom line. It was free for the first month or so, air-conditioned, the maps and directions were in English and at times during the test runs, there was only a few people riding. It was fantastic and a great way to explore Bangkok.

 

Nowadays, I try to avoid Bangkok and travelling on the BTS as both are just too crowded.  It has got to be tough being a BTS guard and  having to blow a whistle about every five minutes.

[ExpatOilWorker]

42 minutes ago, missoura said:

I remember when the BTS was first opened to the public. Back then it was the Sukhumvit and Silom line. It was free for the first month or so, air-conditioned, the maps and directions were in English and at times during the test runs, there was only a few people riding. It was fantastic and a great way to explore Bangkok.

 

Nowadays, I try to avoid Bangkok and travelling on the BTS as both are just too crowded.  It has got to be tough being a BTS guard and  having to blow a whistle about every five minutes.

The picture and your your text does not match!

Central Embassy was not build back when the BTS first opened on December 5th 1999.

[Mattd]

7 minutes ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

The picture and your your text does not match!

Central Embassy was not build back when the BTS first opened on December 5th 1999.

That is Central Chidlom, Holiday Inn in the background.

[ExpatOilWorker]

1 minute ago, Mattd said:

That is Central Chidlom, Holiday Inn in the background.

...and what is behind the security guard?

[George Bowman]

1 minute ago, Mattd said:

That is Central Chidlom, Holiday Inn in the background.

Thanks, plus this photo is from 2018.

[Mattd]

16 minutes ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

...and what is behind the security guard?

Fair enough, didn't spot that!

[webfact]

Transport minister to summon BTS for explanation over frequent train delays

By Thai PBS

 

 

Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said he will summon executives of Bangkok Mass Transit System Plc for an explanation over the frequent delays of it’s BTS SkyTrain services.

 

The minister’s reaction followed the latest delay of the BTS trains this morning after its signaling system broke down on its Silom and Sukhumvit Routes.

 

The signal failure at 06.15am at Siam station caused 10-15 minutes of train delays at each station as trains have to run at low speed.

 

Full story: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/transport-minister-summon-bts-explanation-frequent-train-delays/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2018-06-25

[GarryP]

About bloody time. It is getting ridiculous. 

[rheinwiese]

2 hours ago, kannot said:

Long overdue increase in the  maximum amount of  carriages  needed, went from 3 to 4  now needs at least 5-6

Train capacity is not the only big problem. Ticket buying and entry/exit gate congestion at peak times, especially at junction stations like Siam and Asok is already a nightmare. Just think of what an even more crowded Siam or Asok station at rush hour would be like. BTS stations are ill-equipped to handle increased passengers, with no obvious room for expansion. And I believe it’s going to get worse once the extension beyond Samrong is becoming operational at the end of the year.

Edited June 25, 2018 by rheinwiese

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

3 hours ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

Sunday afternoon had a similar problem, the train stopped 5-10 minutes at each station.

 

Funny you mention that. My wife got caught coming home from work one day last week on the Suk line where the train she was on was stopped at a station and didn't move for the better part of a half hour. And obviously, that was part of a broader disruption. No announcement, no explanation to passengers at the time. And AFAIK, I didn't see any mention of it in the news.

 

I don't think it's just my imagination that after many years of reliable service, these kinds of faults / breakdowns on the BTS system seems to be occurring more and more frequently of late.

 

[Lakegeneve]

3 hours ago, kannot said:

Long overdue increase in the  maximum amount of  carriages  needed, went from 3 to 4  now needs at least 5-6

Yep, they should be at 5 car sets by now. "The BTS is around 5 years behind expansion of their rolling stock in relation to pax growth. All of these orders should have been 5 car trains rather than 4 car sets."  

 

The BTS uses a wireless signalling system which is often - and seemingly increasingly - disrupted by taxi radios and other uses. Reportedly, the fault started at Siam station and spread through the whole network from there causing it to crash; "BTS executive director Anat Arbhabhirama said the problem occurred at Siam station, where a new signal system was disrupted by interference."

 

[Just Weird]

4 hours ago, chippendale said:

Fares keep increasing, in return for worsening service.

Rubbish.  How many increases have there been in, say, the last five years more than a couple of baht and how exactly is the service worsening (this signal malfunction excepted)?

[Just Weird]

1 hour ago, rheinwiese said:

Train capacity is not the only big problem. Ticket buying and entry/exit gate congestion at peak times, especially at junction stations like Siam and Asok is already a nightmare. Just think of what an even more crowded Siam or Asok station at rush hour would be like. BTS stations are ill-equipped to handle increased passengers, with no obvious room for expansion. And I believe it’s going to get worse once the extension beyond Samrong is becoming operational at the end of the year.

Only for those who can't be bothered to get a pre-paid ticket!  The solution is not difficult.

[NoMeAmes]

1 hour ago, rheinwiese said:

Train capacity is not the only big problem. Ticket buying and entry/exit gate congestion at peak times, especially at junction stations like Siam and Asok is already a nightmare. Just think of what an even more crowded Siam or Asok station at rush hour would be like. BTS stations are ill-equipped to handle increased passengers, with no obvious room for expansion. And I believe it’s going to get worse once the extension beyond Samrong is becoming operational at the end of the year.

The root cause for the congestion in these 2 areas, I believe, is the lack of possible stations to switch between lines or between BTS/MRT. If there were another possibility for people to change from Sukhumvit line to Silom line, say, at Ekamai, then the Siam crowd might get halved, or just simply less. The more possibilities, the less crowded Asok and Siam will be. This is how other countries have done it. They make it possible for passengers to switch trains at multiple stops, depending on their destinations.