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

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

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

 

Having a prepaid ticket didn't do anyone any good today. Having a prepaid ticket didn't help my wife last week when her BTS Suk line train was stalled for a half hour. And having a prepaid ticket doesn't help anyone when they can't get on a BTS train because it's already so overcrowded that passengers are left standing on the platform waiting for the next train.

 

[Just Weird]

2 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Having a prepaid ticket didn't do anyone any good today. Having a prepaid ticket didn't help my wife last week when her BTS Suk line train was stalled for a half hour. And having a prepaid ticket doesn't help anyone when they can't get on a BTS train because it's already so overcrowded that passengers are left standing on the platform waiting for the next train.

 

I didn't suggest that it would gave helped.  Why don't you try reading the post that I was actually responding to?

[robblok]

1 hour ago, GarryP said:

About bloody time. It is getting ridiculous. 

Yes I would agree they can raise prices.. get it crazy crowded make more profit all the time but it seems maintenance is a dirty word. 

[robblok]

32 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

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)?

Do you actually use the service, worsening as in far more crowded and a higher number of delays then before. Prices have gone up a few times (not needed as their profits soared already) but obviously they don't care about overcrowding as they get money anyway even if people are packed as sardines. 

[Lakegeneve]

12 minutes ago, NoMeAmes said:

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. 

You are talking about building a proper mass transit network. The lack of a common ticketing system doesn't help either.

 

That takes time, especially with the framework that exists here it takes even longer given the lack of integration, dysfunction and flawed private concessionaire model. The later has led to over crowding due to operator debts deferring rolling stock expansion/ focused profits  and the lack of an integrated ticketing platform.

 

BKK is around 10 years behind its network expansion from where is should be - and that was some 20 years behind where it should've been given the first metro line only opened in Dec 1999! Changes of govt and coups haven't helped as even though the OTP network plan hasn't changed since 2005, successive changes of govts all delay the next round of expansion with reviews and their own pet projects. No new line or extension has opened on time in BKK, indeed usually at least 1 year late.

 

I posted an update on current line and ext progress, 3 weeks ago,  https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/406991-the-new-skytrain/?page=46

 

 

Quote

 

Progress of civil works for lines currently under construction;

 

1) MRT Blue Line ext: 98.25%

2) BTS Northern ext: 63.27%

3) MRT Orange Line: 8.62%

4) BTS Southern ext: 100%

5) MRT Pink line and MRT Yellow line: still mainly preliminary site works

6) SRT Dark Red Line: 97.94%

7) Tinky toy Gold Line: still mainly preliminary site works but supposedly it will be complete by Dec 2019

 

 

Bkk will have the basic outline of that network when the Blue, SRT Dark Red and two current BTS exts all finally open by 2020/21. However, a proper mass transit network with cross town links will only start to appear once the Orange, Yellow and Pink lines all open. Think 2025 for that.

 

[Just Weird]

9 minutes ago, robblok said:

Do you actually use the service, worsening as in far more crowded and a higher number of delays then before. Prices have gone up a few times (not needed as their profits soared already) but obviously they don't care about overcrowding as they get money anyway even if people are packed as sardines. 

Yes, I use it every day. 

Prices have gone up B1 or B2 a couple of times, that's all.

More people using the trains is not "worsening service"!   And there have been a couple of signaling hiccups recently, that does not correlate to a worsening service!

Outside of the two rush hours that every train service everywhere experiences the trains do not pack passengers like sardines.

Edited June 25, 2018 by Just Weird

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

8 minutes ago, robblok said:

Do you actually use the service, worsening as in far more crowded and a higher number of delays then before. Prices have gone up a few times (not needed as their profits soared already) but obviously they don't care about overcrowding as they get money anyway even if people are packed as sardines. 

 

One might almost get the impression that the current publicly held BTS company has morphed over the years into being more interested in real estate and condo development projects, and, less interested and committed to actually providing and maintaining a quality mass transit service.

 

[BobbyL]

It is becoming a shocking service at times. In nearly a year back here I am very thankful that I have only had to use it a few dozen times. 

 

Frequent service issues, lack of carriages, incredible lack of ticket machines at stations like Siam and Asoke and regular long queues at peak hours show me that the service is going down the u bend. 

[robblok]

32 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

Yes, I use it every day. 

Prices have gone up B1 or B2 a couple of times, that's all.

More people using the trains is not "worsening service"!   And there have been a couple of signaling hiccups recently, that does not correlate to a worsening service!

Outside of the two rush hours that every train service everywhere experiences the trains do not pack passengers like sardines.

I would say prices have gone up 1 or 2 bt a couple of times.. that is a 10% percent raise on some tickets. I find that quite a lot especially if you go from being able to sit to being packed as sardines. Yes its worsening service as they could have foreseen this and bought more and or larger trains. Its called planning. 

[MaxLee]

41 minutes ago, Lakegeneve said:

You are talking about building a proper mass transit network. The lack of a common ticketing system doesn't help either.

 

That takes time, especially with the framework that exists here it takes even longer given the lack of integration, dysfunction and flawed private concessionaire model. The later has led to over crowding due to operator debts deferring rolling stock expansion/ focused profits  and the lack of an integrated ticketing platform.

 

BKK is around 10 years behind its network expansion from where is should be - and that was some 20 years behind where it should've been given the first metro line only opened in Dec 1999! Changes of govt and coups haven't helped as even though the OTP network plan hasn't changed since 2005, successive changes of govts all delay the next round of expansion with reviews and their own pet projects. No new line or extension has opened on time in BKK, indeed usually at least 1 year late.

 

I posted an update on current line and ext progress, 3 weeks ago,  https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/406991-the-new-skytrain/?page=46

 

 

 

Bkk will have the basic outline of that network when the Blue, SRT Dark Red and two current BTS exts all finally open by 2020/21. However, a proper mass transit network with cross town links will only start to appear once the Orange, Yellow and Pink lines all open. Think 2025 for that.

 

In other words upcoming Chaos-laos 

[lust]

4 hours ago, Happy enough said:

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

 

[anon789561]

1 minute ago, lust said:

 

i meant in bkk. that looks like one of my dogs. so this is what they're getting up to when i'm not around 555

 

[Lupatria]

What is to expect in the hub of malfunctions?

[samsensam]

6 hours 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.

 

 

 

 

 

sadly, if you want good customer service you're in the wrong country. when you've been here longer you'll realise this.

 

 

[mike324]

I don't understand why people even bother waiting on the streets to get on the BTS. You know that the train is broken, its hot outside, you are just wasting time - just grab a cab or bike and off to your next destination. People rather save that 50-100 baht and wait 1-2 hours to get on a broken train? lol

[timendres]

1 hour ago, Just Weird said:

2 hours 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.

Not everyone can justify a pre-paid ticket. But, that aside, it is not just the ticket buying, it is the congestion. Several times at BTS stations recently, the sheer number of people moving through a fixed space area has demonstrated that the growth is exceeding the space. Unlike MRT stations, which seem to be excessively large, the BTS stations are generally small, and the areas before the ticket machines are simply inadequate. I think they are going to need to start getting creative with that limited space.

[Mattd]

6 hours ago, shady86 said:

I was told they would not refund fares if commuter decides to not to board and get out from the station.

Apparently every BTS station does have one exit that will refund the fare if a passenger decides not to board a train, would assume this only applies to those with the Rabbit card though.

[thaichiro]

5 hours ago, GarryP said:

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

From what I hear, there aren’t too many of those left in Bkk...

[mtls2005]

It's been a tough month for the BTS with issues on:

 

6 June

12 June

13 June

15 June

18 June

22 June (two separate problems)

24 June

and today, 25 June again two separate issues

 

Platform door malfunctions, signaling system outage, power loss are the issues I've seen referenced. With delays ranging up to 65+ minutes.

 

And things (number of issues) seem to be getting worse, definitely the worst month since February 2018.

 

 

[Expatthailover]

Another excuse to batter thailand it seems.

Major city suffering congestion on its rapid transport system.

What a shocker.

It never ever happens anywhere anytime in places like london, paris new york etc etc.

 

[charmonman]

10 hours ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

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

Yes, I had the same problem Sunday afternoon. It took me an hour to go 5 stops. I finally gave up and walked out. Should’ve got a refund on my fare. Worst things was there were no announcements to inform people just how bad the problem was so they could make a reasonable decision about what to do.

[charmonman]

33 minutes ago, Expatthailover said:

Another excuse to batter thailand it seems.

Major city suffering congestion on its rapid transport system.

What a shocker.

It never ever happens anywhere anytime in places like london, paris new york etc etc.

 

This is not mere congestion. This is a system breakdown. Sunday afternoon was also a fiasco. I could have easily walked the distance it took me an hour to go on the skytrain 

[ExpatOilWorker]

3 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

It's been a tough month for the BTS with issues on:

 

6 June

12 June

13 June

15 June

18 June

22 June (two separate problems)

24 June

and today, 25 June again two separate issues

 

Platform door malfunctions, signaling system outage, power loss are the issues I've seen referenced. With delays ranging up to 65+ minutes.

 

And things (number of issues) seem to be getting worse, definitely the worst month since February 2018.

 

 

In Japan the CEO of BTS would have committed harakiri by now. They apologize when the train leave 25 seconds early:

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44149791

[CLW]

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. 
 

Welcome to Thailand.
How long have you been staying here?
If Thais say 10 minutes it means 1 hour.
If they say maybe or soon, it means not at all.

[CLW]

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.

Other cities with similar size as Bangkok or bigger now have open gate systems with CCTV. As the majority of daily commuters use a card it speeds up the process of entry / exit immediately.

I'm not using BTS regularly but MRT. Still baffled by the logic of number and function of the gates for station entry and exit.
One should think that the exit gates should be more than the entry gates because of a concentrated flow of people once a train arrives. Someone should tell that to the operator of MRT!

[CLW]

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."

 

I'm no expert for signalling communication but why the system doesn't use a wired network or rely on the public mobile phone network?

[CLW]

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

Both entry and exit gates are often overcrowded and with long queues.
Has nothing to do with the queues at the ticket counter and machines.

[observer90210]

The official taxi and motorbike cheats,  must have scammed double their usual quota....

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

36 minutes ago, CLW said:

Both entry and exit gates are often overcrowded and with long queues.
Has nothing to do with the queues at the ticket counter and machines.

 

I happened to be walking back from Central Embassy to the Ploenchit BTS station a few days ago at the end of the business day, (last Weds. I believe) and ran into a LONG LONG queue of people not waiting for buying tickets, but just to get thru the ticket gate, est. about 100 people long.

 

The queue was so long I couldn't see from the end of it whether the queue was to buy tickets or waiting to get thru the gate, so I had to walk forward a long ways just to see what the queue was for, and then walk back to the end of the queue to get in line. Along the way, I decided to go downstairs and walk the rest of the way for the rest of my intended journey.

 

Obviously, there's going to be an exodus of office workers in that area at the end of the business day, but I'd never seen a queue like that at Ploenchit station before, so perhaps I was running into one of the multitude of line problems that BTS has had in the past month. Or, equally possible, their failure to open enough inbound entry gates to accommodate the evening rush hour influx.

Edited June 25, 2018 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Jonmarleesco]

6.15 a.m? They didn't have it resolved some 10 hours later. It's supposedly a service. The BTS's so-called management needs to learn the meaning of the word, service. But I shan't hold my breath.