The New Skytrain (continued for 2019)

[orchis]

Yellow Line is free for use June,

only leg Hua Mak to Saranrom is operational, Hua Mak -Lad Prao not yet; so 13 stations out of 23. Monorail, 9 am to 8 pm, for the time being.

[josephbloggs]

2 hours ago, FarangryBirds said:

After having a free trial run, my initial impressions:

- Not a fan of the carriage configuration at all, very little seating at all in each carriage. Also the weird shaped gangways between each car.

- While the acceleration is quite smooth, the ride is a bit bumpy, and sometimes a couple of small jolts as well. When you're standing (as most passengers will be) it made it more noticeable. 

- The trains are actually quiet. When they were passing overhead, I couldn't make out any noise above the passing road traffic sounds. Also a lot quieter on cornering, not that horrible screech the BTS makes around Victory Monument and Sala Daeng to Chong Nobsi.

- Unobstructed views, you get a great view through the cab window and also the doors are mainly glass, and no barriers on the columns. I'm sure the views will become compromised in the future when the trains have to become mobile advertising boards to help pay the bills.

- You can tell who the free daytrippers were, as it was carnage at the barriers where there were people who'd clearly never been through one before.

- Seacon Square must have been rubbing their hands at the potential new flood of customers being dropped off to them. Because of the hot weather, they were actually supplying free umbrellas for the short walk from the station to the Mall..

- Si, Si, Si...Si....so many if the station names (8) start with Si. Although I did note they've kept Hua Mak, Samrong & Lad Prao stations the same as their ARL/BTS/MRT namesakes. A welcome change.

 

For the next trip I'll wait until the Ladprao end opens up.

 

 

 

I also tried it on Saturday from Hua Mark to Samrong and back again. I posted a review in a different thread but largely agree with you.

I loved that the carriages were so airy and bright and some really good views out the window as you are not riding through massively built up areas. Yeah the configuration is a bit weird but I didn't mind it.

I was also surprised at how bumpy it was as I expected it to be much smoother. The jerks I think will be ironed out quickly as the new Turkish BTS trains also jerked at the beginning, but I guess the bumpiness is there to stay. I transferred to the BTS at Samrong and it was noticeable how much smoother the BTS is, also how much faster (and noisier) it is and how dingy it seemed with small windows covered in adverts.

I think the yellow line will be a very popular service. And yeah, I am sure its destiny also involves adverts all over the windows which would be a shame.

(Oh you could also spot the daytrippers as they were videoing and photographing everything!)

[Lorry]

In addition to what others reported (bumpy ride, windows still transparent without commercials so you have a view):

 

If you like zigzag labyrinths  this is for you.  Endless zigzagging walkways, stairs, bridges, skywalks.

 

The stations look very cheap from outside.

 

Stations wear the MRT logo, tickets the BTS logo. I am sure,  by the time we have to pay they will develop a payment system incompatible with all the other systems in Bangkok public transport.

 

Very few passengers (weekdays, daytime).  Trains run every 10 minutes,  but with so few passengers they will probably reduce this to every 20 minutes (like airport link), which would make it much less attractive. 

 

Driverless.

They have fire extinguishers on board,  well hidden in a locked compartment under some seats.  In case of fire,  you need to stay calm, don't panic but take your time to fiddle with the locks of the fire extinguishers' compartment. 

They also have emergency ladders. I couldn't figure out whether they are a staircase to heaven or whether you are supposed to climb down to street- level (in this case, you have to jump the last 5 or 10 meters as the ladders aren't very long)

[digbeth]

23 hours ago, Lorry said:

They also have emergency ladders. I couldn't figure out whether they are a staircase to heaven or whether you are supposed to climb down to street- level (in this case, you have to jump the last 5 or 10 meters as the ladders aren't very long)

I think the ladders only reach down to the emergency walkway between the two guideway tracks, and you're supposed to walk back to the stations from there, not sure how passengers in wheelchair will cope

[josephbloggs]

On 6/7/2023 at 3:46 PM, Lorry said:

In addition to what others reported (bumpy ride, windows still transparent without commercials so you have a view):

 

If you like zigzag labyrinths  this is for you.  Endless zigzagging walkways, stairs, bridges, skywalks.

It varies by station depending on where they bought the land to put the exits. Some are very close, some are further away but I think it beats stairs coming down on pavement a la BTS. But yes, some exits are pretty far.

 

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The stations look very cheap from outside.

I don't agree with this - they look much smarter than the BTS stations, at least they have cladding and are not bare concrete.

 

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Stations wear the MRT logo, tickets the BTS logo. I am sure,  by the time we have to pay they will develop a payment system incompatible with all the other systems in Bangkok public transport

You can use your Rabbit card which is compatible with BTS green lines and the pink line to come.

It also accepts contactless credit / debit cards which seems like it will soon be throughout Bangkok (MRT blue and purple also accept these). Agree though that they should have one common ticketing system.

 

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Very few passengers (weekdays, daytime).  Trains run every 10 minutes,  but with so few passengers they will probably reduce this to every 20 minutes (like airport link), which would make it much less attractive. 

I went on the opening day and it was busy. Went on today in mid morning and not so busy. Once every 10 minutes seems about right for now. And airport link hasn't been every 20 minutes for around 10 years - it is every 8-12 minutes depending on time of day.

 

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Driverless.

They have fire extinguishers on board,  well hidden in a locked compartment under some seats.  In case of fire,  you need to stay calm, don't panic but take your time to fiddle with the locks of the fire extinguishers' compartment. 

Ok. You must be scared. Where are the fire extinguishers on the BTS or MRT? Have you memorised those locations and the procedure to release them? I don't see how the monorail is any better or worse than anywhere else (probably better). They also have safety videos playing constantly showing you where they are - I don't recall that on any other system here.

 

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They also have emergency ladders. I couldn't figure out whether they are a staircase to heaven or whether you are supposed to climb down to street- level (in this case, you have to jump the last 5 or 10 meters as the ladders aren't very long)

Emergency ladders are in case of a serious emergency when the train is stuck.  Staff will guide you to follow the emergency procedure and place the ladders to get you down to the emergency walkway, and once everyone is out they will lead you to safety. Again there are videos showing this and I don't recall anything similar on the other systems. I also know people who work on this system and the training is solid.

And what are you on about about jumping 10 metres? Do you really need that explaining? The ladders take you down from the train to the walkway, you are not jumping to street level. Again do you really need that explaining?

[Lorry]

7 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

The ladders take you down from the train to the walkway, you are not jumping to street level. Again do you really need that explaining?

Thx for a very informative post.

 

Yes, i needed this.  I really had no idea what the ladders were for until another poster explained it.

You mentioned the safety videos,  and you are right: I have never seen safety videos on the other systems.  Here they made me look where the fire-extinguishers are, and how to open the compartment,  so they had exactly the desired effect.  

If there were a fire on the old BTS I would be completely clueless. 

I still think fire extinguishers should be placed in the open for all to see.

 

16 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

You can use your Rabbit card

Sounds almost too good to be true.

As of now,  I can't use my rabbit card at all, it "expired". I can't remember how many times BTS staff told me that my card had expired, even before they had the rabbit card.  But to get a new rabbit card,  they wouldn't do it on the spot. "Come back tomorrow and bring your passport!" As if they hadn't my passport in their system. A bureaucratic procedure for a f...ing stored value ticket!

[josephbloggs]

14 minutes ago, Lorry said:

Thx for a very informative post.

 

Yes, i needed this.  I really had no idea what the ladders were for until another poster explained it.

You mentioned the safety videos,  and you are right: I have never seen safety videos on the other systems.  Here they made me look where the fire-extinguishers are, and how to open the compartment,  so they had exactly the desired effect.  

If there were a fire on the old BTS I would be completely clueless. 

I still think fire extinguishers should be placed in the open for all to see.

Cool, thanks Larry for coming back, and yes, it would be better if the fire extinguishers were in the open and not locked away.

 

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Sounds almost too good to be true.

As of now,  I can't use my rabbit card at all, it "expired". I can't remember how many times BTS staff told me that my card had expired, even before they had the rabbit card.  But to get a new rabbit card,  they wouldn't do it on the spot. "Come back tomorrow and bring your passport!" As if they hadn't my passport in their system. A bureaucratic procedure for a f...ing stored value ticket!

Can't help you with that, I didn't know they expired. But it is easy to get a new one if you have your passport - I just got one for my daughter. But yes, a lot of bureaucracy but normally dealt with quite quickly. Maybe @Crossycan help if you have specific problems.

[Lorry]

16 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

I didn't know they expired.

BTS staff told me the old ones expired after 5 years,  the new ones will expire in 7 years. 

Years ago, they expired much faster,  I think it was every 2 years.  But you got a new one immediately. 

[Yellowtail]

Never had a Rabbit card expire or even not work. 

[FarangryBirds]

7 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

Never had a Rabbit card expire or even not work. 

I’m on my second Rabbit card as the previous one expired. Same for my MRT card. When registering the newer cards, I had to take my passport and it took longer to process. NB: This would have also been around the same period you needed further ID to even get a SIM card.

 

One thing I do like about the Rabbit currently is that I have it linked up through LINE for top up through my banking app, also I have the Rabbit Rewards app, and unbeknown to me, I’d accrued a load of points over the last couple of years. I usually have enough to get at least 20 free trips a month. When my weekly spend on BTS commuting is nearly 500B, that’s a nice little bonus.

 

Regarding the Yellow line, will it be 10 minutes wait between trains after the official launch? Passing the depot (Si Iam?), I noticed a lot of spare trains sat there. I know it’s a slightly misleading visual because less trains are needed if they’re only currently looping between Samrong and HuaMak.

[Crossy]

Update: -

 

YL02 to YL10 will be open for free passenger operation 06.00 to 20.00 from Monday 12th June.

 

 

[Lorry]

Took the skytrain at Mahatthai during rush hour.

Quite crowded,  most passengers seem to take it every day, as they were glued to their phones and ignoring the views. But then, the views there just show you the whole misery of Bangkok's urban sprawl.  Views at Srinakarin are nicer.

Loooong walkways.

Stations seem always to be a bit away from where most people want to go, at least this is the case at Seacorn, at Mahatthai and at the Mall Bangkapi. (This is usually what happens if public transport is privately built)

 

[Crossy]

Yellow Line users, get your free rides now!

 

Revenue service starts on Monday July 3rd.

 

Fares will be 18 to 45 Baht, buy tickets at the machine (use cash or QR payment), use Rabbit or your contactless Visa / Mastercard.

 

 

[Lorry]

The Mall Bangkapi - the biggest destination on the yellow line - is not at any BTS.

BTS Bangkapi is the nearest station, but the exit nearest to the Mall is blocked.  Maybe someone should tell the owner of the Mall to pay up.

You have to navigate through endless parking lots and construction sites or cross at least 2 footbridges.

Every other form of transport is preferable to get to the Mall Bangkapi.

 

BTW staff at BTS Bangkapi had no idea where the Mall is or how to get there

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 6/22/2023 at 11:05 PM, Lorry said:

BTS Bangkapi is the nearest station, but the exit nearest to the Mall is blocked. 

Can you elaborate on just what you mean by "blocked"?

 

Does the yellow line station have a constructed exit connecting to The Mall Bangkapi, but it's just not open yet... (and presumably could be opened with some added work).

 

Or, are you saying a connecting exit hasn't actually been constructed?

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 6/12/2023 at 10:50 PM, Lorry said:

Stations seem always to be a bit away from where most people want to go, at least this is the case at Seacorn, at Mahatthai and at the Mall Bangkapi. (This is usually what happens if public transport is privately built)

That's an unfortunate situation to the extent it exists... When I read about the new Yellow Line and the fact that one of its stations was in the vicinity of Seacon Square and Paradise Park, I was hopeful that those places would finally have a good public transit connection. Just how far off is the station there?

 

On Google Maps,  it looks like the King Rama IX Park Station is kind of halfway between Seacon Square to the north and Paradise Park to the south, but some walking distance either way to get to either of them. I wonder if they basically decided to split the difference between the two in terms of locating the station...instead of building two nearby stations or choosing one over the other.

 

 

My wife used to have the same issue with the Airport Rail Link Line and its Hua Mak station. She used to work in the area, but they built the ARL station there pretty much in the middle of nowhere, and not proximate to any major road in the area.

 

So once you exited the train there, you pretty much only had access to whatever taxis had decided to come and park/stay at that station... and no easy access to any nearby bus routes or even regular taxis traveling on major roads in the area.

 

In  contrast, one thing I really like about the original BTS Green Line in central Bangkok is a lot of its stations have direct, easy connections to many of the big places people tend to go... like Siam Paragon, Central Chidlom, Terminal 21, EmQuartier, Victory Monument, etc etc...

 

You don't have to hike a mile to get to those endpoint destinations.

 

 

[stoner]

10 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

On Google Maps,  it looks like the King Rama IX Park Station is kind of halfway between Seacon Square to the north and Paradise Park to the south, but some walking distance either way to get to either of them.

its not too bad. seacon was giving people umbrellas on the opening for protection from the sun on that long 100 meter walk. :)

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

12 minutes ago, stoner said:

its not too bad. seacon was giving people umbrellas on the opening for protection from the sun on that long 100 meter walk. ????

 

On the map, it looks well more than 100 meters, especially to get to the center of the complex, as opposed to one edge...

 

But I haven't been there myself as yet since the Yellow Line station opened.

 

[josephbloggs]

1 hour ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

That's an unfortunate situation to the extent it exists... When I read about the new Yellow Line and the fact that one of its stations was in the vicinity of Seacon Square and Paradise Park, I was hopeful that those places would finally have a good public transit connection. Just how far off is the station there?

 

On Google Maps,  it looks like the King Rama IX Park Station is kind of halfway between Seacon Square to the north and Paradise Park to the south, but some walking distance either way to get to either of them. I wonder if they basically decided to split the difference between the two in terms of locating the station...instead of building two nearby stations or choosing one over the other.

Yeah, it's kind of equidistant to both and really not that far. A 3-4 minute walk max, probably less - I haven't tried it, just been past it a few times. The station is pretty much directly connected to Paradise Place though (not Paradise Park) but I've never been in there so no idea if that is good or not.

 

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My wife used to have the same issue with the Airport Rail Link Line and its Hua Mak station. She used to work in the area, but they built the ARL station there pretty much in the middle of nowhere, and not proximate to any major road in the area.

 

So once you exited the train there, you pretty much only had access to whatever taxis had decided to come and park/stay at that station... and no easy access to any nearby bus routes or even regular taxis traveling on major roads in the area.

Hua Mark ARL couldn't really be anywhere other than where it is. It is about 200 metres to Srinakarin Road. If it was any closer it would jam up Srinakarin road as people got dropped off / picked up on the main road. Now people drive down the little street and there is a loop for dropping off and picking up. A lot of moo bans in the area have shuttle busses, lots of private vehicles doing the drop off / pick up. If all that was happening on the main road it would be a nightmare.

Agree it is a bit sparse on the taxi front unless you walk to the main road. Plenty of motorbikes though. But I really don't see where else the station could have been. Also it remains to be seen if they will ever build a direct walkway between there and the Yellow Line. No sign of anything happening at the moment.

 

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In  contrast, one thing I really like about the original BTS Green Line in central Bangkok is a lot of its stations have direct, easy connections to many of the big places people tend to go... like Siam Paragon, Central Chidlom, Terminal 21, EmQuartier, Victory Monument, etc etc...

 

You don't have to hike a mile to get to those endpoint destinations.

Yeah, the green line connections are great. But mostly they didn't exist when it was first opened. Hopefully over time we get more of those on other lines as private businesses fund connections to their own locations (as happens on the green line I believe).

 

 

[Lorry]

5 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

On the map, it looks well more than 100 meters

100m  sounds about right,  it isn't far.

But it is still amazing, as most people exiting at this station go to Seacorn

[Lorry]

5 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Can you elaborate on just what you mean by "blocked"?

 

Does the yellow line station have a constructed exit connecting to The Mall Bangkapi, but it's just not open yet... (and presumably could be opened with some added work).

Blocked as in barrier tape.

The exit looks completely constructed,  but it's the only exit at Bang Kapi station not in use.

It is NOT an "exit connecting to the Mall" - nothing there connects to the Mall, it's all footbridges and construction and parking lots and dust, a quite unpleasant walk away from the Mall.

It is just the exit that would be the nearest to the Mall.

 

Fortunately,  halfway between the Mall and the BTS there is a two-storey 7/11, so on your trek through the heat you can get a rest and some refreshments :)

[stoner]

4 hours ago, josephbloggs said:

The station is pretty much directly connected to Paradise Place though (not Paradise Park) but I've never been in there so no idea if that is good or not.

it looks pretty convenient. the walkway from the station goes direct into paradise place. 

 

 

[digbeth]

The situation with The Mall Bangkapi is that even if they wanted to, they probably couldn't build a 'skywalk' in the middle of the road to connect to the station if they wanted to, there's a flyover bridge next to the road just after the station, the exit that comes down to Makro's carpark is essentially next door anyway, but due to the construction it's probably safer to exit on the opposite side of the road and use the pedestrian bridge in front of The Mall to cross back
plus, the mall is being renovated anyway, half the floors are closed at the moment maybe if they bought the now quite empty Tawanna market next door they could connect to the station via that.

It's not like they don't have the money, The whole EmDistrict at Prompong BTS has been done and now being extended to yet to open EmSphere 

With the Paradise Park, they're probably on a wait-and-see they already have walkway from Paradise Park to Paradise Place, which was quite empty of foot traffic for now, strange that they don't connect the exit to the mall directly
I know that before they built the line, businesses that has their land appropriated for the exits were offered a profit sharing deal to develop the land around the exits instead of outright compulsory purchase of the land

[KhunLA]

On 6/9/2023 at 8:36 AM, Yellowtail said:

Never had a Rabbit card expire or even not work. 

My Rabbit card/BTS had to be updated last month, as not used for 2 yrs.  Same with my MRT card yesterday, had to be updated, after 3 yr of no use, and takes ฿100 top up to update.  That's one to try to motivate people to use.

 

May take few years to use up the amounts I have on both, now ฿200+/฿300+ respectfully.  Especially the MRT, since ol' fart discount. 

[Yellowtail]

On 6/24/2023 at 3:58 PM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

 

In  contrast, one thing I really like about the original BTS Green Line in central Bangkok is a lot of its stations have direct, easy connections to many of the big places people tend to go... like Siam Paragon, Central Chidlom, Terminal 21, EmQuartier, Victory Monument, etc etc...

 

You don't have to hike a mile to get to those endpoint destinations.

 

 

Paragon, Terminal and EmQuartier all came after the BTS. 

[Lorry]

1 hour ago, Yellowtail said:

Paragon, Terminal and EmQuartier all came after the BTS. 

Yes, but Emporium, Lotus Onnut and Siam (with Siam Square, Siam Center, MBK) were there before the BTS

[Yellowtail]

1 hour ago, Lorry said:

Yes, but Emporium, Lotus Onnut and Siam (with Siam Square, Siam Center, MBK) were there before the BTS

And the yellow line will serve both Seacon and Paradise nicely. 

[stoner]

On 6/25/2023 at 9:28 AM, digbeth said:

With the Paradise Park, they're probably on a wait-and-see they already have walkway from Paradise Park to Paradise Place, which was quite empty of foot traffic for now, strange that they don't connect the exit to the mall directly

there is a new walkway from the yellow line station right into paradise place. 

[digbeth]

9 hours ago, stoner said:

there is a new walkway from the yellow line station right into paradise place. 

but it's a stairs down to ground level, not connected to the mall yet? 

[stoner]

21 minutes ago, digbeth said:

but it's a stairs down to ground level, not connected to the mall yet? 

there is a walkway that goes right into the mall on 2nd floor(maybe 2nd).