Gold Line monorail to start running by October

By THE NATION

 

credit: Krungthep Thanakom Facebook Fanpage

 

The Gold Line monorail should be ready for trial runs in September before going into service by the end of October, according to the contractor Krungthep Thanakom (KT).

 

Manit Techapichok, director of KT, said one of the three trains ordered from China will arrive in Thailand on June 10, after its delivery was delayed by the Covid-19 crisis.

 

Also, he said, the construction of the three stations – Krung Thonburi, Charoen Nakhon and Khlong San – was 88 per cent complete.

 

The driverless trains used in this system, the Bombardier Innovia APM 300, can run at the speed of 80 kilometres an hour and can accommodate 137 passengers.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30388737

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-05-29

 

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And there was I thinking it was an APM (Automated People Mover) not a monorail.

 

@Crossy Why do BTS trains have drivers? It looks like technology can replace them.

11 hours ago, Crossy said:

And there was I thinking it was an APM (Automated People Mover) not a monorail.

 

 

If it's what's shown in the photo it isn't a Monorail.

 

It's a Guided Bus, like this one:

 

 

Merely having a central guide rail, rather than kerb rails, doesn't make it a Monorail.

 

"Automated People Mover" is just a way of avoiding calling it a Driverless Guided Bus.

 

I believe it's called "Marketing".

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 29, 20206 yr by Enoon

37 minutes ago, Enoon said:

 

If it's what's shown in the photo it isn't a Monorail.

 

It's a Guided Bus, like this one:

 

 

Merely having a central guide rail, rather than kerb rails, doesn't make it a Monorail.

 

"Automated People Mover" is just a way of avoiding calling it a Driverless Guided Bus.

 

I believe it's called "Marketing".

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monorail

10 hours ago, blackcab said:

@Crossy Why do BTS trains have drivers? It looks like technology can replace them.

 

Mostly to make people feel comfortable.

 

The trains on the BTS (and MRT) are full ATO (Automatic Train Operation), the person in the cab monitors things, makes some train announcements and pushes a button to close the doors. The last is a safety feature to ensure all the passengers have boarded / alighted (and gives the driver something to do in case he dozes off).

 

Of course the trains can be driven manually with ATP (Automatic Train Protection) which stops them banging into each other and there's a full manual mode which allows them to creep along in the depot or if there's a signaling failure. In Hong Kong the drivers are required to drive a number of trips each day in ATP mode to ensure they are well practised, I expect we do the same here. You could often tell when a train was being driven as the doors didn't align properly with the platform doors.

 

In the late 90's when we did the Putra LRT in KL (the white 3-car trains) people would actually not get on because there was no driver (no cab either) and for several months an operator was stationed at the front of the train with the manual control panel open for that "comfort factor", he didn't actually do anything at all. Even now kids (and grownups) love to stand at the front of the train and get the driver's eye view.

 

1 hour ago, Crossy said:

 

Mostly to make people feel comfortable.

 

The trains on the BTS (and MRT) are full ATO (Automatic Train Operation), the person in the cab monitors things, makes some train announcements and pushes a button to close the doors. The last is a safety feature to ensure all the passengers have boarded / alighted (and gives the driver something to do in case he dozes off).

 

Of course the trains can be driven manually with ATP (Automatic Train Protection) which stops them banging into each other and there's a full manual mode which allows them to creep along in the depot or if there's a signaling failure. In Hong Kong the drivers are required to drive a number of trips each day in ATP mode to ensure they are well practised, I expect we do the same here. You could often tell when a train was being driven as the doors didn't align properly with the platform doors.

 

In the late 90's when we did the Putra LRT in KL (the white 3-car trains) people would actually not get on because there was no driver (no cab either) and for several months an operator was stationed at the front of the train with the manual control panel open for that "comfort factor", he didn't actually do anything at all. Even now kids (and grownups) love to stand at the front of the train and get the driver's eye view.

 

People's comfort factor. I heard that the elevator close door button is really cosmetic. People just feel the urge to press the button to feel in control.

 

I have seen people press the "I want to walk across the road button" at Australian traffic light about 10 times unto they get the walk signal. The dummies probably think that they did it.

Will this thing have a humanoid-shaped robot driver that will run away in event of a crash?   ????

 

 

An off topic post has been removed.

14 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The driverless trains used in this system, the Bombardier Innovia APM 300, can run at the speed of 80 kilometres an hour and can accommodate 137 passengers.

The above information not relevant during COVID-19...........LOL

3 hours ago, Curt1591 said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monorail

"Merely having a central guide rail, rather than kerb rails, doesn't make it a Monorail."

It does here!

3 hours ago, Isaan Alan said:

People's comfort factor. I heard that the elevator close door button is really cosmetic. People just feel the urge to press the button to feel in control.

 

I have seen people press the "I want to walk across the road button" at Australian traffic light about 10 times unto they get the walk signal. The dummies probably think that they did it.

It depends how things are set up. In many cases, like almost all of the elevators I've ever used in the US, the "close door" button appears to indeed be cosmetic, since pressing it doesn't seem to make the doors close any faster. In other cases - including most elevators in Thailand - it really works, and the doors close immediately after you press it.

 

Pedestrian crossing buttons are similar. In some places, they don't do anything at all. In others, they don't affect the timing of the light, but they do cause the light to give audible signals for the blind. In still others, especially where there's a pedestrian crossing separate from any traffic light, the "walk" light will not come on at all unless someone presses the button.

 

But none of that changes the fact that the Gold Line is not a monorail!

Personally, I hope they would hurry up with the Red Line.

Sick of trying to get none-existent taxis out of the government complex in an afternoon

In case some people were interested in seeing where this is and what stops, I found this one.

https://thesmartlocal.com/thailand/bts-gold-line/

 

So Icon Siam will be connected to -- Charoen Nakhon stop.

9 hours ago, Geoffggi said:

The above information not relevant during COVID-19...........LOL

Operative word: can ! lol

On 5/30/2020 at 5:21 AM, Crossy said:

 

Mostly to make people feel comfortable.

 

The trains on the BTS (and MRT) are full ATO (Automatic Train Operation), the person in the cab monitors things, makes some train announcements and pushes a button to close the doors. The last is a safety feature to ensure all the passengers have boarded / alighted (and gives the driver something to do in case he dozes off).

 

Of course the trains can be driven manually with ATP (Automatic Train Protection) which stops them banging into each other and there's a full manual mode which allows them to creep along in the depot or if there's a signaling failure. In Hong Kong the drivers are required to drive a number of trips each day in ATP mode to ensure they are well practised, I expect we do the same here. You could often tell when a train was being driven as the doors didn't align properly with the platform doors.

 

In the late 90's when we did the Putra LRT in KL (the white 3-car trains) people would actually not get on because there was no driver (no cab either) and for several months an operator was stationed at the front of the train with the manual control panel open for that "comfort factor", he didn't actually do anything at all. Even now kids (and grownups) love to stand at the front of the train and get the driver's eye view.

 

If the accident record of Boston's (US) subway system, 100% under operator control is a fair indication, the public is MUCH safer traveling in trains under automatic controls which don't doze-off, send text messages or just somehow bliss out while in control of a train.  Not a year goes by without a rear-end collision, usually within stations.

2 minutes ago, dddave said:

If the accident record of Boston's (US) subway system, 100% under operator control is a fair indication, the public is MUCH safer traveling in trains under automatic controls which don't doze-off, send text messages or just somehow bliss out while in control of a train.  Not a year goes by without a rear-end collision, usually within stations.

 

On-topic anecdote.

 

Some years ago I was doing work for the MTR Corp. in Hong Kong. 

 

The office we had to visit involved going past the "Railway Room" inside which resided an lovely "O" Gauge model of part of the MTR system. This model was controlled by an ATO system and was used for the technicians to practice on before being let loose on the real thing.

 

Worryingly, pretty much every time we visited they were putting trains back on the tracks after a collision or some other mishap