BTS to BMA: Give us Bt8-bn train operation fee or we will stop running Green Line

[webfact]

BTS to BMA: Give us Bt8-bn train operation fee or we will stop running Green Line

By THE NATION

 

 

Bangkok Mass Transit System Pcl (BTS), operator of the Green Line train extension section (Bearing-Samut Prakan and Mo Chit-Saphan Mai-Ku Kot) has submitted a letter demanding that the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) settle train operation fees amounting to more than Bt8 billion of the extended section, which has been open since 2018, Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang said.

 

“BTS said they would have to stop train operations if they do not get paid,” he said.

 

“The BMA has to admit that we do not have the money and will need financial support from the government since it has tasked the BMA with train operations, but the extended section does not charge passengers additional fares.”

 

Aswin said the latest test run of Green Line trains on the extended section from Wat Phra Si Mahathat to Ku Kot stations has been completed without any problems and the section is scheduled for public use on December 16, with Prime Minister Prayut Cha-o-cha expected to preside over the opening ceremony.

 

After a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Interior Minister Anupong Paochinda said his ministry had proposed postponing consideration of an investment partnership contract between the BMA and BTS, which aimed to extend the Green Line train contract that would end in 2029 by another 30 years, to 2059, while maintaining a maximum fare of Bt65.

 

“Several agencies have supported the decision to postpone approval of the contract, including the Transport Ministry, the Finance Ministry and the Office of the Council of State, citing that they have yet to undertake detailed consideration of the contract,” Anupong said.

 

“Therefore, the ministry decided to postpone submitting the contract for Cabinet approval until all related agencies have given us their opinions.”

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30398132

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-11-18

 

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[Pravda]

The genius investors who bought in Samut Prakan and On Nut ghetto are in for a rude awakening. 

[ThailandRyan]

A day of reckoning for sure.  I also am fairly confident in saying that with the Tourism downturn the BMA has not obtained the necessary 8 Billion Baht they may have had with the passenger load being decreased.  Either that or someone at the BMA has some hidden bank accounts and has been feeding at the trough.  Sucks for the train operators and staff if they stop running, and then it really will hurt the masses who rely on the BTS for transportation.

[Sophon]

17 minutes ago, Pravda said:

The genius investors who bought in Samut Prakan and On Nut ghetto are in for a rude awakening. 

 

On Nut is not part of the extended line.

[Pravda]

10 minutes ago, Sophon said:

 

On Nut is not part of the extended line.

 

They are threatening to close everything, not just the extension. 

[miamiman123]

Money is getting tight in bkk now!

 

[MikeRing]

6 hours ago, Pravda said:

The genius investors who bought in Samut Prakan and On Nut ghetto are in for a rude awakening. 

Where do you live? On Nut is 4-5 stations from central Bangkok...

[Mike Teavee]

6 hours ago, Pravda said:

 

They are threatening to close everything, not just the extension. 

Where did you see that?

 

As I understand it they're only owed/losing money on the Extensions as they are not allowed to charge extra fares & so are threatening to limit services to Bearing <--> Mo Chit (i.e. the Green Line excluding the extensions). 

 

Bangkok would grind to a halt if the main BTS Line stopped running... 

 

[NightSky]

7 hours ago, Pravda said:

The genius investors who bought in Samut Prakan and On Nut ghetto are in for a rude awakening. 

why?

 

 

[Pravda]

7 minutes ago, NightSky said:

why?

 

 

 

You may soon find out. 

23 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

Where did you see that?

 

As I understand it they're only owed/losing money on the Extensions as they are not allowed to charge extra fares & so are threatening to limit services to Bearing <--> Mo Chit (i.e. the Green Line excluding the extensions). 

 

Bangkok would grind to a halt if the main BTS Line stopped running... 

 

 

It's in another Thai article. As I mentioned in the post before this one was posted by Thai Visa I am not sure if I'm allowed to link Thai news website. 

[moe666]

8 hours ago, Pravda said:

The genius investors who bought in Samut Prakan and On Nut ghetto are in for a rude awakening. 

The train has been running to on-nut for a few years now and not really a ghetto. I believe the original skytrain deadends at on-nut

[hotchilli]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

“BTS said they would have to stop train operations if they do not get paid,” he said

"Trouble at mill" ?

[MaiChai]

Maybe the government can spend some of that land tax they robbed the peasants of?

[Venom]

Solution: Create more debt and kick the can down the road.

[Pib]

Wait until the high speed rail lines that are being built go into operation---then you are going to see some serious money loss....that is, unable to charge fares high enough to cover construction and operation costs.

[peterdarby]

51 minutes ago, Venom said:

Solution: Create more debt and kick the can down the road.

Yes, take a leaf out of the West's playbook: when you need to bail out big business, just print more money. Oh, sorry, er, quantitive easing.

[Sophon]

2 hours ago, moe666 said:

The train has been running to on-nut for a few years now and not really a ghetto. I believe the original skytrain deadends at on-nut

 

More than a few years. On Nut was part of the original BTS service that started on December 5th 1999.

[Bangkok Barry]

3 hours ago, Mike Teavee said:

10 hours ago, Pravda said:

 

They are threatening to close everything, not just the extension. 

Where did you see that?

 

 

Try the headline: ...or we will stop running Green Line

And the second paragraph of the article:  “BTS said they would have to stop train operations if they do not get paid,” he said.

 

[johnarth]

no the Chinese turos and army will make up for that, just ask the PM

[DJ54]

Sell the Subs.. ??

[Showtime]

He asks stupidly, if the government hasn't been paying the money for so many years then exactly where did the money go?  You would think it would be in the government's bank account.

[kingstonkid]

2 minutes ago, Showtime said:

He asks stupidly, if the government hasn't been paying the money for so many years then exactly where did the money go?  You would think it would be in the government's bank account.

The government to entice people decided that they were going to let people ride on the morchiut to KuKhot extension for free.

 

I got to admit is sure is nice if you want to beat some of the traffic and will make them a lot of money  Probably more that the line to Rangsit.

 

THe problem is that with the extra track comes extra costs for fuel and such.  

 

If the government had only given a couple of months free it would have been great but now it is getting expensive.  The government has to start charging people to ride and I am not sure 65 baht max is going to cover it.

 

Right now to get to Morchit is minimum 50 baht by minivan from my house.  Then you have the costs of the BTS MRT

75 baht might seem like a lot but for most people living out here it would not be too bad.

[mogandave]

To be clear, it’s not the government bailing out big-business. It’s the government not honoring their obligation to its contractor. 

[Miami007]

13 hours ago, Pravda said:

The genius investors who bought in Samut Prakan and On Nut ghetto are in for a rude awakening. 

I guess you didn't have a chance to buy? Overall, a smart business decision to buy in an area which will be connected to mass transit. 

If circumstances change, then there will be problems. But in hindsight we are always smarter than anyone else

[Caldera]

16 hours ago, Pravda said:

They are threatening to close everything, not just the extension. 

 

But if there's any pravda in what you say, people who are NOT living in the "ghettoes" you've listed will be affected, too.

[Mike Teavee]

12 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

Try the headline: ...or we will stop running Green Line

And the second paragraph of the article:  “BTS said they would have to stop train operations if they do not get paid,” he said.

 

Try reading the whole article or do you base all your conclusions on Click Bait... 

 

The meat of it is they are threatening to close down the 2 x 5 stop extensions (which probably don't have enough traffic to make it worthwhile) because the government has put a cap on the maximum fare & they're not making any extra fares from them... 

 

 

 

 

[sandyf]

16 hours ago, moe666 said:

The train has been running to on-nut for a few years now and not really a ghetto. I believe the original skytrain deadends at on-nut

Yes, the original eastern terminus was On Nut. It was then extended to Bearing and then again to Kheha which has been fully operational for some time.

The extension the op is referring to is the other end of the line, from Mo Chit north, this section is not yet fully operational, due 16th Dec according to the OP.

During the trial period of the Khaha extension it was free to travel and I assume it is passenger funding during the trial period for the new extension that is in dispute.

Once the Kheha extension became fully operational, fares were introduced with a max of 65 baht, which makes it to me a pretty good deal.

[sandyf]

14 hours ago, Sophon said:

 

More than a few years. On Nut was part of the original BTS service that started on December 5th 1999.

I was one of the early passengers when I came just after New Year Jan 2000. The stations were deserted making it a bit eerie. Girl I was with was overawed and very reluctant to go through the turnstiles, as if there was no way back.

How times have changed.

[Pravda]

1 hour ago, sandyf said:

Yes, the original eastern terminus was On Nut. It was then extended to Bearing and then again to Kheha which has been fully operational for some time.

The extension the op is referring to is the other end of the line, from Mo Chit north, this section is not yet fully operational, due 16th Dec according to the OP.

During the trial period of the Khaha extension it was free to travel and I assume it is passenger funding during the trial period for the new extension that is in dispute.

Once the Kheha extension became fully operational, fares were introduced with a max of 65 baht, which makes it to me a pretty good deal.

 

Minimum wage in UK is 1600 Euros per month.

 

Lets make the cost of public transport 700 Euros a month.

 

Perhaps if the middle class in the western world was obliterated the same way like in Thailand you would understand the arrogance of your post.

 

Or maybe not.

 

 

 

 

[StevieAus]

11 minutes ago, Pravda said:

 

Minimum wage in UK is 1600 Euros per month.

 

Lets make the cost of public transport 700 Euros a month.

 

Perhaps if the middle class in the western world was obliterated the same way like in Thailand you would understand the arrogance of your post.

 

Or maybe not.

 

 

 

 

Since when have people in the UK been paid in Euros ?