Phuket Monorail Plan Unveiled to Boost Tourism and Transport

[webfact]

File photo courtesy: Eikipedia

 

The Thai government has announced an ambitious plan to boost Phuket’s transportation infrastructure, including the introduction of a new monorail system that will connect the airport with Phuket Town. This comes as part of efforts to support the island’s growing economic and tourism sectors, which saw over 300 billion baht in circulation last year.

 

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, government spokesman Chai Wacharonke revealed that Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has prioritised Phuket in the broader national strategy focused on tourism, transportation, and aviation development along the Andaman coast.

 

Chai explained that the Transport Ministry has been tasked with developing immediate, medium-term, and long-term plans to transform Phuket’s transportation landscape, reinforcing its position as a top tourist destination and a vital gateway in Thailand’s southern region.

 

To tackle urgent issues, the Department of Highways will upgrade traffic signals on Highway 402, enforce no-parking zones, and eliminate U-turn points on busy routes.

 

A medium-term plan aims to address congestion on Highway 402 and expand Highway 4027 to four lanes, with the project expected to be completed by 2026.

 

 

Long-term efforts include the construction of an expressway connecting Patong Beach with Phuket Airport, integrated into the intercity expressway system. This project is scheduled to finish by 2030.

 

The Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) will carry out a feasibility study for a 41.7-kilometre light rail system, linking Phuket International Airport with Ha Yeak Chalong intersection. This assessment will also consider how to minimise traffic disruptions during construction, with the tram expected to be operational by 2031.

 

Furthermore, a study on developing Phuket’s deep-sea port is underway to accommodate large cruise ships and support Andaman Sea tourism. According to Chai, this development could significantly increase revenue from high-spending tourists. The study is expected to conclude by year-end.

 

Airports of Thailand (AoT) has been instructed to expand Phuket Airport’s capacity to handle up to 18 million passengers annually by 2031.

 

Additionally, new plans include introducing seaplane services to enhance travel links between Phuket and surrounding islands, further solidifying the island's status as a premier tourist hub.

 

-- 2024-05-18

 

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[mancub]

Paradise Lost

[Geoffggi]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

The Thai government has announced an ambitious plan to boost Phuket’s transportation infrastructure, including the introduction of a new monorail system that will connect the airport with Phuket Town.

Ohhh!!! I bet the infamous taxi drivers will love this idea ...............LOL 😂😂😎

[Baz Erckens]

1 hour ago, mancub said:

Paradise Lost

Long time ago. I recently saw some pictures of Nai Harn beach from 2012. Unbelievable how filthy and trashy the best beach on the island has become is merely a decade.

[josephbloggs]

I am a big fan of electric mass transit and think all major cities should have a good network. but I don't see the point of this. It's useless for tourists as it won't go near the main beaches (for obvious reasons - the mountains).

[newbee2022]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

File photo courtesy: Eikipedia

 

The Thai government has announced an ambitious plan to boost Phuket’s transportation infrastructure, including the introduction of a new monorail system that will connect the airport with Phuket Town. This comes as part of efforts to support the island’s growing economic and tourism sectors, which saw over 300 billion baht in circulation last year.

 

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, government spokesman Chai Wacharonke revealed that Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has prioritised Phuket in the broader national strategy focused on tourism, transportation, and aviation development along the Andaman coast.

 

Chai explained that the Transport Ministry has been tasked with developing immediate, medium-term, and long-term plans to transform Phuket’s transportation landscape, reinforcing its position as a top tourist destination and a vital gateway in Thailand’s southern region.

 

To tackle urgent issues, the Department of Highways will upgrade traffic signals on Highway 402, enforce no-parking zones, and eliminate U-turn points on busy routes.

 

A medium-term plan aims to address congestion on Highway 402 and expand Highway 4027 to four lanes, with the project expected to be completed by 2026.

 

 

 

Long-term efforts include the construction of an expressway connecting Patong Beach with Phuket Airport, integrated into the intercity expressway system. This project is scheduled to finish by 2030.

 

The Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) will carry out a feasibility study for a 41.7-kilometre light rail system, linking Phuket International Airport with Ha Yeak Chalong intersection. This assessment will also consider how to minimise traffic disruptions during construction, with the tram expected to be operational by 2031.

 

Furthermore, a study on developing Phuket’s deep-sea port is underway to accommodate large cruise ships and support Andaman Sea tourism. According to Chai, this development could significantly increase revenue from high-spending tourists. The study is expected to conclude by year-end.

 

Airports of Thailand (AoT) has been instructed to expand Phuket Airport’s capacity to handle up to 18 million passengers annually by 2031.

 

Additionally, new plans include introducing seaplane services to enhance travel links between Phuket and surrounding islands, further solidifying the island's status as a premier tourist hub.

 

-- 2024-05-18

 

Get our Daily Newsletter - Click HERE to subscribe

Good luck. However I don't expect the train working in 2030.🙏

[CANSIAM]

Taxi mafia discussing plans to continuously disrupt this effort as we speak.........

[natway09]

Mono rail just do not work well, their life is limited, their size is limited, show mw one successful one after 20 years. ?

[khunpin]

6 minutes ago, CANSIAM said:

Taxi mafia discussing plans to continuously disrupt this effort as we speak.........

There is no mafia in Thailand. 

Or is there any prostitution in Thailand? 🤔 😉 

What the junta not wants to admit - does not exist. 🤷🏼‍♂️

[cnx101]

21 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

I am a big fan of electric mass transit and think all major cities should have a good network. but I don't see the point of this. It's useless for tourists as it won't go near the main beaches (for obvious reasons - the mountains).

It will stop the scam taxis from the airport, I don’t know now but years ago has buses all over the island from Phuket town.

[brianthainess]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has prioritised Phuket in the broader national strategy focused on tourism,

That's all he does do, bang on about Tourism. He doesn't have to live amongst it. 

[cowellandrew]

It will be be moon o rail before this ever happens!😂

[brianthainess]

And of course all the stations will have elevators for wheelchairs, won't they? I'm sure that's all been budgeted for along with maintenance. 

Just one little question WHO will pay for it. I'm sure the feasibility study will make a lot of money for many people. I'm not just being negative but a realist. 

[brianthainess]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

including the introduction of a new monorail system

 

2 hours ago, webfact said:

with the tram expected to be operational by 2031.

Is it a plane (could be), is it a bird, no it's a Monotram.

[Mavideol]

59 minutes ago, Baz Erckens said:

Long time ago. I recently saw some pictures of Nai Harn beach from 2012. Unbelievable how filthy and trashy the best beach on the island has become is merely a decade.

it got worse after the Russia invasion

[hotchilli]

2 hours ago, mancub said:

Paradise Lost

Fortunes made...

[Bangkok Barry]

15 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

And of course all the stations will have elevators for wheelchairs, won't they? I'm sure that's all been budgeted for along with maintenance. 

Just one little question WHO will pay for it. I'm sure the feasibility study will make a lot of money for many people. I'm not just being negative but a realist. 

 

The feasibility study will be as far as it gets, as those who control the taxi mafia won't let it happen. What happened to the idea of a monorail in Pattaya, and wasn't there supposed t be a regular bus service introduced there? Did it happen? Does it still? I haven't been to that particular family paradise for some years so am out of touch.

[madmitch]

So, what happened to the feasibility study for the light rail system carried out a few years ago? Same route was mooted and they even got as far as a public meeting if I remember rightly 

[damian]

Enough of this monorail/light rail nonsense. 

 

Bus rapid transit with a high frequency coordinated figure 8 loop network is all that's needed. 

 

When this becomes over crowded, then and only then, consider fixed transit systems with higher capacity (noting that BRT capacities range around 5 to 10k passengers per hour per direction). 

 

 

 

 

[chercheur888]

I totally agree with them. The Mono Rail only will bring at least an additional 40 million foreign tourists per year.

Just imagine, a Mono Rail from the Airport to Phuket Town, that will become a world famous attraction.

[PETERTHEEATER]

2 hours ago, Geoffggi said:

Ohhh!!! I bet the infamous taxi drivers will love this idea ...............LOL 😂😂😎

They will be cross-trained as monorail operators because the expressway from the airport to the beach will require all-wheel drive taxis for traction of the sand which they cannot afford.

[VBF]

3 hours ago, mancub said:

Paradise Lost

Sadly, many years ago!

I'm so glad I went to Phuket in the 1980s when it was still a lovely tropical island which it hasn't been for many a year.

[spidermike007]

Years ago when I lived on Samui, I knew a Danish guy who worked with their embassy, and told me for a fact that a Danish monorail company had offered to build a 56 km monorail around the Ring Road in Samui at no cost at all to the local authorities, nor the Thai government. It was going to be a kind of pilot project for them, and they were willing to foot the cost of the entire construction project. It was turned down by the visionary Samui authorities. Why? There's no money to be made, not any bribes to be taken on a free project. Talk about sabotage. Yikes. 

[mrfill]

3 hours ago, natway09 said:

Mono rail just do not work well, their life is limited, their size is limited, show mw one successful one after 20 years. ?

20 years old this year...
https://www.monorails.org/tMspages/MagShang.html

[kaufmanski]

They should start by creating a designated bus lane and an efficient and regular service from the airport. More importantly, there should be public low cost transport for people to get to school and work comfortably. 

[hkt83100]

5 hours ago, natway09 said:

Mono rail just do not work well, their life is limited, their size is limited, show mw one successful one after 20 years. ?

How about this one? Schwebebahn

[Purdey]

When a real estate magnate runs the government, of course these infrastructure projects will boom.

Forget about technology and manufacturing, subjects he doesn't understand. I won't be surprised if he owns land in Phuket.

Edited May 18 by Purdey

[paulikens]

Will this run like the buses In Phuket?   And it will only run if the driver feels like it.

[Jonathan Swift]

12 hours ago, Geoffggi said:

Ohhh!!! I bet the infamous taxi drivers will love this idea ...............LOL 😂😂😎

Just like they no doubt love the Bolt app. 

[still kicking]

The Schwebebahn Wuppertal is a suspension railway located in Wuppertal, Germany. It’s an iconic transportation system that runs for 13.3 kilometers (8.3 miles), primarily above the river Wupper. The network has 20 stations, and it’s not only a vital means of daily transport for the city’s residents but also a tourist attraction due to its unique design and historical significance¹². The Schwebebahn began operation on 1 March 1901 and is notable for being the oldest electric elevated railway with hanging cars in the world¹.