Bts Extension, Udomsuk Station

[lomatopo]

I rode again today (Saturday) from Asoke to Bearing, then back to Siam.

You gotta love the way they "threaded the needle" between Udom Suk and Bang Na stations as the track curves and rises to go through an opening between the tollway and 2nd stage expressway.

The new stations all look great, with fully-enclosed roofs.

Intervals today were 4:30 ~ 6:00.

Elapsed time between Bearing and Siam: 24:30

Estimated sets running at mid-day: 28 , so a 33% increase in capacity (from 21 sets previously).

I hope things work out on Monday.

Very, very impressive.

[theoldgit]

Good news, I might just go and take a ride next week for fun.

What's at Bearing?

[Lakegeneve]

Good news, I might just go and take a ride next week for fun.

What's at Bearing?

Not much, mainly Soi Bearing (Suk soi 107) and just south of the station being the boundary of Bangkok Province and the start of Samut Prakhan province. A new condo going up and more to come....

[Lakegeneve]

From the OP....

Posted 2008-09-21 08:20:04

Anyone know when it is scheduled to open?

They sure don't waste time, do they?

You need to read the mian reason for the delay in the line opening. See post #30.

Farcical but true.

[lomatopo]

The new stations all look great, with fully-enclosed roofs.

I forgot to mention this: at Bearing (not sure about the other new stations) the stairs between the platform and mezzanine level are quite a bit narrower than those at the other BTS stations.

Banner announcing fee schedules: http://www.bts.co.th/Banner_Sukhumvit_link.html

found this video on Youtube:

[dekestone]

So what's it like this morning, first working day rush hour? Would like to hear some first hand reports.

[MunterHunter]

Pretty packed, had to wait for a couple of trains before i could get on, and when i did manage to squeeze my way into the train (much to the annoyance of some of the other passengers as i squeeze them in) i was getting up close and personal with the passengers around me... And it stayed that packed until i managed to squeeze out at Chit Lom. They need to fix this!

If they don't sort this out soon, its going to render the BTS useless at Rush-hour for anyone whos not getting on the train at the new stations...

[dantilley]

On Nut station itself was considerably quieter, but the trains are coming in with a lot of people on so it's a bit of a squeeze to get into the train. Not ridiculously packed though, nearly everyone who was waiting got on OK.

As someone metnioned earlier, it's probably the same amount of people overall, but now a lot of the people who used to cram into On Nut before are now getting on at the new stations. You also see a lot more people getting off at Phra Khanong now - presumably there are a number of people who work near On Nut or Phra Khanong who would have bussed / taxied to work before, but are now getting on at the new stations instead and BTSing in. This probably adds to the overall volume of passengers a bit.

[lomatopo]

Pretty packed, had to wait for a couple of trains before i could get on, and when i did manage to squeeze my way into the train (much to the annoyance of some of the other passengers as i squeeze them in) i was getting up close and personal with the passengers around me... And it stayed that packed until i managed to squeeze out at Chit Lom. They need to fix this!

If they don't sort this out soon, its going to render the BTS useless at Rush-hour for anyone whos not getting on the train at the new stations...

Thanks for the report.

Can you tell us what time of day? Which station? Line (presumably Sukhumvit)? How long between the trains, as you waited for at least two?

[MunterHunter]

On Nut station itself was considerably quieter, but the trains are coming in with a lot of people on so it's a bit of a squeeze to get into the train. Not ridiculously packed though, nearly everyone who was waiting got on OK.

As someone metnioned earlier, it's probably the same amount of people overall, but now a lot of the people who used to cram into On Nut before are now getting on at the new stations. You also see a lot more people getting off at Phra Khanong now - presumably there are a number of people who work near On Nut or Phra Khanong who would have bussed / taxied to work before, but are now getting on at the new stations instead and BTSing in. This probably adds to the overall volume of passengers a bit.

I've used the BTS twice a day for the last 2-3 years... the amount of passengers on the train is significantly higher than before the new stations opened... I get on at Thong Lor, at around 8am and never have had to wait more than one train to get on, and whilst its busy i was always able to get on with relative comfort. This morning i waited for 3 trains and had to be fairly aggressive in my pushing to get on the train... and it was very uncomfortable and everyone was squeezed in might tighter... I hope they add extra carriages soon, whilst i applaud the new stations, If it means i cant get to work anymore on the train, they can bloody well close them again

[bibblies]

Yes all 5 stations will open at once.

So all 5 stations past On Nut will open in August? I didn't know that. Looks like things could get a bit congested then...

I live near On Nut and, overall, it's much better since the extension opened. Going out, you're less likely to get a seat. But it's not noticeably more crowded. And it's certainly much much much easier getting off. Before, the world and his dog used to get off at On Nut and it could take 10 minutes to get out with the infuriatingly slow-walking Thais ambling down the stairs and struggling past the tiny bottleneck at the bottom to get to buses (and street vendors, of course, would make it worse by setting up stalls along the bottleneck) Now it's easy, light traffic.

I'd like to strangle the idiot who delayed the opening of the extra stations by 2 years. Unbelievable (but believable) Thai thinking... "I'm afraid of what will happen if I put out tenders". But not being afraid of what will happen if they don't and the whole thing gets delayed by 2 years! They live in a different world... Actually, in a way it makes sense. Completely selfish thinking. Kreng-jai, my arse!

The only slight odd thing getting off is that there are now people at On Nut trying to get on and, for some reason, they seem to be more idiotic/less considerate than the average Thai BTS passenger. Every time I've got off so far at On Nut, there have been idiots blocking the way instead of standing to the side. Thais in other stations have worked it out. Why not here?

[lomatopo]

I forgot to mention this: at Bearing (not sure about the other new stations) the stairs between the platform and mezzanine level are quite a bit narrower than those at the other BTS stations.

Clarification: They are not narrower. Sorry. An optical illusion due to the use of a railing as a divider, not used in legacy stations.

I wonder if anyone else notices this: Approaching On Nut in bound (so from Bang Chak) the train seems to lose all electric input to the motors (I assume batteries power the lights, entertainment systems, etc.) for a few meters, then it recommences as if there is a demarcation point in the electrical induction system. (I'm no rail aficionado so not even sure those terms are correct.) Anyway, all motor noise stops briefly and the train feels like it's running free for a few meters.

Rode again today to Bearing and back, off at Udom Suk to Central Bang Na then back to Udom Suk.

I noticed a spare train at Bearing on the west-ish siding, which presumably can be deployed to address the 2:40 intervals on demand?

[dantilley]

I wonder if anyone else notices this: Approaching On Nut in bound (so from Bang Chak) the train seems to lose all electric input to the motors (I assume batteries power the lights, entertainment systems, etc.) for a few meters, then it recommences as if there is a demarcation point in the electrical induction system. (I'm no rail aficionado so not even sure those terms are correct.) Anyway, all motor noise stops briefly and the train feels like it's running free for a few meters.

If you ever get a northbound Silom Line train which changes lines at Siam and ends up going towards Mo Chit instead of National Stadium, it does the exact same thing.

[MunterHunter]

I will report back tomorrow after my ride into town... lets hope today was just a blip

[gkinbkk]

Everyone coming into office stressed and angry complaining about the trains being like Tokyo.....now bring on the train perverts!

[MunterHunter]

Similar experience today... trains double packed, with room enough for only one or two passengers when it gets to a station... large crowd of hot/stressed people waiting on the platform...

The trains are defiantly more busy than they were prior to these new stations opening... Friend of mine who normally gets the train at On Nut says that station is pretty quiet now, but when the train pulls into On Nut its already full and difficult to get in...

Perhaps they just need to add another carriage or two to the trains (make them longer) to help offset the increase in passengers... quite a simplistic idea but could work!

[lomatopo]

Similar experience today... trains double packed, with room enough for only one or two passengers when it gets to a station... large crowd of hot/stressed people waiting on the platform...

The trains are defiantly more busy than they were prior to these new stations opening... Friend of mine who normally gets the train at On Nut says that station is pretty quiet now, but when the train pulls into On Nut its already full and difficult to get in...

Perhaps they just need to add another carriage or two to the trains (make them longer) to help offset the increase in passengers... quite a simplistic idea but could work!

I admit that it has only been two days but I sort of expected any increase in ridership to be more than off-set by the additional train sets deployed. I'm sort of hoping things will get better. I mean if capacity increased by 33% (my guess) it seems shocking that ridership could increase more than that over a 3-day weekend?

As mentioned numerous times, the BTS has ordered 35 new cars from Siemens so as to increase the 35 Sukhumvit sets from 3-cars to 4 cars. I think those cars ill be delivered beginning towards the end of this year and throughout next year.

As an aside, I had another new experience today on the BTS; in bound between Chit Lom and Siam in from of Central World the train stopped very, very abruptly. People were thrown around a bit, and we waited for ~ 2 minutes before heading in to the station at a very slow speed. I'm guessing there was a train ahead of us at the platform.

And yet another new sight: I did also see tourists trying to hold the doors open, like they are using an elevator, while several people tried to discourage them vocally, as the doors closed they had to pull their arms out and the doors of course did not re-open.

(For any "Curb Your Enthusiasm" fans, Sunday's ep., S08E06, "The Hero" ends on a funny note involving long shoelaces and the NYC Subway.)

Edited August 16, 2011 by lomatopo

[tw25rw]

Perhaps they just need to add another carriage or two to the trains (make them longer) to help offset the increase in passengers... quite a simplistic idea but could work!

They needed that already.. The trains seem to be rammed day and night. I think they don't want to pay for the extra rolling stock. At least not of the German variety that has served them well since the system opened.

[lomatopo]

Perhaps they just need to add another carriage or two to the trains (make them longer) to help offset the increase in passengers... quite a simplistic idea but could work!

They needed that already.. The trains seem to be rammed day and night. I think they don't want to pay for the extra rolling stock. At least not of the German variety that has served them well since the system opened.

Huh?

The BTS placed an order, in October 2010, with Siemens for 35 new cars.

Now for delivery.... This is like new aircraft purchase lead-times. I've seen everything from 30 months to end-2012.

I've seen some ridership figures:

~ 400,000 per day currently

~ 500,000 + per day as a result of the Bearing extension

YKMV

[Geekfreaklover]

Commuted for the first time on the BTS from Udom Suk to Prakanong today. Yes, very crowded, especially on the return journey. My thinking is that many commmuters that normally take the bus are using the skytrain becasue it's free (at least On Nut - Bearing) and its a new, novel way to get to work. I think many, myself included will revert back to using the bus especially if Sukhumvit road is less congested due to the new extension.

Great to see it up and running eventually!!

[tw25rw]

Huh?

The BTS placed an order, in October 2010, with Siemens for 35 new cars.

Now for delivery.... This is like new aircraft purchase lead-times. I've seen everything from 30 months to end-2012.

I've seen some ridership figures:

~ 400,000 per day currently

~ 500,000 + per day as a result of the Bearing extension

YKMV

That's good to know. I thought they were only buying the Chinese ones now..

[dantilley]

Seems to have been a lot less packed at On Nut these last couple of days. More frequent trains maybe? Anyway, whatever the reason, loads of room on the trains coming in and everyone waiting on the platform has been able to get on comfortably.

[Luccin]

I take the BTS from On Nut every morning to go to work. Until today, the BTS was completely packed by the time it arrived in On Nut and required a very forceful entry to get on. Today was a bit better and I was able to get on without pushing through. Hopefully, this is not a one-off occurrence and will remain that way from now on...

[lomatopo]

I take the BTS from On Nut every morning to go to work. Until today, the BTS was completely packed by the time it arrived in On Nut and required a very forceful entry to get on. Today was a bit better and I was able to get on without pushing through. Hopefully, this is not a one-off occurrence and will remain that way from now on...

Perhaps they're getting a handle on the interval timing?

I've been riding to Udom Suk and back nearly every day, albeit at off-peak times, and have found the service excellent. Interval times at mid-day seem like 5:00 ~ 6:25; I always seem to just miss a departing train so easy to time the interval. In-bound from Udom Suk I see a lot of people getting off at On Nut! (That sounds way filthier than I imagined when I thought of it. )

[bkkjames]

Loma, you seem to be an expert all things bts? As for friday mornings less travellers, simple reasoning known in the adult working world called "business leave" or "too lazy to go to work today".

[theoldgit]

Going into the city centre yesterday evening the BTS was as busy as I had ever seen, I got on at Thong Lor at 18.00 and it was pretty full, at Phrom Phom a few more managed to get on with many more being left on the platform, when the train pulled into Asoke there were many people waiting on the platform and hardly anybody managed to board the train, the G4S guy was actually trying to stop people attempting to barge their way on.

[Sarpedon]

The trains seem to be running more frequently but they are usually stopping in between stations, probably due to the train in front. They just need to get the timing sorted out. The carriages are busier which is to be expected but it still empties out a lot at On Nut.

[Jdietz]

As On Nut is where it ends to be a free ride, expect it to become a lot quieter again when they start charging fees.

Also many gawkers using the free tickets to run the whole line back and forth, enjoying free aircon and views, getting off again at or past on nut, total price still 0 Baht.

[dantilley]

Also many gawkers using the free tickets to run the whole line back and forth, enjoying free aircon and views, getting off again at or past on nut, total price still 0 Baht.

Assume you're being sarcastic... or are you seriously suggesting people might actually do that?

[Lakegeneve]

As On Nut is where it ends to be a free ride, expect it to become a lot quieter again when they start charging fees.

Also many gawkers using the free tickets to run the whole line back and forth, enjoying free aircon and views, getting off again at or past on nut, total price still 0 Baht.

I have noticed that there are a certain % of people alighting at any of the Bearing - Udom Suk stations and then departing at On Nut. I am guessing that some of them are indeed cutting journey time and saving money by thereafter catching a 7 or 8 baht bus for the rest of the journey.

If you are on a limited income and spend a 2 hours a day on a hot bus along Sukhumvit then it makes sense really.