Bts Trains To Become More Frequent In New Route

[george]

BTS trains to become more frequent in new route

BANGKOK: -- After commuters complained of having to wait too long, the frequency of trains in the new Saphan Taksin-Wong Wian Yai Skytrain route will be increased before the service goes commercial in August.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's Traffic and Transportation Department chief Jumpol Sumpaopol said the single rail track over the Chao Phya River forced trains to wait, which means that commuters in Saphan Taksin, Thon Buri and Wong Wian Yai stations need to wait longer than the normal four minutes forty seconds.

The BMA and the Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS) will therefore make trains more frequent and improve the signalling system bringing the waiting time down to three and a half minutes before it is officially opened in August.

-- The Nation 2009-06-08

[hansnl]

BTS trains to become more frequent in new route

BANGKOK: -- After commuters complained of having to wait too long, the frequency of trains in the new Saphan Taksin-Wong Wian Yai Skytrain route will be increased before the service goes commercial in August.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's Traffic and Transportation Department chief Jumpol Sumpaopol said the single rail track over the Chao Phya River forced trains to wait, which means that commuters in Saphan Taksin, Thon Buri and Wong Wian Yai stations need to wait longer than the normal four minutes forty seconds.

The BMA and the Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS) will therefore make trains more frequent and improve the signalling system bringing the waiting time down to three and a half minutes before it is officially opened in August.

-- The Nation 2009-06-08

Seriously, only a single track across the river?

Increasing the fequency will only generate more delays.

If the driving time across the single track from start to clearing the points is, for example, 6 minutes including reaction time of the driver, in a best case scenario there will be room in one hour for 10 trains, 5 both ways.

If there is signalling available in both directions halfway, making two blocks, the frequency does not double..

With extra signalling it might become possible to send more trains in one direction in a time block, but the track occupancy will also become longer.

Maybe resulting in a total one hour capacity of 14 trains.

But that is only if the median speed goes up considerably.

Anything going wrong with trains, late departures, down goes the line.

[bonobo]

This section of the BTS is really, really poor.  Parking, having to drive to the river to do a u-turn, frequency of trains, size of the platform--all are subpar.

My condo runs a shuttle to the BTS.  Now, it takes the shuttles longer even though the new stations are on this side of the river.  The traffic is just too bad for the shuttles to get through the u-turn and head back to the condo.  It was faster when the shuttles had to go over the bridge and on to Surasak.

[JohnGotti]

anyone have pictures of what it looks like over there? i hear its a terror.

[phetaroi]

In general, I like using the Skytrain very much...subway even better. The only problem I have discovered over the past couple of weeks is truly overcrowded trains at all times, not even including rush hour.

Since I'm retired, it's often 10 to noon before I get out and about. I often board the BTS at Rachathewi. The cars are always packed, usually to the point that I wonder if I can push my way in. I always manage to...barely. But I do mean it is questionable. Similar when I come from the Onnut end. Once you get to Phrom Pong, the cars are often at capacity, or even capacity plus.

Either they need to increase frequency or cars per train.

[bkkjames]

This section of the BTS is really, really poor.  Parking, having to drive to the river to do a u-turn, frequency of trains, size of the platform--all are subpar.

My condo runs a shuttle to the BTS.  Now, it takes the shuttles longer even though the new stations are on this side of the river.  The traffic is just too bad for the shuttles to get through the u-turn and head back to the condo.  It was faster when the shuttles had to go over the bridge and on to Surasak.

amazing, well not really, forward planning is an afterthought here. build a new mall and no roads to get to it. "we'll put a band aid on that later"

[BigSnake]

Great BTS sure there will be no shortage of riders, don't people return to their cars and motorbike jamming up the streets even more with bad drivers and smogging cars, yes a big big plus for all of Bangkok, Thank You

[flightcrew1]

It's been horrible since the new stations opened up. I get on at Surasak at various times of day and the trains are now generally crowded and delayed. At least three times the platform was even closed as it was too crowded and we had to wait outside the gate. I generally never considered taking my car except on weekends but lately I've been considering it even more.

Just very poor planning as far as I'm concerned. I've been watching this extension starting and stopping for several years and now they are trying to figure out how to make it work? What about the extra cars? These now have just been ordered? Oh well what more can one say.

[trogers]

This section of the BTS is really, really poor. Parking, having to drive to the river to do a u-turn, frequency of trains, size of the platform--all are subpar.

My condo runs a shuttle to the BTS. Now, it takes the shuttles longer even though the new stations are on this side of the river. The traffic is just too bad for the shuttles to get through the u-turn and head back to the condo. It was faster when the shuttles had to go over the bridge and on to Surasak.

amazing, well not really, forward planning is an afterthought here. build a new mall and no roads to get to it. "we'll put a band aid on that later"

This is the reason why expats are still making a living here, after 3 decades that the country has opened up.

[NIB]

This section of the BTS is really, really poor. Parking, having to drive to the river to do a u-turn, frequency of trains, size of the platform--all are subpar.

My condo runs a shuttle to the BTS. Now, it takes the shuttles longer even though the new stations are on this side of the river. The traffic is just too bad for the shuttles to get through the u-turn and head back to the condo. It was faster when the shuttles had to go over the bridge and on to Surasak.

amazing, well not really, forward planning is an afterthought here. build a new mall and no roads to get to it. "we'll put a band aid on that later"

This is the reason why expats are still making a living here, after 3 decades that the country has opened up.

Spot on Trog.

[dekestone]

Seriously, only a single track across the river?

Double track across the river but only single track at Saphan Taksin station. Don't see how they can run more frequently since they'll still have to wait and take turns unloading and loading at the station. At least the present terminals of all the other lines -- especially the Suk line which will open an extension in the next couple of years -- are double track and won't suffer the same fate.

But man, you think the trains are crowded now at Phrompong or Siam? Wait until they add four or five more stations down Sukhumvit!

[bkkjames]

Seriously, only a single track across the river?

Double track across the river but only single track at Saphan Taksin station. Don't see how they can run more frequently since they'll still have to wait and take turns unloading and loading at the station. At least the present terminals of all the other lines -- especially the Suk line which will open an extension in the next couple of years -- are double track and won't suffer the same fate.

But man, you think the trains are crowded now at Phrompong or Siam? Wait until they add four or five more stations down Sukhumvit!

yep, at the rate they jam them in now during rush hour, it will be more fun to be back in the traffic..., pretty soon property companies will have to start discounting the prices for developments along the bts,,

maybe that's the goal afterall.

[ajarnmark]

This section of the BTS is really, really poor. Parking, having to drive to the river to do a u-turn, frequency of trains, size of the platform--all are subpar.

My condo runs a shuttle to the BTS. Now, it takes the shuttles longer even though the new stations are on this side of the river. The traffic is just too bad for the shuttles to get through the u-turn and head back to the condo. It was faster when the shuttles had to go over the bridge and on to Surasak.

amazing, well not really, forward planning is an afterthought here. build a new mall and no roads to get to it. "we'll put a band aid on that later"

This is the reason why expats are still making a living here, after 3 decades that the country has opened up.

and probably more asians (including chiense, koreans etc.) and indians (including pakistanis etc.) are making living in your country than total expat population in thailand.

[jonclark]

My Daughter goes to a school very close to saphan taksin and due to over crowding she is either late arriving at school or late coming home. Added to the fact that all the schools, government and private chuck out at the same time and use either saphan taksin or surasak, it makes for a nightmare at school opening and leaving times. I think not only should the the trains be more frequent, but they MUST add extra train compartments.

All in all they've got themselves in a bit of a mess as saphan taksin station is wedged between the roads of the bridge, making adding the extra line and platform nearly impossible.....unless they built a new platform above the extisting one????

[phetaroi]

My Daughter goes to a school very close to saphan taksin and due to over crowding she is either late arriving at school or late coming home. Added to the fact that all the schools, government and private chuck out at the same time and use either saphan taksin or surasak, it makes for a nightmare at school opening and leaving times. I think not only should the the trains be more frequent, but they MUST add extra train compartments.

All in all they've got themselves in a bit of a mess as saphan taksin station is wedged between the roads of the bridge, making adding the extra line and platform nearly impossible.....unless they built a new platform above the extisting one????

First, I agree with your conclusions that trains should be more frequent and include extra cars.

I disagree, however, when you say, "My Daughter goes to a school very close to saphan taksin and due to over crowding she is either late arriving at school or late coming home." I am a retired school principal and our school was in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. This was a common dialog:

Parent: "We're always late because of traffic."

Me: "If you are always late, then you need to leave home earlier."

Parent: "No, if traffic were perfect the drive would take 15 minutes. You can't hold us responsible for traffic always making us late."

Me: "Well, actually, every time you are late, your child will be marked tardy. You are responsible to be on time for class because instruction begins immediately and you don't want your child to miss any instructional time with the teacher."

Parent: "That's not fair."

Me: "Yes it is. You know how long it takes to drive to the school during rush hour. You need to plan for that."

When I was 16 I went to work at the local grocery store. My mother often made me late because she was one of those "last minute people". After about a month the boss said, "Vincent, you're a good worker, but you're a couple of minutes late almost every day. The next time you're late, you're fired." "But it's not my fault. It's my mother's fault," I replied. "That's not our problem," my boss said. "Either be on time or be fired."

[bkkjames]

My Daughter goes to a school very close to saphan taksin and due to over crowding she is either late arriving at school or late coming home. Added to the fact that all the schools, government and private chuck out at the same time and use either saphan taksin or surasak, it makes for a nightmare at school opening and leaving times. I think not only should the the trains be more frequent, but they MUST add extra train compartments.

All in all they've got themselves in a bit of a mess as saphan taksin station is wedged between the roads of the bridge, making adding the extra line and platform nearly impossible.....unless they built a new platform above the extisting one????

First, I agree with your conclusions that trains should be more frequent and include extra cars.

I disagree, however, when you say, "My Daughter goes to a school very close to saphan taksin and due to over crowding she is either late arriving at school or late coming home." I am a retired school principal and our school was in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. This was a common dialog:

Parent: "We're always late because of traffic."

Me: "If you are always late, then you need to leave home earlier."

Parent: "No, if traffic were perfect the drive would take 15 minutes. You can't hold us responsible for traffic always making us late."

Me: "Well, actually, every time you are late, your child will be marked tardy. You are responsible to be on time for class because instruction begins immediately and you don't want your child to miss any instructional time with the teacher."

Parent: "That's not fair."

Me: "Yes it is. You know how long it takes to drive to the school during rush hour. You need to plan for that."

When I was 16 I went to work at the local grocery store. My mother often made me late because she was one of those "last minute people". After about a month the boss said, "Vincent, you're a good worker, but you're a couple of minutes late almost every day. The next time you're late, you're fired." "But it's not my fault. It's my mother's fault," I replied. "That's not our problem," my boss said. "Either be on time or be fired."

Yep, never will agree with Thai Time - or as my wife call's it, Chula Time.

[bonobo]

For the last several years, there has been a large sign outside of the Mall Bang Khae showing off an artist's rendition of the nice BTS stop there.  I guess it might actually be there around 2050.

The two new stations in Thon buri don't even make it as far as the first u-turn beyond the river.  Oh, the tracks go all the way almost to Phetkasem, but none of the four or five stations planned for that section of the track are even started yet, and nothing has been done on Phetkasem to start building the track there.

[MKAsok]

It's been horrible since the new stations opened up. I get on at Surasak at various times of day and the trains are now generally crowded and delayed. At least three times the platform was even closed as it was too crowded and we had to wait outside the gate. I generally never considered taking my car except on weekends but lately I've been considering it even more.

Just very poor planning as far as I'm concerned. I've been watching this extension starting and stopping for several years and now they are trying to figure out how to make it work? What about the extra cars? These now have just been ordered? Oh well what more can one say.

I agree it's a total mess now. The extension should never have been opened with the problem at Saphan Thaksin. The decision to do this was insane and it's effectively wrecked the reliability of the whole line. Around peak times particularly, trains are so backed up that it causes huge delays all the way back to Siam. Very often trains will sit at Siam for up to 10 minutes, then Chong Nonsi, then Surasak, then just before Saphan Thaksin, meaning a journey that's meant to take around 13 minutes now often takes in excess of half an hour. That's assuming you can even get on the freakin' train. The other day it took over 45 minutes from Siam to Saphan Thaksin, which is ludicrous. What should happen (it's not going to obviously), is the extention should be closed until someone figures out how to build another track at Saphan Thaksin.

[bonobo]

It's been horrible since the new stations opened up. I get on at Surasak at various times of day and the trains are now generally crowded and delayed. At least three times the platform was even closed as it was too crowded and we had to wait outside the gate. I generally never considered taking my car except on weekends but lately I've been considering it even more.

Just very poor planning as far as I'm concerned. I've been watching this extension starting and stopping for several years and now they are trying to figure out how to make it work? What about the extra cars? These now have just been ordered? Oh well what more can one say.

I agree it's a total mess now. The extension should never have been opened with the problem at Saphan Thaksin. The decision to do this was insane and it's effectively wrecked the reliability of the whole line. Around peak times particularly, trains are so backed up that it causes huge delays all the way back to Siam. Very often trains will sit at Siam for up to 10 minutes, then Chong Nonsi, then Surasak, then just before Saphan Thaksin, meaning a journey that's meant to take around 13 minutes now often takes in excess of half an hour. That's assuming you can even get on the freakin' train. The other day it took over 45 minutes from Siam to Saphan Thaksin, which is ludicrous. What should happen (it's not going to obviously), is the extention should be closed until someone figures out how to build another track at Saphan Thaksin.

They need to get another track at Saphan Taksin and get a another station in Thonburi where the public can actually access the station and take the vehicles (cars, minivans, and taxis needed to get to the current two stations)  out of the traffic pattern approaching the bridge and river.

Thonburi really, really needs the BTS, but they way it has been done so far is really ludicrous.