Airport Rail Link (again Sorry)

[lomatopo]

I feel bad for the tens of thousands, not sure about current daily averages but the last figures I recall were 50,000 - 60,000, with a peak (PDRC protesters) of 70,000, of Thais who've come to rely on the SARL for their daily work/school commute.

Some are forced to ride outbound, and turnaround at the airport, just to get on a train.

I'm guessing there will be issues when schools and colleges begin the second semester?

And that people will have to fall back to other alternatives: mini-vans, Khlong San Saeb, buses.

I think some are proposing that a private firm take over the SARL operation, leasing the tracks from the SRTETCO? Could be a train wreck?

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=118507457

SRTET Repair Contracts: http://www.srtet.co.th/th/10_footer/01_purchase.html

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Took the Airport Rail Link early today (a Sunday), leaving Suvarnabhumi at about 8 am for the trip to Makkasan, which took about 23 minutes.

Had a City Line train set for the trip, which was standing room only by the time it reached the first stop out of the airport.

Here's the current City Line fare chart and train timetables (6 am to midnight) posted at Suvarnabhumi, which the staff there claimed are accurate/up-to-date as of the present time. They're showing 4 trains per hour during weekday rush hours, and 3 trains per hour during other weekday times, and also on weekends.

Though it kind of made me wonder, because the fare chart is still showing a fare listed for the Express Line (note the red section at the top of the fare chart photo), even though all of the Express Line service is currently non-functioning until further notice.

[Lakegeneve]

Cabinet approved the ARL extension to DMK in early Dec.

The tender might go out in the first half of 2015 with work starting by the end of 2015. A 4 year construction period is realistic.

Bidding for the much delayed 7 sets of rolling stock (5 cars) will go out in Jan. (we hope!)

[Lakegeneve]

From 1 Jan the City Line has reverted to a peak headway of every 12 mins and an off peak headway of 15 mins Mon-fri. This will ease the previous peak hr overcrowding. Wkend headway is every 15 mins.

The new timetables are even up on the website (amazing Thailand!), http://srtet.co.th/en/index.html

Made possible as the final 2 Cityline EMUs have had their overhaul completed in December, thus all 5 have been mostly completed. The 4 Express units will be next which should be in time to recommence services by the end of March.

[josephbloggs]

Thanks for the update. Is this the major overhaul they needed or is this a temporary fix? I seem to remember them saying it would be several months to get the parts.

[Lakegeneve]

^A combo of both from what I understand.

The SRTET has added a couple of post midnight services to cater for the late long haul arrivals. They run express from the airport to PT. 12:15am and 12:30am, 45 baht, express to PT

http://manager.co.th/Home/ViewNews.aspx?NewsID=9580000022224

Pax number increased by nearly 10% last financial year and this year the pax numbers are expected to reach 66m.

The ext to DMK is still planned to be tendered by mid year (as it was the last 2 yrs) bu the process has been delayed a little due to the redesign of the SRT Dark Red Line (from 3 to 4 tracks). Cabinet approved the budget for this last week.

Still some time away from a decision on the new 7 sets of rolling stock (5 cars)

[teatree]

I used the ARL the other day and noticed they have removed some of the seats on the 'express' trains to allow more space. Took them a while to figure out but they did eventually.

Next step, put a floor in the disused baggage carriage so that can be used.

[Lakegeneve]

^A combo of both from what I understand.

The SRTET has added a couple of post midnight services to cater for the late long haul arrivals. They run express from the airport to PT. 12:15am and 12:30am, 45 baht, express to PT

http://manager.co.th/Home/ViewNews.aspx?NewsID=9580000022224

Still some time away from a decision on the new 7 sets of rolling stock (5 cars)

Schedule updates

1) The two post midnight services will be discontinued from 1 April as there is not enough pax. Though it has to be said that they have not really given this enough time....

http://www.manager.co.th/iBizChannel/ViewNews.aspx?NewsID=9580000032820

2) In good news from 1 May the peak schedule will be increased to every 12 mins from every 15 mins

New rolling stock

3) SRTET is stating that the tender for the long delayed 7 new 5 car sets will go out in April with a hope to sign a contract by June.

That still means overcrowding until June 2017!!!

[ricklev]

I took the ARL today from Makkahsan to Romkamheng.

I see what other posters are talking about. The waiting area at Makkasan was seemingly designed to avoid airflow and there are no fans. It was 37 or so I guess and I was sweating by the time the train came. Wonder what the designers where thinking?

Ramkamheng was worse but there were fans. Which were all turned off. Hard to understand management's thinking there........

[josephbloggs]

I took the ARL today from Makkahsan to Romkamheng.

I see what other posters are talking about. The waiting area at Makkasan was seemingly designed to avoid airflow and there are no fans. It was 37 or so I guess and I was sweating by the time the train came. Wonder what the designers where thinking?

Ramkamheng was worse but there were fans. Which were all turned off. Hard to understand management's thinking there........

I never understood that either. The stations have open ventilation along one side, but are completely closed on the other so there is no through breeze. If they'd have had the same ventilations slots on both sides it would have been ok.

Now my local station is Hua Mark which is thankfully completely open and not so sweaty.

[teatree]

I took the ARL today from Makkahsan to Romkamheng.

I see what other posters are talking about. The waiting area at Makkasan was seemingly designed to avoid airflow and there are no fans. It was 37 or so I guess and I was sweating by the time the train came. Wonder what the designers where thinking?

Ramkamheng was worse but there were fans. Which were all turned off. Hard to understand management's thinking there........

I never understood that either. The stations have open ventilation along one side, but are completely closed on the other so there is no through breeze. If they'd have had the same ventilations slots on both sides it would have been ok.

Now my local station is Hua Mark which is thankfully completely open and not so sweaty.

At some stations (Ratchaprarop for example) there can be a fantastically cooling breeze on the concourse level, yet on the platform nothing but hot, sweaty air.

The station designs were a big vanity project by the "architect" with the focus on aesthetics rather than functionality.

[Lakegeneve]

The new timetable with a peak headway of every 10 mins should be introduced from tomorrow.

Don't expect to see it on the website for a month or two though........

[Lakegeneve]

On 3/24/2015 at 0:03 PM, Lakegeneve said:

 

New rolling stock

3) SRTET is stating that the tender for the long delayed 7 new 5 car sets will go out in April with a hope to sign a contract by June.

That still means overcrowding until June 2017!!!

It has been nearly 4 years now since the SRT approved the budget for the 7 new 5 car sets!!!

Last year, the tendering process was suspended due to irregularities in the process arising from late 2015. Still no new rolling stock has been ordered.

 

Thus, the current proposal being floated is to order 12-15 new cars from Siemens that can be added to the current 9 sets (5 City & 4 Express) to make them all 5 cars sets. If Siemens can prioritise the order the hope that they could be delivered by late 2018 or early 2019! In the meantime, the conversion of the baggage cars for pax on the 4 Express sets proceeds.

 

Pax are still bursting at the seams at above 70k per day on weekedays and over 50k on the weekends for an annual figure of around 21m pax.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I'm pretty sure I read the other day, the PM canned the top executive and the entire board of the SRT (State Railway of Thailand), and appointed the current Securities and Exchange Commission chairman as the new board chairman, a bureaucrat who was on the former board as the SRT's new acting governor, and then an entirely new board comprised of few members with direct transport experience.

 

I know ARL operates as a quasi separate but related entity to SRT. But given these kind of continuing hijinks, I'm not betting the farm on 2018-2019 ARL new train arrivals.

[teatree]

Let's hope the new trains that will be bought are similar to the ones used on the BTS. 

 

The current ARL trains are very inefficient at holding lots of people and allowing them to get on and off the train.  The ARL trains seem to have been built for relatively light provincial use - they only have 2 sets of doors per carriage, the area where carriages are connected is not used, the area next to the doors is narrower - and are not really fit for purpose.

 

BTS trains would be much better at handling lots of people with lots of luggage.

[Lakegeneve]

On 3/2/2017 at 4:31 PM, teatree said:

Let's hope the new trains that will be bought are similar to the ones used on the BTS. 

 

The current ARL trains are very inefficient at holding lots of people and allowing them to get on and off the train.  The ARL trains seem to have been built for relatively light provincial use - they only have 2 sets of doors per carriage, the area where carriages are connected is not used, the area next to the doors is narrower - and are not really fit for purpose.

 

BTS trains would be much better at handling lots of people with lots of luggage.

As mentioned, if the SRTET does order these new cars they would be from Siemens which is the supplier of the original ARL rolling stock. The rolling stock is Desiro II which is a commuter rolling stock NOT metro. It is not meant to run at a metro frequency regardless of perceived demand. 

 

This line is a commuter/suburban line NOT a metro line. The issue with overcrowding specifically relates to the lack of rolling stock, 5 cars per train would solve that problem as it should have done 2-3 years ago.

[teatree]

On 09/03/2017 at 0:39 PM, Lakegeneve said:

As mentioned, if the SRTET does order these new cars they would be from Siemens which is the supplier of the original ARL rolling stock. The rolling stock is Desiro II which is a commuter rolling stock NOT metro. It is not meant to run at a metro frequency regardless of perceived demand. 

 

This line is a commuter/suburban line NOT a metro line. The issue with overcrowding specifically relates to the lack of rolling stock, 5 cars per train would solve that problem as it should have done 2-3 years ago.

I would much rather the interior of the Siemens trains in use on the BTS, which much more spacious and efficient - far better and handling lots of people with luggage.   

 

The Desiro trains appear to be designed for light provincial use with much longer distances between stops - there is even a (deactivated) button to open and close doors! 

 

The trains aren't really suitable for connecting one of the world's busiest airports with such a crowded city as Bangkok.  It would be much better with 5 cars per train of course, but still the wrong choice for they are used for.

[Lakegeneve]

Not a good morning to use the ARL....

[Chou Anou]

On 3/10/2017 at 3:29 AM, teatree said:

I would much rather the interior of the Siemens trains in use on the BTS, which much more spacious and efficient - far better and handling lots of people with luggage.   

 

The Desiro trains appear to be designed for light provincial use with much longer distances between stops - there is even a (deactivated) button to open and close doors! 

 

The trains aren't really suitable for connecting one of the world's busiest airports with such a crowded city as Bangkok.  It would be much better with 5 cars per train of course, but still the wrong choice for they are used for.

They also should really bring back the express trains...of course, the ultimate real solution is a dedicated Swampy-to-Makkasan-Phyathai line, and a separate commuter line...

[teatree]

1 hour ago, Chou Anou said:

They also should really bring back the express trains...of course, the ultimate real solution is a dedicated Swampy-to-Makkasan-Phyathai line, and a separate commuter line...

But the Express trains were laughably empty most of the time.  Hard to justify the service when so few use it.  Better to have longer trains with designated carriages for people with lots of luggage.

[Lakegeneve]

On 6/7/2017 at 8:02 PM, Chou Anou said:

They also should really bring back the express trains...of course, the ultimate real solution is a dedicated Swampy-to-Makkasan-Phyathai line, and a separate commuter line...

The real solution is more rolling stock. 

 

7 news sets of rolling stock (5 cars each) are to be ordered , the funds were approved back in 2013 when it was said that they would arrive by 2015 to alleviate overcrowding. Subsequently, delayed due to corruption allegations related with an intention to purchase chinese made rolling stock.

 

The other part of the solution is the long delayed extension to DMK for an Express service which will then run BKK-Makkasan-Phaya Thai-Bang Sue-DMK.

[Lakegeneve]

The SRET CEO stated last month that pax are up 10% with an average of 65K per day, 73K on a busy Friday.

Since the death of the pregnant woman who fell on the tracks back in June, the SRTET has prioritised the installation of PSDs for all stations. Under tender with a schedule to start by the end of the year.

[THAILIBAN]

very simple way to solve all those annoying problems: KICK OUT the highly incompetent SRT from operating the Airport Express, bring in the BTS or MRT company. Ah and yes, of course it needs more trains and carriages. The Airport Express as it is per now is an absolute disgrace for Thailand

[Lakegeneve]

A few updates on the ARL.

1) New rolling stock
Although funds were approved 4 years ago to purchase 7 new 5 car sets of rolling stock (see my previous posts) a combination of internal delays and subsequent corruption allegations related to an intended purchase of Chinese rolling stock, meant that the process was suspended in late 2015.
For what it is worth, the SRTET CEO is stating that the order will be placed by the end of 2017. Given the normal 2 year delivery period we won't be seeing any new trains before early 2020!

2) PSDs:
The installation of Platfrom Screen Doors has become a priority. The contractor will be selected next week with installation to commence ASAP. Expectation is all 7 stations will be completed by early next year. They will start with Phaya Thai and Lat Krabang stations

3) Current 9 rolling stock refurbishment
The SRTET is refurbishing all of its current trains, especially the Express trains and converting seating and the baggage car for pax. 1 set has been completed, 1 is underway and all 9 sets should be done by Feb 2018.Once done this will allow the frequency to be increased to every 8 mins during peak hours and allow for a capacity of 80k pax per day. 

Summary by April next year (hopefully):
1) PSDs on all station,
2) Refurbished trains - especially Express for greater capacity,
3) Increased frequency,
4) And fingers crossed finally an order for new rolling stock!
 

[Lakegeneve]

On 8/16/2017 at 5:01 PM, Lakegeneve said:

A few updates on the ARL.

1) New rolling stock
Although funds were approved 4 years ago to purchase 7 new 5 car sets of rolling stock (see my previous posts) a combination of internal delays and subsequent corruption allegations related to an intended purchase of Chinese rolling stock, meant that the process was suspended in late 2015.
For what it is worth, the SRTET CEO is stating that the order will be placed by the end of 2017. Given the normal 2 year delivery period we won't be seeing any new trains before early 2020!

 

Unfortunately, the SRT Board has decided to defer the purchase of new the 7 sets of new rolling stock until such time as the Central Government finalises it decision regarding the Eastern HSR line!!!

[drronnie]

They seem to be having problems again as this week there were delays during rush hours however as usual the staff to not give any information on what is going on. When there is a delay of over 20 minutes and staff pretending everything is alright

 

[Lakegeneve]

On 10 October 2017 at 5:21 PM, Lakegeneve said:

 

Unfortunately, the SRT Board has decided to defer the purchase of new the 7 sets of new rolling stock until such time as the Central Government finalises it decision regarding the Eastern HSR line!!!

According to an article in the Post today, the Deputy Transport minister has reaffirmed that there will be no new ARL train order until the Eastern HSR line plans are finalised which will not be until at least mid 2018. So don't expect any decision on new rolling stock until the end of the year......sigh...

 

The ARL will start operating from 5.30am from Feb. when a new timetable is introduced.

[josephbloggs]

11 hours ago, Lakegeneve said:

According to an article in the Post today, the Deputy Transport minister has reaffirmed that there will be no new ARL train order until the Eastern HSR line plans are finalised which will not be until at least mid 2018. So don't expect any decision on new rolling stock until the end of the year......sigh...

 

The ARL will start operating from 5.30am from Feb. when a new timetable is introduced.

Yeah saw that, very disappointing and short sighted.  Starting at 5.30am may help the overcrowding at 6am but how is it going to have any effect on the overcrowding at 8am or 9am (when you can't get on trains) or the same problem in the afternoon/evening?  

 

And does anyone know what is wrong with the track at Hua Mark?  The trains coming in to Hua Mark now have to slow to almost a complete stop to take the split in the track, especially going towards the airport.  It is so slow the approach to the station takes a good couple of minutes and once the split is completed (just before the station) the train then has to accelerate to reach the platform.  It is noticably worse and much slower now than it has ever been, so I assume there is some issue with the track / points.

[Lakegeneve]

On 22 January 2018 at 1:33 AM, josephbloggs said:

Yeah saw that, very disappointing and short sighted.  Starting at 5.30am may help the overcrowding at 6am but how is it going to have any effect on the overcrowding at 8am or 9am (when you can't get on trains) or the same problem in the afternoon/evening?  

 

And does anyone know what is wrong with the track at Hua Mark?  The trains coming in to Hua Mark now have to slow to almost a complete stop to take the split in the track, especially going towards the airport.  It is so slow the approach to the station takes a good couple of minutes and once the split is completed (just before the station) the train then has to accelerate to reach the platform.  It is noticably worse and much slower now than it has ever been, so I assume there is some issue with the track / points.

I just saw your query sorry.

 

There is an ongoing problem with the ARL track as it is cheap Chinese steel so it wears quickly. (Go back in the thread about 5 years to find this info.) The SRTET has to do a significant amount of grinding on the track to ensure safe operations. I actually hadn't noticed what you report the last time I was on the ARL, but I suspect that the services are slowing down as the track at the points has probably degraded to such an extent that derailment at a higher speed might be a risk. I'm only speculation on this but it would make sense. There might be some other systems related fault at the points requiring a slow operation. 

 

The whole of the track will need to be replaced for the eastern HSR line at some point. (More on that in the next post)

[Lakegeneve]

ARL extension to DMK - finally about to be built 

The Eastern HSR line has now advanced to preparation of a tender -reportedly by May. The ARL extension to DMK which is now part of the Eastern HSR line to U-Tapoa will thus finally be tendered. So we might  see work starting by early 2019 as this section is the 1st tender. Not quite the 2013 priority tender as it then was but getting there......

 

Once the civil works tender is completed, a tender regarding rolling stock should be issued sometime later this year (hopefully).  It is worth noting that period from contract to delivery usually takes 2 years for new rolling stock. Thus, even if a contract was signed in late 2018/early 2019, we won't see any new  until mid 2021 at the earliest. And that's without any delays.

The SRT Board has to have some sort of record when they approve the budget for purchasing 7 new, 5 car sets in mid 2013 and it takes at least 8 years for any new trains to be running!