Suvarnabhumi Airport Link - What A Mess!

[webfact]

Oh, Poor Airport Link

BANGKOK: -- Finally, the Airport Rail Link is officially opened for commercial services on Monday (Aug 23), after seven years of construction. The high-speed trains, though, do not look as new as they should. In fact, they look as if they had been bought at a clearance sale. Even Chinese trains look far more dashing.

The 28-kilometer rail route costs more than 30 billion baht in investment and has been subject to a vast amount of criticisms and negative press. Much of the grilling has been directed towards the project contractor, Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction.

Despite its name, the Airport Rail Link isn't actually connected to any airport. According to the original plan, the route should have linked Don Muang Airport with Suvarnabhumi Airport, but ended up with the last stop only at Phaya Thai Station in Bangkok’s downtown area.

What’s worse, the station does not even connect with a BTS station which is just a short distance away.

The first day of commercial run was nothing but a mess. Commuters paid full fares, but could not check in their luggages because the Thai Airways counters were closed and no one knows when they will open.

Hundreds of current Airport Rail Link staff are not full-time employees of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT). The railway authority hired Sasin Institute of Chulalongkorn University to recruit people and oversee salary payments on its behalf.

It remains unknown which organization these employees are working for. Who will be held responsible when problems arise? How desperate it is to see how the SRT and Thai politicians wasted precious tax payers' money.

Anyone who has been to Makkasan Station must have been upset about its poor condition that does not reflect the enormous investment put in. I cannot explain exactly how it looks. You’ve got to see it with your own eyes. Compared with Hong Kong’s Airport Rail Link, the difference are like heaven and hell.

The road system around the Makkasan Station has not been expanded to accommodate more future traffic. Those who regularly pass through the area, especially during rush hours and on rainy days, would know well how terrible the traffic can be.

Whoever is thinking about boarding the Airport Link train at the Makasan Station to Suvarnabhumi Airport should give it a second thought, because they could miss their flights. If anything, using the motorway could be a better choice.

Moreover, travelers are not safe from hassles when they travel via the rail link to the international airport. They have to heave their luggages upstairs from the train station in order to check in at the airline counters on the forth floors.

The Ministry of Transport has anticipated an operating loss in the first three years. But I doubt whether the SRT could really break even after the 3-yr period. Or the Airport Rail Link is destined to be in the sea of red ink forever just like our clunky rail services.

‘Mai Het Prathet Thai’ column, Thairath newspaper, August 25th, 2010

Written by Lom Plian Thit

Translated and rewritten by Wacharapol Isaranont

Please note that the views expressed in our "Analysis" segment are translated from local newspaper articles and do not reflect the views of the Thai-ASEAN News Network.

-- Tan Network 2010-08-26

[laurentbkk]

I am not surprise at all but we have to give them time to re think about all details ,after all similar problems happened when they opened the new airport. But who are to be blame for such silly details ? I guess the architects who didn't think about luggage for travelers ( that's a joke knowing this is an airport link) . After all its still better , faster to take a taxi to the city center. Who want to be stuck in traffic after flying so long ? :angry:

[nikster]

Come on now, let's look at the positive side: All that money that was saved by putting this whole thing up with minimal costs bought some nice cars and houses for all the officials involved.

The question presents itself once again: STUPID, or EVIL. I go with evil this time

[zakk9]

Whoever had the idea of placing the terminal for the express trains at Makkasan should have their head examined.... or maybe more useful to check who owned the land and makes a profit out of it. Pattaya would have been the obvious place. As it is now, it's probably faster to take the slow train to Payathai.

[tomyummer]

Is anyone surprised? I've heard that the rails were fast but this was before the actual opening. The pricing had better be at most 50 baht per person for all the inconveniences with luggage and logistics and typical 'not-convenient- for-the-user' Thai infrastructure. 200-250 baht door to door with taking metered taxis is much better without the inconveniences. When you're budgeting that much money for a mega-project for the country, you'd better have it all planned out well. It's only in Thailand where they 'do' before 'thinking' about results and consequences. In Thailand they are known for creating and starting new events and projects, but never good at maintaining and finishing. The Thai government should learn from Singapore or Hong Kong, or any other country for that matter. Let's see what happens in the next year on this rail line.

[Pib]

It's sad..so many years to complete the connection...so many chances to get feedback on potential problems...so many years to resolve the problems before officially opening...but instead I expect the mentality is each person was to complete their cog in the machine and not to provide serious feedback/recommendations on how well that cog fitted or it was obvious additional or redesigned cogs were needed. God forbid that another Thai cog would suggest to another Thai cog that there is a problem in the machine..why that might cause conflict or loss of face...can't have that....instead, everyone smiles while subquality design and construction continues/completes,. Then everyone moves on to the next project wih a big smile.

I hope they can resolve the problems in a reasonable amount of time and not to much additional money...nothing like getting it right on the second try, or third try, or....

[whybother]

I am not surprise at all but we have to give them time to re think about all details ,after all similar problems happened when they opened the new airport. But who are to be blame for such silly details ? I guess the architects who didn't think about luggage for travelers ( that's a joke knowing this is an airport link) . After all its still better , faster to take a taxi to the city center. Who want to be stuck in traffic after flying so long ? :angry:

"After all its still better, faster to take a taxi to the city center"

Umm, so let me understand this. The "Airport Link" is not connected to the actual airport so you need to find transportation there. You wait for a train for an uncertain amount of time due to delays and such. When you arrive at the "downtown" station, you have to take a taxi to your final destination. This whole time you are carrying your luggage around, being accosted by touts trying to sell you things, and in the BKK heat.

Whereas myself, I'll walk out of the arrivals hall, jump in a taxi with my luggage, take the highway and arrive at my home on Sukhumvit for 220 baht plus 50 surcharge.

I'll take the second option thanks

The airport link is connected to the airport at one end - the airport station is on the level below the taxi rank.

The OP makes the comment that it doesn't connect the two airports. Was that ever intended? It would have been a good idea, except that there was probably no intention of having Don Meuang still in operation, so no need for a link between the two.

Have there been delays? Certainly no mention of it in the OP, nor have I seen mention of it else where.

I don't think with the connections to the BTS or MRT make it worth using unless you have little luggage, but travelling on the BTS or MRT with any luggage is not a good idea anyway.

The bottom line, IMO, is the lack of road connections around Makkasan station. If it was easy to get in and out of, then it would be useful for avoiding peak hour or rain affected traffic. At the moment, there only appears to be a road connection on/off Asoke/Ratchada. If there was road connections to/from Kamphaeng Phet 7, which makes it easier to get to Petchaburi and Suk Soi 3, and if it was easier to get in there from Ratchada or off the expressway, then it would make it a whole lot easier to use.

[animatic]

Obviously a boondoggle, made worse by not being able to tell superiors about improvements

so they won't lose face, nor make changes to the plan for the same reasons. Over and above

the usual monetary slight of hand. A cock-up in one language and a cluster-fuc_k in another....

one that no fiscal Viagra will adequately deal with. It simply is incapable of meeting design criteria.

Hotel taxi to airport direct will remain the chosen mode,

except for the 'unwanted' backpacker set, for the foreseeable future.

LOS Land Of Sadness.

[powderpuff]

I think it makes it cheap & easy for airport staff to get to work & not a lot else.

One wonders how many billion baht were raked off the top as kick-backs?

[liveinlos]

Corruption is a terminal cancer eating away at the very heart of Thailand

Nothing is safe anymore, nothing will ever be completed correctly

The new mentality for Thai people is for them to get everything they can at the expense of others

This Airport Link is a major league embarrassment and you have to think how can they builders get away with this in plain sight of the whole world?

When the whole political system has its hand dipped into the cookie jar, it is easy to see why no one is looking in the direction of all this corruption

It will only get worse and this class of people feel they need more and more and more of the taxpayers money to justify who they think they are in society

[TheWalkingMan]

Wow, I am really surprised that so many things were missed with this. A couple of glitches are usual for big projects, but this is ridiculous. So much money wasted...

TheWalkingMan

[yabaaaa]

It's sad..so many years to complete the connection...so many chances to get feedback on potential problems...so many years to resolve the problems before officially opening...but instead I expect the mentality is each person was to complete their cog in the machine and not to provide serious feedback/recommendations on how well that cog fitted or it was obvious additional or redesigned cogs were needed. God forbid that another Thai cog would suggest to another Thai cog that there is a problem in the machine..why that might cause conflict or loss of face...can't have that....instead, everyone smiles while subquality design and construction continues/completes,. Then everyone moves on to the next project wih a big smile.

I hope they can resolve the problems in a reasonable amount of time and not to much additional money...nothing like getting it right on the second try, or third try, or....

Head, sand, Ostrich, corruption.

[jpkh]

Well i need to open my mouth on this.. Webfact has disinformation at least on one issue. I just yesterday used City Link from Makkasan to Phayathai and I did not have any problems to walk from Airport link station to Phayathai BTS station.

There are bridge between those stations and no need to go on street level.

--jp

[Dr. Zorg]

Does the train actually stop at Sruvanabhumi airport? Is it a matter of getting off the train close to or inside the terminal building?

[MeMock]

Pattaya would have been the obvious place.

Pattaya? Are you serious?

[Deeral]

What is particularly galling is that the link was delayed again and again and I got the impression that they were making a genuine effort to iron out these sort of shortfalls - but then again what should we expect?????

[Crash999]

The airport train in Shanghai suffers from a similar issue- it's less of a hassle, and not much more cost, to take a car directly from the airport to one's hotel or home. And in Shanghai they have the added novelty of the train being a Maglev.

But let's see how it goes. I remember when the Skytrain first opened there was massive criticism saying it was too expensive for Thais to use, not convenient, the stations were a pain, and it'd take many years to break even. Bit by bit escalators were added, walkways were built and connected to buildings, and improvements were made that made the Skytrain an indispensable part of Bangkok daily life. The airport link isn't going anywhere and over time I suspect will be the same.

[sunny747]

comparing with HongKong is utterly stupid. HK is a fast world country. Installing such massive elevated train as such is very appreciable and i'm sure Thai's will soon figure it out.

wait and see, we will start to enjoy this service very soon.

[Netfan]

I think it makes it cheap & easy for airport staff to get to work & not a lot else.

One wonders how many billion baht were raked off the top as kick-backs?

Yep. As a commuter train its great. Living within walking ditance of the Hua Mak station means a 45 minute trip to Victory Monument or MBK is now about 15 - 20 minutes, at a total cost of 30 - 35 baht. Would I take it to the airport with luggage? No way. But it sure makes commuting easier.

[thurien]

I think it makes it cheap & easy for airport staff to get to work & not a lot else

not even for them it will be easy - in the morning it should be alright without luggage,

but once all of them security people, luggage handlers etc. travel home they will have

to accomodate all these big, full bags on board the train...

[Changian]

The airport train in Shanghai suffers from a similar issue- it's less of a hassle, and not much more cost, to take a car directly from the airport to one's hotel or home. And in Shanghai they have the added novelty of the train being a Maglev.

Unless of course you just take the subway from Shanghai Airport to your hotel in the city centre. Cost 6 Yuan ( 30 Baht ). Used it last week - simple and cheap.

[rheinwiese]

I think it makes it cheap & easy for airport staff to get to work & not a lot else.

One wonders how many billion baht were raked off the top as kick-backs?

I think the majority of the airport staff cannot afford the ARL full fare (from Jan 2011).

Simply too expensive if one only makes 8k or less per month.

[deankham]

It's sad..so many years to complete the connection...so many chances to get feedback on potential problems...so many years to resolve the problems before officially opening...but instead I expect the mentality is each person was to complete their cog in the machine and not to provide serious feedback/recommendations on how well that cog fitted or it was obvious additional or redesigned cogs were needed. God forbid that another Thai cog would suggest to another Thai cog that there is a problem in the machine..why that might cause conflict or loss of face...can't have that....instead, everyone smiles while subquality design and construction continues/completes,. Then everyone moves on to the next project wih a big smile.

I hope they can resolve the problems in a reasonable amount of time and not to much additional money...nothing like getting it right on the second try, or third try, or....

Pib, I think your post is spot on and the gog anology very true.

..The guy in charge will have been very hands-off and just a figure head for the Project. He'll not have been involved at all except when some funds neaded allocating to one of his other business interests. All the gogs actually doing the work will not have communicated to each other and only been interested in hiding their own errors and maintaining face.

As a regular user of the Hong Kong Airport express, I can tell you what a fantastic service it provides. I had such high hoes for the Bangkok service to mirror it and show the world how good Thailand can be. I hope they sort it out, although it sounds like the concept is so bably flawed that they'll just be polishing a turd!

[Myaimistrue]

Hey, if you don't like it, don't use it! Continue to take your taxis and leave more room for those of us who believe in public transportation.........it will be a much more comfortable and relaxing ride without your grumbling!

[jbrewer]

What a mess, what a surprise...

[Basil B]

Is anyone actually surprised?

wonder how much Toxic and his cronies made?

[Hawkup2000]

Can someone please enlighten me? How can the trains look old? I thought that they used same type of trains as the BTS.

Secondly, what is the procedure with the luggage? I presumed that it was exactly like riding the bts; just take luggage onboard without hassle.

[PatLogan]

comparing with HongKong is utterly stupid. HK is a fast world country. Installing such massive elevated train as such is very appreciable and i'm sure Thai's will soon figure it out.

wait and see, we will start to enjoy this service very soon.

Then comparing to Malaysia might be more relevant. I had been using KLIA Xpress for 4 years at least twice a month, mostly on my back back to KL.

This coming Friday I wanted to try the Airport Link when coming back to Bangkok. But from what I read now, I am not so sure... even if just need to stop in Ramkhamhaeng

[ewansayang]

I have to agree that the interior of the trains look cheap and has anyone noticed how 'violent-sounding' the car doors are when closing? A friend of mine said that some day someone would lose a hand at the door. :-D

Another thing I agree is how cumbersome it would be for people travelling with luggage if the check-in counters are not on the street level at the station. I often travel light so it's a non-issue for me. At Phayathai there is a walkway from the BTS to the airport link which (thank God) will save you from having to walk to the end of the station towards Victory Monument, walk back towards Ari and take the escalators to not one, but three levels to get to the trains. During the trial run, the connecting walkway was yet to open.

Nevertheless once you are on the train, you feel better already as the journey proves to be quick and efficient. This is especially so at peak times as you glance outside looking at the traffic building up.

[scorecard]

Quote from the lead report:

"....Whoever is thinking about boarding the Airport Link train at the Makasan Station to Suvarnabhumi Airport should give it a second thought, because they could miss their flights. If anything, using the motorway could be a better choice.

...."

Iwonder if this comment is 'over the top', especially for travellers who just have cabin bags.