The New Skytrain

[IsaanUSA]

Are monorails really that cheap and easy to build?  Paknam to BKK, really?

 

And gold line, I thought this was coming very soon?  The news articles seem to think it is coming soon and will only take a year or two to build (from my poor memory).

 

From Codename_B on SSC

It is revealed that the gold line will use South Korean rolling stocks,

Woojin. Two 3-cars train will be purchased, construction will begin this year and this line will be operational in December 2017. Ticket price will be 15 baht for the whole line consisting of 3 stations.

[Lakegeneve]

On 9/1/2016 at 3:49 AM, IsaanUSA said:

Are monorails really that cheap and easy to build?  Paknam to BKK, really?

 

And gold line, I thought this was coming very soon?  The news articles seem to think it is coming soon and will only take a year or two to build (from my poor memory).

 

From Codename_B on SSC

 

 

Monorails are cheaper to build but often have maintenance issues. I'm generally not a fan of them unless it is for short inter-connectivity which both the Makkasan and Bang Sue lines would be, or the Chula Uni line could've been. We've only really seen in China where a long metro style length monorail can work.

 

I've railed (yes intended) against both the Pink and Yellow monorail lines which were both originally going to be heavy rail and still should be. There will be significant problems with both lines after a few years especially due to overcrowding but expect operational breakdowns and delays.

 

As for the Gold Line, don't believe everything you read in the Thai press as you are already aware. This is being pushed by big property interests given a large riverside development. If they want to fully fund and build it fine. However, they are pushing it via the BMA when there is really no logical or transport imperative to do so.

 

"operational by December 2017", with out a final design, approval, an EIS or even a tender? No way! It will be more likely to snow in BKK............let's wait and see if this progresses in the next 12 months.

[Crossy]

+several LG ^^^

 

The Japanese also do excellent "proper" monorails which can approach the throughput of segregated light rail (think Putra LRT in KL), the toytown trains coming out of Malaysia (KL monorail looks nice, but the budget it was built to is apparent) really don't cut it other than as feeders, a job they are perfectly suited for.

 

 

[Denim]

With all this  money being poured into mass transit systems it might be a good idea for the Thais to start building serious sea defenses and proper drainage for Bangkok otherwise, with global warming and rising sea levels  the underground will become under sea  and Thailand may yet find a use for its proposed  submarines running along the flooded tunnels.

[Thian]

On 4-9-2016 at 3:25 PM, Denim said:

With all this  money being poured into mass transit systems it might be a good idea for the Thais to start building serious sea defenses and proper drainage for Bangkok otherwise, with global warming and rising sea levels  the underground will become under sea  and Thailand may yet find a use for its proposed  submarines running along the flooded tunnels.

 

Last week i saw them building a wall along the chao-praya but 10 metres further downstream there was no wall at all.

 

Also i still have never seen anybody coming in/out of the new escalators to the purple line.

 

And those new parkinggarages at some purpleline stations, do they have elevators inside? They have many floors (8 or so?).

 

I bet that within 10 years there is a skytrainconnection from Bang Sue to Mochit bts...anybody wants to bet for a good bottle?

[Crossy]

17 minutes ago, Thian said:

Also i still have never seen anybody coming in/out of the new escalators to the purple line.

And those new parkinggarages at some purpleline stations, do they have elevators inside? They have many floors (8 or so?).

I bet that within 10 years there is a skytrainconnection from Bang Sue to Mochit bts...anybody wants to bet for a good bottle?

 

Which PL stations have you "never seen anybody coming in/out"?

Yes, the parking garages have elevators, what makes you think they wouldn't?

There is no "skytrainconnection" Bang Sue / Mor Chit on any of the plans I've seen, there's already a perfectly good MRT link. Drambuie will do

 

 

[Thian]

6 minutes ago, Crossy said:

 

Which PL stations have you "never seen anybody coming in/out"?

Yes, the parking garages have elevators, what makes you think they wouldn't?

There is no "skytrainconnection" Bang Sue / Mor Chit on any of the plans I've seen, there's already a perfectly good MRT link. Drambuie will do

 

 

 

All of the stations along the purple line. I drive the whole route a few times a week but not in busy hours i guess.

 

I thought about the elevators when the electricity fell out yesterday after some rain. Must be terrible to climb stairs to the upper floors in daytime with hot temps.

 

I know there's no skytrainlink between bang sue and morchit, that's why i wanna bet  that it will come within 10 years after all Thai have been climbing stairs from skytrain to metro. Even extra long escalators won't solve that annoyance. I know how the Thai think about getting sweaty when going shopping/working 

 

So you call it a perfect connection? I feel cheated, i expected a real skytrain connection to the green lines and also the riverboats, nothing is there yet and won't come soon. Stop drinking that stuff 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 8/30/2016 at 5:09 PM, Lakegeneve said:

Finally, the maps.........what exists now and what is being built (no need to repost the map that Isan posted on the previous page)

 

Lastly, Arch Students useful network map in english (couldn't find an updated one)

 

Noticed on this English map that it still shows the Saphan Taksin BTS station as removed, although last time I was there a few weeks ago, it seemed to be doing a roaring business and you'd never know anything different was in the offing.

 

Any updates on what's become of that issue, and what kind of timing likely will apply to whatever the current approach is headed for being?

 

[Lakegeneve]

15 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Noticed on this English map that it still shows the Saphan Taksin BTS station as removed, although last time I was there a few weeks ago, it seemed to be doing a roaring business and you'd never know anything different was in the offing.

 

Any updates on what's become of that issue, and what kind of timing likely will apply to whatever the current approach is headed for being?

 

Yes that is true. After all the articles that it would be done by the end of 2013, then 2014 etc of course nothing has really happened. I really don't expect that it will for a while and most likely S4 will be built before S6 is demolished.

 

The main indication that the BMA might be progressing on this issue is when they start to build the 700m long elevated walkway between Saphan Taksin and Surasak which needs to be installed first. Of course, that will take twice as long to build as is planned........

[Lakegeneve]

19 hours ago, Thian said:

 

All of the stations along the purple line. I drive the whole route a few times a week but not in busy hours i guess.

 

I thought about the elevators when the electricity fell out yesterday after some rain. Must be terrible to climb stairs to the upper floors in daytime with hot temps.

 

I know there's no skytrainlink between bang sue and morchit, that's why i wanna bet  that it will come within 10 years after all Thai have been climbing stairs from skytrain to metro. Even extra long escalators won't solve that annoyance. I know how the Thai think about getting sweaty when going shopping/working 

 

So you call it a perfect connection? I feel cheated, i expected a real skytrain connection to the green lines and also the riverboats, nothing is there yet and won't come soon. Stop drinking that stuff 

As someone who lives in a high rise condo, it is always terrible when there is a loss of electricity and no elevators. At least the car parks are not too high.....

 

The connectivity issues that you mention are very real and a constant problem even now with planning of new lines. As Crossy mentioned in another thread, at least it was done very well at Tao Poon station but that was due to the fact that it was part of the same contract.

 

As I have mentioned previously, the framework of mass transit planning and implementation is flawed in Bangkok. There are too many competing agencies and the whole private concessionaire model leads to stupid outcomes such as we currently have with no service between Bang Sue and Tao Poon. The pedestrian links between lines is a very basic, good example  of this (I did a summary of this earlier in the thread). The Silom link (BTS-MRT) opened 1 year later, the Asoke link (MRT-BTS) 2 years later and the Makkasan link (ARL-MRT) some 3 years later. They all should have been built prior to the new lines opening! And none of those links are very well engineered given that they were not designed as part of the initial station area designs.

 

A fully intergrated mass transit system would have pre planned internal, ticket side, interchange as well as external interchange options. Just look at the severe overcrowding at Sukhumvit/Asoke stations during peak - it is highly dangerous.

[Crossy]

Currently our best bet at an integrated (or at least inter-operable) ticket is the Mangmoom (Spider) card, but at present it's not live (still testing the back office) and there are no major transit providers signed up as of today. The SRT Red Line will probably use it, but that's not online until 2020.

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

50 minutes ago, Crossy said:

Currently our best bet at an integrated (or at least inter-operable) ticket is the Mangmoom (Spider) card, but at present it's not live (still testing the back office) and there are no major transit providers signed up as of today. The SRT Red Line will probably use it, but that's not online until 2020.

 

 

Wow!!!  Whatever happened with the myriad of news reports some months back re Mangmoon that all reported that it would be used by MRT and a couple other lesser services at launch, and then others in future years?

 

No major transit providers signed up to use Mangmoom as of today...

 

BTW, I was wondering about the MRT in the past couple months when they demanded that we replace our then-current MRT cards with a new version. Somehow, it didn't make sense for them to be requiring customers to take new cards if they were shortly going to be moving to Mangmoom. But obviously/apparently, they're not!

 

[Thian]

So the rabbitcard can't even bring me from the purple line to any other skytrainstation? Mai pen lai krab, i have a great motocy.....

 

My neighbours and other people here in Nonthaburi all can't be bothered with the skytrain anymore and that won't change when the pendlebus is gone. Some allready bought another house elsewhere or never came to live here at all while they bought a brand new house.

 

My last hope to a fast good solution is article 44 and mr Prayuth...if it won't work properly and soon the purple line will never be a success.

We also might move to a better connected area of BKK.

I have neighbours who only sleep at home in the weekend because of all the traffic jam and they have kids which they rarely see.

The kids go to scool by minivan and i don't think they will use the purple line at all, never. 

 

Also you guys (professionals i guess) should understand that us who live here don't care about who operates which line or whatever, we just want a skytrain which brings us from a to b without much hassle or we won't use it. Money is also not a problem, even if it was free we wouldn't use it.

 

But as with most newly built things in Thailand they will change it many times before it works well. That's why i predict a skytrain between Bang Sue and the green lines...If it doesn't come all Thai will pay the price for it and many will have miserable lives because of all the slow transport/congestions.

 

I'm happy to leave Thailand every 3 months for a visarun, the other capitals in surrounding countries all have good public transport so we go shopping there and stay a week or so. Bangkok lost it's attractionpower because of the bad public transport. The riverboats are good though but it's time to overhaul that whole system as well as promised.

 

 

[Crossy]

@Thian would you like to talk with the chairmen of OTP, MRTA, BEM and BTSC (oh and KT and BMA) as the interested parties in the Bangkok mass-transit melé?

 

I'm sure if you provide them with an advantageous cost-benefit analysis of your proposed parallel Bang Sue - Mor Chit link they will be all ears. What route do you intend? Elevated or underground? Any intermediate stations?

 

Nobody is forcing you to use anything, but if you don't use it, don't complain about it.

 

By the way, what is a "pendlebus"?

[Crossy]

1 hour ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

BTW, I was wondering about the MRT in the past couple months when they demanded that we replace our then-current MRT cards with a new version. Somehow, it didn't make sense for them to be requiring customers to take new cards if they were shortly going to be moving to Mangmoom. But obviously/apparently, they're not!

 

Well, it's like this, if you don't change your card it will stop working! The new card works on both Blue and Purple (and Orange and the other MRTA operated lines when they come) the old card (which is 20 year old technology) doesn't.

 

At best Mangmoom will operate in parallel with the existing cards not as a replacement, Thailand does not have a powerful enough government department (like LTA in Singapore) to force anything on the operators.

[Thian]

1 hour ago, Crossy said:

@Thian would you like to talk with the chairmen of OTP, MRTA, BEM and BTSC (oh and KT and BMA) as the interested parties in the Bangkok mass-transit melé?

 

I'm sure if you provide them with an advantageous cost-benefit analysis of your proposed parallel Bang Sue - Mor Chit link they will be all ears. What route do you intend? Elevated or underground? Any intermediate stations?

 

Nobody is forcing you to use anything, but if you don't use it, don't complain about it.

 

By the way, what is a "pendlebus"?

 

Well i would prefer to talk to mr Prayuth and explain him the need of good public transport in a city like BKK, i would ask him to use article 44 and make me the one who supervises the whole constructionproces of a decent connection to the green lines.

 

I think i would plan it above the new hub for all trains at chatuchak, on poles....if not possible it will go direct to Siam or another station at the green line.

If you really think this connection by metro and back to skytrain is a good solution than i don't understand why they hired you...you must be living close to another line i guess....I haven't tried the purple line yet and guess i never will..maybe untill the river when they have a new pier there or it's not gonna happen at all...My motocy to saphan kwai is much faster and even the car to morchit parkinglot or saphan kwai might be...it much more comfortable though that's for sure.

 

A pendlebus is my translation from dutch to english i guess, it's a bus which pendles between A and B all day long like they use now between bang sue and tao poon.

 

So because you worked at the skytrains i am not allowed to complain about the crappy connection? That's quite funny...

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Thanks for explaining, Crossy.

 

I had always assumed the Mangmoom card was supposed to be a multi-operator replacement card for their existing ones. I don't think I've ever seen any media report before that referred to it operating in parallel. But I guess, that's about the best/most one can expect here. IF any of the operators actually end up signing onto Mangmoom.

 

 

[planr]

1 hour ago, Thian said:

 

Well i would prefer to talk to mr Prayuth and explain him the need of good public transport in a city like BKK, i would ask him to use article 44 and make me the one who supervises the whole constructionproces of a decent connection to the green lines.

 

I think i would plan it above the new hub for all trains at chatuchak, on poles....if not possible it will go direct to Siam or another station at the green line.

If you really think this connection by metro and back to skytrain is a good solution than i don't understand why they hired you...you must be living close to another line i guess....I haven't tried the purple line yet and guess i never will..maybe untill the river when they have a new pier there or it's not gonna happen at all...My motocy to saphan kwai is much faster and even the car to morchit parkinglot or saphan kwai might be...it much more comfortable though that's for sure.

 

A pendlebus is my translation from dutch to english i guess, it's a bus which pendles between A and B all day long like they use now between bang sue and tao poon.

 

So because you worked at the skytrains i am not allowed to complain about the crappy connection? That's quite funny...

 

Never a dull moment on the ole TV. Here's an OTP plan from 2012 illustrating a monorail (the fluorescent white line) connecting Bang Sue and Mo Chit. Because this would technically fall under SRT for implementation playing by today's rules, we'll all be dead before it gets built... but hey, one more for LG's list!

[Thian]

12 minutes ago, planr said:

 

Never a dull moment on the ole TV. Here's an OTP plan from 2012 illustrating a monorail (the fluorescent white line) connecting Bang Sue and Mo Chit. Because this would technically fall under SRT for implementation playing by today's rules, we'll all be dead before it gets built... but hey, one more for LG's list!

 

A monorail also wouldn't be the solution because the purple and blue line would still have to change trains to mochit. I also don't care for mochit but a direct connection to the old green lines is what BKK needs to have a good fast skytrainnetwork.  It takes too much time to go to the metro first whatever Crossy thinks about it.

 

This weekend i have party with many important Thai, i 'll ask them what they think about it...They might even work at it themselves, i don't know everybody who's invited.

 

But if a skytrain above chatuchak park is needed than that's the solution i guess. Or another connection somewhere. 

 

Yesterday i googled for the map of the metro's in BKK, found some but couldn't understand them myself so i asked my wife. She also had couldn't understand the metro-map so we gave up...I think that's hilarious but of course Crossy won't agree with me....

 

Btw my wife has a university degree....so that's not the problem...

 

[Crossy]

Thian, please don't put words into my mouth. I never said the current arrangement was perfect, I said it was perfectly good. It will do the job once the link is completed.

 

The problem with mass-transit is that it has to go where the masses want to go, not where an individual, or small group want to go. The planners (no not me, I'm an engineer not a traffic planner) decided that most passengers from the top of the Purple Line would want to go to the CBD, a journey that can be achieved with one change at Tao Poon.

 

Last-mile (currently walk, taxi or bike) ought to be by local feeder bus, anyone remember the free BTS shuttle buses? They were deemed too expensive in around 2005. A similar thing happened to the KL PUTRA (now Rapid KL) feeder buses in the late 90's, poor routing led to few passengers, they were gone within 18 months of the railway opening.

 

It also has to use the most cost-effective routing which usually means down the existing roads rather than across hundreds of properties which will have to be purchased and removed, not to mention the protests of those displaced (who are potential passengers).

 

There is no argument that the transfers between the Green and Blue lines are awful, unfortunately there's not much that can be done about that now. Adding an escalator up to the concourse at Mo Chit BTS near to the park-side MRT exit would be nice, but who will pay for it?

 

Just how long do you think one of these projects actually takes, from first concept to operating railway?

 

Does your home city have a comprehensive metro? Does it go exactly where you need to be in a single ride (no transfers)?

 

You may wish to look at the history of the Singapore transit system. Not so long ago they were in the same position as Bangkok, a plethora of operators, no common ticketing, no integrated timetables (to minimise waiting on the popular routes). Have you tried it recently?

 

By the way, my nearest station would be Chiang Rak, but that's not on the planning until 202X

 

Enjoy your party with the important Thai's, you may yet get the ear of the general

.

[Crossy]

This article is a good read for those interested https://www.lta.gov.sg/ltaacademy/doc/Singapore Saikou 080901.pdf

 

Written by a friend and business associate Silvester Prakasam http://www.msi-global.com.sg/our-people-bu1.html

 

The "new system" he talks about at the end of the article is now in place, actually it's being further developed.

 

 

[Thian]

Crossy i know Singapore also has an annoying station if you come from from the airport but after that it works fine, also they have great buses and all works on one card (even the busdriver didn't know that). The rabbitcard, or whatever card they will invent, should be able to ALL public transport (also the riverboats). That would be the ultimate solution and i hope the General uses his power-44 to make that happen fast.

 

A very long escalator from metro Mochit to the traindecks would be the least they can do to relieve the pain, also place many fans on the ceilings/walls for while we are waiting.

 

The whole businessdistrict will probably be moved to the purple/blue line area's but without a good connection between the lines it's impossible to visit the big malls (i guess), i have used the BKK-metro twice in 14 years and still don't know where the stations are.

I don't like metro's at all, the only good thing is that it's cooler underground but also very boring.

 

My whole homecountry is almost as large as BKK only,  and the trains are always having issues because of the uneducated people who work there. They made so much loss that now the government took control of it but even that doesn't help at all. They all only care for their own salary/bonus which is a big shame in a developed country.

 

Tokyo has the best public transport i have ever seen but it's very busy because they all use it. There's no traffic jam at all and their police /railway employees all take their jobs VERY serious which is great to experience.

 

BKK allready made a huge mistake with the airport link so i hope they learned from that. I still see myself dragging a 30kg suitcase down the stairs to be on a busy road (at phya Thai station) finding a taxi in the rain while other cars were horning at us. I sure will never use the skytrains to my home coming from the airport again..

 

I drove along the purple line this morning and the demolition of old building is going very fast now, next year there'll be many new condo's i guess. Untill then we'll get more trafficjam plus dusty roads from that i fear. 

 

My latest plan is to build me an amphibious vehicle to travel around bangkok, strange that i haven't seen one allready from some hi-so kid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Crossy]

16 minutes ago, Thian said:

The rabbitcard, or whatever card they will invent, should be able to ALL public transport (also the riverboats). That would be the ultimate solution and i hope the General uses his power-44 to make that happen fast.

 

It is called Mangmoom and is planned to work everywhere (yes including the boats).

 

The problem is that it requires significant investment on the part of the operators, can Article 44 make private companies spend money when there is no advantage (actually a financial disadvantage) to the operator?

 

A paid-side transfer between the MRT and BTS isn't going to happen any time soon due to the single-journey ticketing systems being incompatible

 

[Lakegeneve]

20 hours ago, planr said:

 

Never a dull moment on the ole TV. Here's an OTP plan from 2012 illustrating a monorail (the fluorescent white line) connecting Bang Sue and Mo Chit. Because this would technically fall under SRT for implementation playing by today's rules, we'll all be dead before it gets built... but hey, one more for LG's list!

Hi planr, it has been listed for last few updates. It is listed at #30 in the latest one; " 30) Bang Sue Railyard redevelopment monorail loop"

 

 I thought that I had previously posted renders for the Bang Sue development here but it was in other threads that now will be impossible to locate. I'll get around to it one day.

 

The original plans for both the Makkasan and Bang Sue Railyard redevelopments came out around 03-04-05 and both included monorail links. In this context a monorail makes perfect sense for providing links between different precincts and to mass transit stations. This is what monorail is perfect for, not replacing heavy rail on key transport corridors as both the Pink and Yellow Lines have done.

[Lakegeneve]

On 9/4/2016 at 2:01 PM, Lakegeneve said:

Monorails are cheaper to build but often have maintenance issues. I'm generally not a fan of them unless it is for short inter-connectivity which both the Makkasan and Bang Sue lines would be, or the Chula Uni line could've been. We've only really seen in China where a long metro style length monorail can work.

 

I've railed (yes intended) against both the Pink and Yellow monorail lines which were both originally going to be heavy rail and still should be. There will be significant problems with both lines after a few years especially due to overcrowding but expect operational breakdowns and delays.

 

As for the Gold Line, don't believe everything you read in the Thai press as you are already aware. This is being pushed by big property interests given a large riverside development. If they want to fully fund and build it fine. However, they are pushing it via the BMA when there is really no logical or transport imperative to do so.

 

"operational by December 2017", with out a final design, approval, an EIS or even a tender? No way! It will be more likely to snow in BKK............let's wait and see if this progresses in the next 12 months.

An update for Issan....as timing would have it Cabinet approved the Gold Line monorail yesterday.....

(Note: not to be confused with the previous 2013 Kaset-Namawin Gold Line monorail proposal nor Samaks 2008 Gold Ring Line napkin idea - see #127, pg 6.......)

 

 

However, the feasibility study needs to be done, then an EIA and then it needs to be tendered BUT somehow all of that is going to magically happen very quickly and the first 1.8km will be operation by 2018!!! (They have given up on Dec 2017 it seems). Then, the next .9km will be done by 2023 apparently.......very unrealistic time frames.

 

 

Quote

 

Cabinet approves Gold Line monorail

The Nation September 7, 2016 1:00 am

THE Bt3.8-billion Gold Line monorail project for western Bangkok along the Chao Phraya River was given the green light by the Cabinet yesterday, with the line expected to be in service in 2018.

The elevated monorail line is 2.7 kilometres long, stretching from the BTS Green Line's Krung Thonburi station and running through four stations to Prachathipok via Klong San. The line will connect to the Purple Line's extended route to Bangkok's southern zone (Tao Poon-Ratchaburana) in the area adjacent to Wat Anong Kham Ram.

The Cabinet also instructed Krungthep Thanakom Co, a majority-owned enterprise of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), to study in more detail the possible impacts of the rail line. The concern is that it could hide the scenery of Rattanakosin Island in 25km radius in accordance to a restriction of the Cabinet's resolution in 1994, said Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan, who chaired yesterday's Cabinet meeting. Prawit, who is also defence minister, said the Cabinet did not set a deadline for the study. Once it is completed, the company can submit its finding to the Cabinet for further consideration.

 

Apart from easing traffic in Thon Buri, the Gold Line is likely to benefit many buildings and shopping complexes located nearby. One of them is the IconSiam riverside shopping mall and condominium project of Siam Piwat, Magnolia Quality Development and Charoen Pokphand, which previously expressed interest in partial development of the Gold Line. IconSiam, on Charoen Nakhon Road, is set to open next year. The Gold Line project, which will be under development by the BMA, is expected to produce an internal rate of return of 28.5 per cent, according to a study by the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning.

Moreover, the line is expected to save travelling time and fuel costs equivalent to Bt830 million a year after 2018 and Bt2.42 billion a year after 2038. The forecast is based on 47,000 riders per day in the first phase after 2018 and 81,000 riders per day in the next phase after 2023. If it goes ahead as planned, the first 1.8km phase of the project will cost Bt2.51 billion and be completed in 2018. The second phase of 0.9km worth Bt1.33 billion will be completed in 2023 and will connect with the Purple Line extension. The Gold Line monorail will use an automated guideway transit (AGT) system and each carriage can carry about 80 to 100 passengers, or 4,000 to 12,000 passengers per trip per hour.

 

 

[Crossy]

13 minutes ago, Lakegeneve said:

However, the feasibility study needs to be done, then an EIA and then it needs to be tendered BUT somehow all of that is going to magically happen very quickly and the first 1.8km will be operation by 2018!!! (They have given up on Dec 2017 it seems). Then, the next .9km will be done by 2023 apparently.......very unrealistic time frames.

 

Everything about the Gold line is wrong, timescales, projected passenger load, technology (for the projected load) and probably the route.

[IsaanUSA]

I came in here to post about the gold line.  You guys beat me.  Nice to have you posting regularly again Lakegeneve.

[IsaanUSA]

Archstudent posted a new map, but the URL doesn't load for me:  http://cdn.mx7.com/i/b4c/fhRgRi.jpg

 

[dantilley]

Any update on the Airport Link, in particular whether or not they will be buying extra trains, or if trains under maintenance will return to service? It seems to be struggling to cope at the moment, something really needs to be done.

[Lakegeneve]

Quote

Any update on the Airport Link, in particular whether or not they will be buying extra trains, or if trains under maintenance will return to service? It seems to be struggling to cope at the moment, something really needs to be done.

Sorry Dantilley, I have been away for a while.

 

Still no order placed as yet for the 7 new 5 car sets of rolling stock! This despite the fact that the funds were allocated in mid 2013 and that rolling stock generally takes 2 years to deliver.....thus the SRT could have easily had new stock by now had they placed an order by late 2013.

 

Perhaps, by 2020 those new trains will arrive.....

 

The Express trains have been revamped and the luggage car can now take pax so that will help a little until people start dying due to overcrowding.