Agents, Airlines Blame SRT For Poor Suvarnabhumi Airport Rail Link Service

[webfact]

Agents, airlines blame SRT for poor rail link service

By SUCHAT SRITAMA

THE NATION

The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) is being urged to improve facilities at the Airport Rail Link to enhance Bangkok's competitiveness and provide travellers the level of convenience they enjoy in other capitals.

Key tourism associations and airlines have conveyed their worries about poor facilities and service at the Airport Link, which began operating in Janu-ary. The rail service links Suvarnabhumi Airport and downtown Bangkok.

Only Thai Airways International has check-in counters at the downtown end of the Airport Rail Link, and they serve only 20 passengers per day, said Piyasvasti Amranand, president of the national carrier.

THAI operates two shifts per day at one counter, with one staff member per shift, a reduction from the four counters it operated at first. Bangkok Airways has shut down its check-in counters altogether because of the lack of passengers using them. The more than 80 other airlines flying in and out of Suvarnabhumi never opened city-end check-in counters.

Piyasvasti said this unpleasant situation was not due to THAI, but be-cause of the owner of the project, SRT.

The Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) on Friday raised the issue at a meeting, claiming that the authority had totally failed in its handling of this operation as it was attracting only a few passengers.

ATTA members said the big problem with the Airport Rail Link was that it was inconvenient to use. There is no direct connection with the MRT subway or BTS Skytrain and there are no lifts for those with large pieces of luggage.

Moreover, road traffic nearby is not well managed, so it can take passengers more time to reach the check-in counter than if they take a cab directly to airport.

The Airport Express Line (Makkasan-Suvarnabhumi Airport) charges Bt150 per passenger, while the City Line charges Bt15-Bt45 depending on distance. The Transport Ministry reported that the Airport Rail Link had 1 million commuters per month, but most of them were staff working at the airport.

ATTA members continue to recommend to their customers that they take public taxis to Suvarnabhumi Airport, as they offer more convenience at similar cost. Thais also prefer to take cabs or personal vehicles directly to the airport.

Anake Srishevachart, president of the Thai-Japan Tourism Business Association, urged the government to solve this problem as soon as possible to enhance competitiveness.

He said other big cities such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur and Tokyo had good airport rail-link systems that served a lot of passengers. "We are losing our competitiveness because of bad management and inconvenience. Tourists will feel uncomfortable using it until it is improved," he said.

Charoen Wangananont, president of Thai Travel Agents Association, the body catering to the outbound tourism business, urged the government to deal with this problem and offer tourists the best convenience.

The Transport Ministry's permanent secretary, Supot Saplom, said the ministry would tomorrow propose to the new government that it improve slow service at the Airport Link. The project costs Bt70 million per month to operate. SRT is considering running campaigns to attract passengers.

-- The Nation 2011-08-08

[JeffreyMcCollum]

A good idea poorly exicuted.

[whybother]

Moreover, road traffic nearby is not well managed, so it can take passengers more time to reach the check-in counter than if they take a cab directly to airport.

IMO, this is the biggest problem.

Connections to the BTS/MRT will help some people, but overall, most people will need to catch a taxi at some point, and the BTS/MRT was never designed for people with large suitcases.

With only one entrance and exit, both from a (effectively) one way road, and that road being next to one of the worst intersections in Bangkok, it's not surprising that most people prefer to go directly to/from the airport by taxi.

[jfchandler]

ATTA members said the big problem with the Airport Rail Link was that it was inconvenient to use. There is no direct connection with the MRT subway or BTS Skytrain and there are no lifts for those with large pieces of luggage.

Moreover, road traffic nearby is not well managed, so it can take passengers more time to reach the check-in counter than if they take a cab directly to airport.

WOW, this CAN'T be Thailand, can it???

For months, many of us in posts re the Airport Rail Link line have been pointing to these exact same flaws, along with a few others, as the principal reasons why the line hasn't been the success it could be and should be.

I personally like the line and the service, but mainly for its City Line local service from Phyathai, which I've used numerous times en route to the airport. But the express service, originally just from Makkasan that is the focus of article above, is an entirely different and unfortunate matter.

So now we have a newspaper report where the Thais themselves are publicly complaining about those same exact flaws.... This really is AMAZING Thailand... Perhaps we have an ATTA "spy" here among us...

Or probably more realistically, the folks complaining are Thais who have to do business with, and rely on tourists/customers from other countries such as Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, etc., where the piss-poor execution and design of the Express Line service just doesn't cut it...

Unfortunately, from the article below, it would seem the Transport Minister just doesn't get it... The solutions here aren't about improving or shortening service times, although that would help fix the problems they created when they began to run the Express Service from Phyathai and thus diluted their Express Line schedule. The solutions are to address the things cited above that continue to make tourists and passengers choose other methods of getting to the airport.

[DP25]

The main reason more people don't use the express line more is that taxis in Thailand are ridiculously cheap. If a taxi to the airport was $50 like in some cities people would take the train, at 200 baht they don't bother. In the future taxis will be more expensive and there will be additional mass transit links to the line, and the express line will be packed

[zakk9]

It's amazing that hardly any of the stations have facilities for people with luggage, not even descending escalators. I use the City Line regularly to Hua Mak when I arrive, to get to my home further down Srinakarin Road. There's no other public transport available at the station, except some local Baht-bus and the occasional taxi, leaving me with no other option than walking a few hundred meters to the main road where I end up at the railroad crossing, hoping that I can catch the attention of a taxi.

Still, I prefer this to the verbal abuse I receive from taxi drivers at the airport when they discover that they'll only get a less than 200 Baht trip after waiting for three hours or more.

[hyperdimension]

The main reason more people don't use the express line more is that taxis in Thailand are ridiculously cheap.

... especially when sharing one taxi cab with other people.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

It's amazing that hardly any of the stations have facilities for people with luggage, not even descending escalators. I use the City Line regularly to Hua Mak when I arrive, to get to my home further down Srinakarin Road. There's no other public transport available at the station, except some local Baht-bus and the occasional taxi, leaving me with no other option than walking a few hundred meters to the main road where I end up at the railroad crossing, hoping that I can catch the attention of a taxi.

Still, I prefer this to the verbal abuse I receive from taxi drivers at the airport when they discover that they'll only get a less than 200 Baht trip after waiting for three hours or more.

So, why not get an arriving taxi at the departures level then? They haven't been waiting at all and are happy to get a ride right away. (Clearly not any drivers who did somehow manage to loiter around departures, don't waste your time on those; I mean an *actual* arriving taxi, with a passenger getting out of it.

[nikster]

Used this service 2 times recently. It's a joke.

First, from both sides, it's hard to tell where to buy tickets. If you go to the wrong counter, and don't know, you will be charged way less - but you will also take the slow train that stops everywhere. You can't buy the express tickets there, that's another counter.

Even if they really must have 2 counters for this (<deleted>?) - why isn't the one for tourists market with a huge pink sign or something? As it is, there's no signs. This design is almost inconceivably bad. You really have to try to arrive at a "solution" like that.

Then, the express line doesn't go all that often. I had to wait ~15 minutes before the train took off. That's too long.

Then, the "express" line doesn't just comprise of what's apparently second hand train cars from Austria (I am from there - deja vu!... but why are these things so old?), but it also is very slow. Why are cars on the tollway passing the "express" line? There are no stops, why doesn't that thing go at 180 kph? It feels like it's going 60.

Unless you arrive at rush hour, a Taxi is way faster, plus you don't need to switch transportation on arrival.

Then there's also the things mentioned in the article, schlepping suitcases up and down the steep steps at the BTS isn't for everybody.

[edgarfriendly]

it sounds as if some of the posters here actually believe that this link was built to serve the public...

wake up geniuses, that project, just like all the others, was implemented so that those 'in charge' could milk the 'cream' nothing more.

the fact that there is a public use for the project is beside the point.

this is irrelevant, corruption aka normal business is the point.

as u may have heard, 'talk is cheap' and explaining away why there are 3 escalators missing from every bts station, or why some expressways stop in mid air, is easy when you've already spent the profits on a new ranch/spa/resort...

try to imagine this country as one long-winded 'front-company'

maybe things will make more sense...

but i doubt it.

ef

[gonzobrains]

I agree, the design inside is bad. Hell, there isn't even a single bloody ATM in that entire gigantic station. Lack of facilities is disappointing. Yes, the ticketing issue is hilarious, too. Has anyone been there recently? Most of the ticket machines are out of order!

Furthermore, connecting to the MRT station is just plain ghetto. Who in their right mind decided to make an airport link that forces travelers to hike with all their luggage from the MRT station across a busy intersection, a couple sets of train tracks, etc. just to get to the entrance of the train station? Why not an overhead footbridge or underground tunnel? It just doesn't seem that well-planned.

gb

Edited August 8, 2011 by gonzobrains

[TheWalkingMan]

These people must be reading Thaivisa as many of their comments mirror what people have been saying since day one of it opening.

TheWalkingMan

[toybits]

I don't know what you guys are complaining about. I love the City Line!!! Will never use a taxi to or from Swampy again.

[ginjag]

The main reason more people don't use the express line more is that taxis in Thailand are ridiculously cheap. If a taxi to the airport was $50 like in some cities people would take the train, at 200 baht they don't bother. In the future taxis will be more expensive and there will be additional mass transit links to the line, and the express line will be packed

Where were the original government planning officers approving of the line??? didn't they see that there were serious connect problems??? shows that no one looked at the original plan/or maybe you don't look too close over dinner!!!!---------------Here we have a new airport bodged up all the time-----TG Thai International giving it's antique planes a facelift------------a poorly organised and planned rail link----------I know here and there there are goodies BUT these are High profile mega projects/businesses. <deleted>

(does the rail link own the taxis I wonder) if not ==good idea.These people that run these national treasures-couldn't run a raffle. Maybe I couldn't do the job, BUT I am not getting the wages and perks they are.

[Jawnie]

This is one of my pet peeves about Bangkok. I use the SRT almost daily and it is clear that pedestrians and the user-friendliness of stations were the last thing planners considered for this train line. The operational and facilities problems are gigantic and outrageous. So much can be said about how poorly designed and planned the stations are from a lack of lifts at stations to long distances riders need to walk between the road below to the train platforms.

I'll focus on my experience just today, an hour ago. I arrived Phaya Thai station only to see that it was 24 minutes until the next outbound train. To me, this is an outrageously long time to wait for a commuter train. SRT trains need to run every 10 minutes, maximum. So, since I had 24 minutes to wait, I decided to 'involve' station management in my time spent at their station. I asked the station agent at the booth why it's 24 minutes to the next train. Of course, she could not answer well but told me, 'well, it's really only 15 minutes'. I was skeptical, so then I started asking a guy with a walkie-talkie, asking why is it (now) 20 minutes to the next train. He didn't understand well but keep repeating the 20 minute schedule for trains. I said several times the trains need to run much more often. He finally walked away and never came back.

I finally asked to speak to the station manager, a K. Ms. Prapaporn, who the agent in the booth called. I waited, walked around, went up to the platform to watch an empty Airport Express leave, leaving at least 100 people behind. With five minutes remaining for my train, Ms. Prapaporn, the station manager, had not shown up to speak to me. I finally gave up because I sure the hell didn't want to miss my train. The station agents were pleasant, as usual, and I had put them on the spot, but the trains simply need to run more often.

In the morning on the inbound train, often riders are not able to get on a train because they are so full. When the riders can't get on, they must wait another 15 minutes. Fifteen minutes for people trying to go to work! That is outrageous!! And I've been on trains that were packed completely full at 8pm at night. Everyone is so crowded at that late hour...it's simply outrageous! The trains to need run more often.

I am glad the tourism people have spoken up, but, again, SRT management should be paying attention to the experience of their own Thai and foreign workers who use the line every day to go to and from work. For us, it's an long, unpleasant, and unpredictable experience...and no one at SRT seems to care. Again, it seems that the quality of the riders' experience simply was not, and is not, considered by SRT management.

Edited August 8, 2011 by Jawnie

[jfchandler]

In response to a couple of points/issues raised above:

--There is supposed to be a planned walkway, elevated I think, to be built between the Makkasan Station and the nearest Petchburi MRT station... I haven't been out there lately, so I don't know the status of it... But at last report, it was still somewhere in the works.

--As for the extended times between train departures from Phyathai, I believe that is because the Express Line originally was supposed to run, and did only run, from Makkasan to the Airport... But when they later decided to also run the Express line from Phyathai to the Airport, they had to reallocate their rail car stock and scheduling. That's at least part of the reason.

--I think the thrust of the OP article was really about the Makkasan to Airport connection (the original Express Line service), and didn't really involve the City Line service from Phyathai at all... Although the two different operations and their stations do share some common flaws, the larger problems relate to the flawed usability of Makkasan as a gateway to the airport.

If we were to evaluate the Airport Rail Link strictly as the City Line running a commuter/local service between Phyathai and the Airport, I think most people would give it fair marks...

[doji]

it sounds as if some of the posters here actually believe that this link was built to serve the public...

wake up geniuses, that project, just like all the others, was implemented so that those 'in charge' could milk the 'cream' nothing more.

This is the fact. It was just being reported on one of the thai newspapers which came out a few days ago.

And this same thai newspapers also reported that......the airport rail link is going bangkrupt, it neither has enough passengers nor fund to sustain itself, infact it's operating on loans currently. It's profitable to only those involved in constructing the project.

[Jawnie]

It is maddeningly obvious that no link between Makkasan SRT and Petchaburi station was ever in the initial planning. There is simply no efficient or common-sense option for making a decent connection or even for a retrofit. If you haven't been there for a while (I use the connection 3-5 times a week) there is nothing remotely like a bonafide pedestrian link there, nor one in progress, nor (as I just said), is there a reasonable option for a retro-fit. The planners simply and completely over-looked the link between the two stations. They did not consider pedestrians nor riders with baggage and how they will transit between stations.

Your mention of a possible "elevated walkway" isn't feasible if you look at the existing structure. May I suggest you stop promoting the idea that one was, or is, planned, because such a walkway is simply not possible.

Frankly, to make that connection viable, the entire station should have been built directly over Asok so that riders could exit straight down to the street; this would have made the overhead walkway to Petchaburi feasible. Nothing like this can be built now.

In response to a couple of points/issues raised above:

--There is supposed to be a planned walkway, elevated I think, to be built between the Makkasan Station and the nearest Petchburi MRT station... I haven't been out there lately, so I don't know the status of it... But at last report, it was still somewhere in the works.

--As for the extended times between train departures from Phyathai, I believe that is because the Express Line originally was supposed to run, and did only run, from Makkasan to the Airport... But when they later decided to also run the Express line from Phyathai to the Airport, they had to reallocate their rail car stock and scheduling. That's at least part of the reason.

--I think the thrust of the OP article was really about the Makkasan to Airport connection (the original Express Line service), and didn't really involve the City Line service from Phyathai at all... Although the two different operations and their stations do share some common flaws, the larger problems relate to the flawed usability of Makkasan as a gateway to the airport.

If we were to evaluate the Airport Rail Link strictly as the City Line running a commuter/local service between Phyathai and the Airport, I think most people would give it fair marks...

Edited August 8, 2011 by Jawnie

[jfchandler]

Jawnie, you're going off the handle just a bit...

I never said the walkway was part of the original planning for Makkasan, and in fact, I've never heard that it was...

I never said the PROPOSED walkway that's been discussed publicly in the past was going to be a good solution or convenient, if and when it's completed. I simply said, such a walkway has been proposed and in fact been the subject of past posts here on TV...

I also didn't say it was under construction as yet... I simply said, I don't know the current status of that proposal, since I haven't heard or seen any update on it lately.

The various ways the project could have been done better, including the ones you mention, are pretty apparent to all of us... Unfortunately, all that's a bit of water under the bridge at this point. The only practical questions now are, what if anything can be done to make the current situation better.

[Jawnie]

The point of "going off the handle" is to make the point as clearly as possible that there were major mistakes made in the design and there currently are operational issues that seriously degrade the experience for daily users. You are a bit blase in calling it "water under the bridge" since you are not walking the extra 200-300 meters each day to wait 15 extra minutes in Bkk heat for an over-crowded train.

The reason one focuses on the past mistakes is to avoid them in the future - it is not clear that SRT planners understand this. Granted, the design flaws, most of them, are etched in stone. The operation flaws are not and wholly subject to change; it's not apparent that SRT is interested in the quality of passenger experience. All I've seen is top-down management and proposed solutions or, as today, a tourism group chiming in. I've yet to see anything acknowledging the degraded service passengers experience.

Perhaps it's that most are Thais and have lived in a top-down society all their lives. In other places in the world, such operational and engineering failures would have long ago been subject to public scrutiny and appropriate changes implemented.

Is it a good thing or a bad things that Thais live with such?

Is it a culture of low expectations or one of 'like it or lump it'?

Finally, this is what your wrote:

--There is supposed to be a planned walkway, elevated I think, to be built between the Makkasan Station and the nearest Petchburi MRT station... I haven't been out there lately, so I don't know the status of it... But at last report, it was still somewhere in the works.

Your list of denials is precisely why I said it would be helpful for you to not promote that an elevated walkway may be in the works somewhere - you can't say for sure.

I can say for sure it's not, and not even possible to construct one now at Makkasan.

Jawnie, you're going off the handle just a bit...

I never said the walkway was part of the original planning for Makkasan, and in fact, I've never heard that it was...

I never said the PROPOSED walkway that's been discussed publicly in the past was going to be a good solution or convenient, if and when it's completed. I simply said, such a walkway has been proposed and in fact been the subject of past posts here on TV...

I also didn't say it was under construction as yet... I simply said, I don't know the current status of that proposal, since I haven't heard or seen any update on it lately.

The various ways the project could have been done better, including the ones you mention, are pretty apparent to all of us... Unfortunately, all that's a bit of water under the bridge at this point. The only practical questions now are, what if anything can be done to make the current situation better.

Edited August 8, 2011 by Jawnie

[jfchandler]

I don't recall seeing you commenting too much in past threads on the Airport Rail Link service... But if you had, you would see that I've been one of the most consistent and vocal critics here of the way they have done and are doing things, particularly with the Airport Express part of the operation.

Also, I'm not "promoting" anything... Simply responding to question raised earlier in this thread about the prospect of a Makkasan to Petchburi walkway, since there was no mention of it anywhere in this thread. And my only purpose and point was to let other newcomers here know that such a project has been planned and publicly aired... What's become of it... I said before and I'll say again, I don't know...

Here's some of the past references here on TV to it...

(Note: the SRT has reportedly set aside a B70 million budget to build an elevated 200 meter length walkway link between Makkasan and MRT Petburi, but when that is finished is anyone's guess)

19/12/10: The SRT will also build walkways connecting the Airport Link's Makkasan Station to the MRT underground's Phetchaburi Station, while additional escalators will be provided to facilitate passengers carrying baggage at three stations including Phaya Thai, Ratchaprarop and Ramkhamheang. All are expected to be complete at the beginning of next year, the SRT chairman pledged.

A walkway from Makkasan City Air Terminal to Petchaburi MRT station is in the works.

And so on and so forth... Those are just a few of the many references to the project here, not by me...but by other TV members...

[ginjag]

I don't recall seeing you commenting too much in past threads on the Airport Rail Link service... But if you had, you would see that I've been one of the most consistent and vocal critics here of the way they have done and are doing things, particularly with the Airport Express part of the operation.

Also, I'm not "promoting" anything... Simply responding to question raised earlier in this thread about the prospect of a Makkasan to Petchburi walkway, since there was no mention of it anywhere in this thread. And my only purpose and point was to let other newcomers here know that such a project has been planned and publicly aired... What's become of it... I said before and I'll say again, I don't know...

Here's some of the past references here on TV to it...

(Note: the SRT has reportedly set aside a B70 million budget to build an elevated 200 meter length walkway link between Makkasan and MRT Petburi, but when that is finished is anyone's guess)

http://www.thaivisa....ost__p__3867732

19/12/10: The SRT will also build walkways connecting the Airport Link's Makkasan Station to the MRT underground's Phetchaburi Station, while additional escalators will be provided to facilitate passengers carrying baggage at three stations including Phaya Thai, Ratchaprarop and Ramkhamheang. All are expected to be complete at the beginning of next year, the SRT chairman pledged.

http://www.thaivisa....ost__p__4165665

A walkway from Makkasan City Air Terminal to Petchaburi MRT station is in the works.

http://www.thaivisa....ost__p__3840421

And so on and so forth... Those are just a few of the many references to the project here, not by me...but by other TV members...

All we hear about is were gonna do this were gonna do that, and yes this was a very well discussed topic but alas these topics are spewed out with only a tiniest of follow ups from the media.

The media hear of all these proposals and very rarely do their jobs in asking for further info from the authorities. The simply look for a new topic and forget the old ones. Easy work isn't it to print out ?? but no or little investigating graft. My feeling is very little backbone or FEAR of ?????

[jfchandler]

Actually, as regards the notion of a walkway proposal between Makkasan and Petchburi, I don't recall seeing much info on that any time in the English language Thai media...

The accounts I've seen/read here on TV in the past mostly came from other TV members who had seen info on the subject or had some kind of relationship with the project.

But as to your main point about the shallowness and lack on follow-up on the part of the local media, I'd certainly concur that's undeniably and unfortunately true.

Edited August 8, 2011 by jfchandler

[jfchandler]

BTW, here's the SRT's English language web site for the ARL line....

http://airportraillink.railway.co.th/en/index.html

[jfchandler]

SRT denies closure of Airport Rail Link

The State Railway of Thailand board yesterday denied a rumour it will soon close down the Airport Rail Link system over liquidity problems and a shortage of spare parts.

Supoj Saplom, the transport permanent secretary and chairman of the SRT board, dismissed as untrue a rumour that has been circulating that the liquidity problems and spare parts shortage would force the Airport Rail Link system, which connects inner Bangkok with Suvarnabhumi airport, to cease operations in a few months.

Mr Supoj said the number of passengers had been increasing. The Airport Rail Link is also not suffering any liquidity crunch because it shares its financial accounts with the SRT which ensures that it has sufficient cash flows, Mr Supoj said. He also denied that many Airport Rail Link employees were resigning. He said the employees viewed their jobs as being secure.

According to Mr Supoj, the increase in passenger numbers on the link recently has been a direct result of the company's decision to slash the fare for the system's Express Line from 150 baht to 90 baht per trip. The number of passengers on the Express Line has increased from 300 a day to around 2,000 a day. "For this reason, it is impossible for us to cease our services. We are also in the middle of constructing the link between the system and the BTS skytrain, as well as the subway system at Phetchaburi station," he said.

(I'd sure like to know what specifically he's talking about above...)

Suchatvee Suwansawat, the dean of the Engineering Faculty at King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang and a director of the SRT Electric Train Co which runs the Airport Rail Link system, backed up Mr Supoj's statement. He said the number of Airport Rail Link passengers last month on both the express and ordinary services topped 998,000.

Meanwhile, Somchai Sujjapongse, the director-general of the General State Enterprise Policy Office (SEPO), said that the SEPO has proposed to the economic team of the Pheu Thai Party-led coalition that the Airport Rail Link should be expanded to run to Pattaya City and Chon Buri. Such an expansion could help the system attract more domestic and international tourists between Bangkok and the resort city. The SEPO has also recommended that the Airport Rail Link should be connected to the old Don Mueang international airport as well, Mr Somchai said.

http://www.bangkokai...n.com/news.html

Edited August 8, 2011 by jfchandler

[snarky66]

I would like to know how much that white elephant monstrosity Makkasan Station cost to build?

[jfchandler]

I just found this excerpt in the web site above, quoting an April 18, 2011 local news report. Note the reference to the SRT's still planned "skywalk" from Makkasan to Phetchaburi...

Mr Supoj said the solution is to attract more passengers to the Express Line, most of whom are travellers and tourists with heavy bags, by installing more facilities. He admitted that the inconvenience and the lack of facilities stem from the substandard design. Urgent steps are being taken to make improvements, he said. State Railway of Thailand governor Yutthana Thapcharoen said the SRT has set aside a budget of 646 million baht to improve and build facilities and signposts at all stations within this year.

About 250 million baht will be spent on improving the Makkasan station. Of that amount, 80 million baht will be allocated to build a 130m-skywalk to link the concourse on the Makkasan station to the underground railway's Phetchaburi station.

And a prior reference from August 9, 2010:

The MRT-Rail Link connection at Makkasan: This should have been possible from the Makkasan terminal to the Phetchaburi MRT station, but it does not exist. An MRT executive said a walkway was awaiting approval, and would take three months to build once approved. Hence, those getting off at the Makkasan Rail Link terminal cannot access the Phetchaburi MRT station.

Edited August 8, 2011 by jfchandler

[jfchandler]

I would like to know how much that white elephant monstrosity Makkasan Station cost to build?

I don't recall an exact breakout for the so-called City Air Terminal project...

But the ARL web site "About the Project" page includes the following overall project cost info:

The State Railway of Thailand has organized an auction for construction price

of the project which the envelope must be submitted on October 18, 2004 until

the winning bidders emerged as a consortium which consists of the following companies:

• B. Grimm International Co., Ltd.
• B. Grimm MBM Hong Kong Ltd.
• Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Co., Ltd.
• Siemens Co., Ltd.
• Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction Public Co., Ltd.

The State Railway of Thailand has signed in a construction agreement according

to the agreement number RFT.TPH.1/KS./1/2548 dated January 20, 2005 for

the construction fee of 25.907 billion baht which is comprised of:

• Civil Engineering and Structure Construction Fee
  12,284,000,000.- billion baht
• E&M System and Passenger Car Procurement Fee
  13,623,000,000.- billion baht

[Jawnie]

Yes, this is "Thai speak" or "bureaucrat speak" for what they wish/hope will be done some day. I, too, have no idea what he's referring to regarding any "link" to BTS since Phaya Thai is the only point at which the two lines intersect. In any case, the statement is misleading with regard to what is actually happening on the ground at Makkasan now.

It is also quite obvious to anyone using Makkasan regularly that there is no walkway being built there, nor any prep work being done. I personally feel that such a walkway is not feasible or cost effective. It is of course possible to build a walkway that is completely out of context and ill-suited to the remaining area of the site, and completely cost INeffective, which may be what is planned: stick a walkway in somewhere, anywhere. This would be consistent with my sense that planning for pedestrians and riders, ie, walking access to the station, was a very low priority (or missed completely) in planning the project.

A walkway will need to span over the train tracks and I don't see where the walkway would be sited on the MRT station side of the railroad tracks.

Since Thai government and society don't function like the US, I don't know what recourse Thais have regarding the need for an additional 80 million baht expenditure (the purported walkway) for a station that is barely one year old. In other countries, this would amount to a scandal.

I'm skeptical of his 2,000 daily rider figure for the Airport Express line, which pencils out to 60,000 riders a month. I've seen those trains and they are nearly always completely empty so I'm really skeptical.

Interestingly, of the total monthly ridership, assuming 60,000 are going to/from the airport, then 938,000, nearly 85%, use the line for purposes other than going to/from the airport. This simply proves that the line is really a local commuter line. Service and schedules should accommodate commuters and locals, and less so for tourists.

SRT denies closure of Airport Rail Link

The State Railway of Thailand board yesterday denied a rumour it will soon close down the Airport Rail Link system over liquidity problems and a shortage of spare parts.

Supoj Saplom, the transport permanent secretary and chairman of the SRT board, dismissed as untrue a rumour that has been circulating that the liquidity problems and spare parts shortage would force the Airport Rail Link system, which connects inner Bangkok with Suvarnabhumi airport, to cease operations in a few months.

Mr Supoj said the number of passengers had been increasing. The Airport Rail Link is also not suffering any liquidity crunch because it shares its financial accounts with the SRT which ensures that it has sufficient cash flows, Mr Supoj said. He also denied that many Airport Rail Link employees were resigning. He said the employees viewed their jobs as being secure.

According to Mr Supoj, the increase in passenger numbers on the link recently has been a direct result of the company's decision to slash the fare for the system's Express Line from 150 baht to 90 baht per trip. The number of passengers on the Express Line has increased from 300 a day to around 2,000 a day. "For this reason, it is impossible for us to cease our services. We are also in the middle of constructing the link between the system and the BTS skytrain, as well as the subway system at Phetchaburi station," he said.

(I'd sure like to know what specifically he's talking about above...)

Suchatvee Suwansawat, the dean of the Engineering Faculty at King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang and a director of the SRT Electric Train Co which runs the Airport Rail Link system, backed up Mr Supoj's statement. He said the number of Airport Rail Link passengers last month on both the express and ordinary services topped 998,000.

Meanwhile, Somchai Sujjapongse, the director-general of the General State Enterprise Policy Office (SEPO), said that the SEPO has proposed to the economic team of the Pheu Thai Party-led coalition that the Airport Rail Link should be expanded to run to Pattaya City and Chon Buri. Such an expansion could help the system attract more domestic and international tourists between Bangkok and the resort city. The SEPO has also recommended that the Airport Rail Link should be connected to the old Don Mueang international airport as well, Mr Somchai said.

http://www.bangkokai...n.com/news.html

[Jawnie]

Yes, this is "Thai speak" or "bureaucrat speak" for what they wish/hope will be done some day. I, too, have no idea what he's referring to regarding any "link" to BTS since Phaya Thai is the only point at which the two lines intersect. In any case, the statement is misleading with regard to what is actually happening on the ground at Makkasan now.

It is also quite obvious to anyone using Makkasan regularly that there is no walkway being built there, nor any prep work being done. I personally feel that such a walkway is not feasible or cost effective. It is of course possible to build a walkway that is completely out of context and ill-suited to the remaining area of the site, and completely cost INeffective, which may be what is planned: stick a walkway in somewhere, anywhere. This would be consistent with my sense that planning for pedestrians and riders, ie, walking access to the station, was a very low priority (or missed completely) in planning the project.

A walkway will need to span over the train tracks and I don't see where the walkway would be sited on the MRT station side of the railroad tracks.

Since Thai government and society don't function like the US, I don't know what recourse Thais have regarding the need for an additional 80 million baht expenditure (the purported walkway) for a station that is barely one year old. In other countries, this would amount to a scandal.

I'm skeptical of his 2,000 daily rider figure for the Airport Express line, which pencils out to 60,000 riders a month. I've seen those trains and they are nearly always completely empty so I'm really skeptical.

Interestingly, of the total monthly ridership, assuming 60,000 are going to/from the airport, then 938,000, nearly 85%, use the line for purposes other than going to/from the airport. This simply proves that the line is really a local commuter line. Service and schedules should accommodate commuters and locals, and less so for tourists.

SRT denies closure of Airport Rail Link

The State Railway of Thailand board yesterday denied a rumour it will soon close down the Airport Rail Link system over liquidity problems and a shortage of spare parts.

Supoj Saplom, the transport permanent secretary and chairman of the SRT board, dismissed as untrue a rumour that has been circulating that the liquidity problems and spare parts shortage would force the Airport Rail Link system, which connects inner Bangkok with Suvarnabhumi airport, to cease operations in a few months.

Mr Supoj said the number of passengers had been increasing. The Airport Rail Link is also not suffering any liquidity crunch because it shares its financial accounts with the SRT which ensures that it has sufficient cash flows, Mr Supoj said. He also denied that many Airport Rail Link employees were resigning. He said the employees viewed their jobs as being secure.

According to Mr Supoj, the increase in passenger numbers on the link recently has been a direct result of the company's decision to slash the fare for the system's Express Line from 150 baht to 90 baht per trip. The number of passengers on the Express Line has increased from 300 a day to around 2,000 a day. "For this reason, it is impossible for us to cease our services. We are also in the middle of constructing the link between the system and the BTS skytrain, as well as the subway system at Phetchaburi station," he said.

(I'd sure like to know what specifically he's talking about above...)

Suchatvee Suwansawat, the dean of the Engineering Faculty at King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang and a director of the SRT Electric Train Co which runs the Airport Rail Link system, backed up Mr Supoj's statement. He said the number of Airport Rail Link passengers last month on both the express and ordinary services topped 998,000.

Meanwhile, Somchai Sujjapongse, the director-general of the General State Enterprise Policy Office (SEPO), said that the SEPO has proposed to the economic team of the Pheu Thai Party-led coalition that the Airport Rail Link should be expanded to run to Pattaya City and Chon Buri. Such an expansion could help the system attract more domestic and international tourists between Bangkok and the resort city. The SEPO has also recommended that the Airport Rail Link should be connected to the old Don Mueang international airport as well, Mr Somchai said.

http://www.bangkokai...n.com/news.html