Suvarnabhumi Airport Rail Link - A Completely Inconvenient Means Of Travel

[webfact]

A Missing Link

Its not particularly hard to see why the Airport Rail Link (ARL) connecting Suvarnabhumi International Airport to inner-city Bangkok is being so widely panned as both a management and business failure. The system has proven to be a completely inconvenient means of travel with prematurely deterioriating trains, a stunning lack of connectivity to other rail lines and poor scheduling.

Announcements by the link's overseers have not inspire any faith that it will improve either, with most of their assurances showing a total misunderstanding of commuter needs.

If the Transport Ministry and State Railway Authority (SRT) genuinely want to increase the number of passengers on the ARL, they dont need any fancy promotions or a major administrative revamp. All that is needed at this point to win over travelers is to address the most basic failings of the service.

More than anything, the ARLs spaces have to be better organized. Designed not only to receive commuters but mainly to assist air travelers making their way from the city to the suburban Suvarnabhumi airport, the ARL is cumbersome at best for people traveling with luggage.

Elevators for those carrying too much weight to take stairs and escalators are few and far between and the actual stations themselves are frustratingly difficult to even get to from the road. Travelers have to step deep into the link's structure before they are able to find an escalator or elevator to ascend each station's considerable height to reach ticket booths and platforms.

For anyone not staying near one of the line's few stations, there are very few connections between the stops and other railways like the BTS or MRT and those existing connections are far from convenient, most are just long walkways where luggage has to be toted on foot.

Instead, the ARLs management has announced that it will be holding Blue-Flag fairs at its stations, with the belief the shopping events will draw in users. Basically, the ARL administration wants to use flashy lights and festivity to generate the appearance of dense crowds at its stations without addressing any of the necessary improvements that would actually make people want to ride its trains.

While fending off criticisms of needless spending, the managers of the Airport Link will be throwing a party with money that could be channeled into actually beneficial changes and upgrades.

There is nothing especially complex or elusive about the problems with the Airport Rail Link and yet those tasked with making sure it is effective seem to be completely missing these glaring issues. In overlooking, or even ignoring, what needs to be done with the ARL, its overseers have made the rail road to profit and even respectability just that much longer.

Khao Sod, September 8 2011

Translated and Rewritten by Itiporn Lakarnchua

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 2011-09-09

[Soutpeel]

A well written article some of the points made could very well apply across the board in the Land of Scams....

[infernalman7]

Inconvenient? Only for tourists who do not know that if they take the ARL, they'll have to connect to the other system *BTS* which also lack "down escalators" anyway. I assume that people will start screaming at BTS as soon as ARL finishes installing extra escalators.

To be honest, in any major tourist destinations in Europe, I keep seeing people dragging their big bags down the stair case in subway stations. Inconvenience = savings for those who do not want to pay for taxi.

And from my understanding, the Blue Flag fairs are to increase the riderships at underutilized stations like Baan Tap Chang at off-peak hours. Nothing wrong with that is it?

Perhaps it's better to hand over the management to private entities since their main concern would be to make it convenient for everyone to use (more customers = more profits)

Edited September 9, 2011 by infernalman7

[ExpatOilWorker]

I will not be surprised if we will see a steep increase in the B50 Airport Taxi surcharge, to help encourage more travelers using the ARL.

[Soutpeel]

To be honest, in any major tourist destinations in Europe, I keep seeing people dragging their big bags down the stair case in subway stations. Inconvenience = savings for those who do not want to pay for taxi.

so what you are saying is we are going to get a press release from the SRT, stating in reality the system is not incovenient/inefficient, its the tourists fault because they bring big bags on holiday....

[toybits]

Was the article paid for by the TAXI mafia? Makes me wonder.

I'd take the Airport Rai Link anytime. Hate it when I have to argue with taxi drivers who try to scam me. You don't get that with the ARL.

No traffic jams on the ARL. Once the train starts moving from Makasan Station - you are almost sure that you will get to Swampy in less than 1/2 hour. With a taxi, you never know when you'll get there. Just adds to a travellers anxiety - which I don't need.

So you can diss the ARL all you want but it's still a great way of travelling between Swampy and downtown Bkk.

[rametindallas]

You can dress up pig and put lipstick on it but it is still a pig!

[Soutpeel]

Was the article paid for by the TAXI mafia? Makes me wonder.

I'd take the Airport Rai Link anytime. Hate it when I have to argue with taxi drivers who try to scam me. You don't get that with the ARL.

No traffic jams on the ARL. Once the train starts moving from Makasan Station - you are almost sure that you will get to Swampy in less than 1/2 hour. With a taxi, you never know when you'll get there. Just adds to a travellers anxiety - which I don't need.

So you can diss the ARL all you want but it's still a great way of travelling between Swampy and downtown Bkk.

If your not carrying big bags of course...

[Soutpeel]

You can dress up pig and put lipstick on it but it is still a pig!

Kinky.... ........squeal like pig boy....

[asdecas]

Couldn't agree more with the article. A couple of weeks ago I forewent the delights of the ARL for a shuttle bus to the Swampy transport centre (free) and a thirty baht mini bus to On Nut, for onward BTS. Far cheaper and less hassle.

Cheap Charlie

[MILT]

Was the article paid for by the TAXI mafia? Makes me wonder.

I'd take the Airport Rai Link anytime. Hate it when I have to argue with taxi drivers who try to scam me. You don't get that with the ARL.

No traffic jams on the ARL. Once the train starts moving from Makasan Station - you are almost sure that you will get to Swampy in less than 1/2 hour. With a taxi, you never know when you'll get there. Just adds to a travellers anxiety - which I don't need.

So you can diss the ARL all you want but it's still a great way of travelling between Swampy and downtown Bkk.

I agree. The wife and I found it to be a great way to and from swampy. We were recently in Norway and Copenhagen and everyone was toting their luggage down the streets to their hotels. We didn't mind it so much in Thailand nor in Europe. There is always ways to improve the system but to say it is a failure is not accurate.

[MILT]

You can dress up pig and put lipstick on it but it is still a pig!

[sprq]

Excellent article, proves that the Thai language press can be intelligent, can do good analysis, and can write in a cogent well-argued manner. I didn't know that.

[laurentbkk]

I never used the Airport link as I live around Don muang airport and we have nothing here in terms of Suvarnabhumi transportation .So the only way is Taxi , and prices of taxi in here are very cheap compare with Europe.

[whybother]

I see two major problems with the link :- Frequency and Vehicle access to Makkasan.

There needs to be better road access onto the roads surrounding Makkasan. At the moment, there is a single entry/exit onto (effectively) a one way road that is usually packed with traffic.

[BigBikeBKK]

True the ARL is inconvenient if you are hauling a big suitcase. But otherwise it's a great way to travel. Cheap, safe and fast. And the regular trains that stop at every station are PACKED with commuters so I'd argue that the regular train is a huge success.

[steveyinasia]

I take a taxi from swapy to BKK just about every week for the past 2 years and have only been unsuccessfully ripped off a couple of times. I check that the meter is started when I get in, check that it does not have mileage on it already(that's is a common trick) and I know that my apartment in Suk Soi 15 is 33.1 km from the airport...anything different I dont pay. Once I got home and the meter read 43.3 KM, I told the taxi driver that there was a big problem, someone moved my apartment 10 km whilst I was away for the week.

[BigRick]

I thought the link was useful. It kind of sucks that the end is connected to one of the more useless BTS stops on the Sukunvit line. They need a 1-2 stop BTS transfer included in the ARL because as soon as you get to the end you have Siam on one side and Victory monument neither is within walking distance so you are stuck in the no mans land between the two,

Edited September 9, 2011 by BigRick

[maidu]

I used the station once, about a year ago. I got drenched by rain, walking from the metro station. It's a short distance, but no one thought to build a simple roof to cover the walk, nor a walkway over the busy street that must be crossed. Got to the station. I was the only passenger there. The place is gargantuan, all metal and glass. Big enough for a zeppelin hangar. It must cost tens of thousands of baht per day to just pay for the hundreds of lights and mega air.conditioning. I didn't know Bkk could be so cold.

Edited September 9, 2011 by maidu

[mjordan]

I'm not a big fan of BKK since getting around is such a pain. I generally don't wander too far from the MRT or BTS when I am there.

I do have to say, however, that the airport link is a HUGE improvement over taking a time-consuming 200 baht taxi ride to wherever I am going.

I'm sure that many of the parties saying that the airport link is a failure are either part of the taxi union, live in BKK or have a private driver to get them around.

In my books, its one of the few big projects that has been worthwhile in terms of making BKK more tourist-friendly.

[hullupullo]

Phaya Thai - Suva, 19min 45 sec, 90b. Inconvenient? Saw people with 2 big bags, no problem.

[dekestone]

Can't argue with anything in the article but several times a week I ride the BTS from Aree and there are lots of people getting on at Phyathai, obviously transfering from the ARL. Many with big suitcases and/or back packs. So people are using it, but maybe not enough to make it profitable.

I just wish they had put in more local stations so that the City Line could be more effective as a another commuter line. They could have put some stops near for example, Bangkok hospital or RCA.

[gazman100]

The first time I used this service I was not impressed on how to get there at all mainly due to the complete lack of signage and direction.

When I arrived at Makkasan the subway station which connects to the airport train I eventually worked out that you need to exit no 3 'due to the lack of signage'.

When I walked onto street level I did not know which direction the Makkasan airport station was, so I walked in the opposite direction because there is no sign saying 'Airport link' when you arrive at street level. I had to ask a motorcycle taxi where the station was.

When you find the station at street level there is no sign saying 'Makkasan airport link' you simply find a building or a terminal with no name on it as you enter through the side of the building.

When inside the terminal you don't know which level to go on or where to purchase a ticket.

When I went through the turn-style and had a look around I had to ask someone where the airport train was.It was up stairs.

If you can build a multi million dollar project like this, the signage and directions need to be in place so that tourist or someone who has never been or taken the airport link before can find it quickly and easily.

I've taken a metered taxi ever since.

For 200bt plus tolls why bother.

Edited September 9, 2011 by gazman100

[toybits]

Well, I'm not the Shah of Iran.

Divas that complain about the ARL still have a choice NOT to use it and take an alternative form of getting to Swampy.

It's their call.

Call it what you like. I'll still dance with the Pig! 55555

Was the article paid for by the TAXI mafia? Makes me wonder.

I'd take the Airport Rai Link anytime. Hate it when I have to argue with taxi drivers who try to scam me. You don't get that with the ARL.

No traffic jams on the ARL. Once the train starts moving from Makasan Station - you are almost sure that you will get to Swampy in less than 1/2 hour. With a taxi, you never know when you'll get there. Just adds to a travellers anxiety - which I don't need.

So you can diss the ARL all you want but it's still a great way of travelling between Swampy and downtown Bkk.

If your not carrying big bags of course...

[impulse]

I don't disagree with the article, but perhaps the expectations are too high?

I took the ARL from Makassan last weekend to travel to the airport to pick up a friend, then took a taxi home. Time was similar to take the MRT to the ARL station, wait for a train, then take the train to the airport. The difference was the lack of the white knuckle, 150 km/hr drive down the freeway, and at about half the cost.

I found the same experience on the return trip- a pleasant train experience from the airport after a harrowing (in a downpour) taxi ride complete with one very near accident on the way to the airport.

For me, it's more about safety than the cost or time. Even if I had to take a taxi to the ARL station to lug any baggage, it's still safer, less expensive and more comfortable than most local taxi's I've ridden in.

That being said, they could improve access and I hope that's in the cards. But I could easily see them opening a "street market" on the first floor of the Makassan station that would jam pack the entire floor and outdoor entry area and make it impossible to get through it with luggage- not to mention the scam artists, thieves and pickpockets that always accompany tourist crowds.... I'd hate to see "too much success" spoil a good thing.

[maidu]

the poster mentioning 'lack of signage' had a similar experience to mine. in a round-about way, it's a reflection of the school system in Thailand, when a country of 60 million+ people can't find a handful of competent engineers and thinkers to enable a multi-billion baht public project to operate smoothly. It's like building a giant cruise liner and then putting in a 2 X 12 boarding plank up against the entryway, instead of a proper boarding facility. Or forgetting to attach the screw to the propeller. To stretch the analogy further, it would be like cooling the cruise ship's promenade with large air conditioners - even on cool days - which is the sort of thing Thai businesses do. They'd rather ramp up their electricity bills than open a door or window to allow some moderately cool air in from outside. Ok, in the city, maybe that's understandable, considering the quality of city air. But to crank up air con towards near arctic temperatures .... come on, get real.

[alchik]

Why would you want to put lipstick on a pig?

[QED]

I live near Rayong and always drive myself to BKK. I hate it - 1 1/2 hours to Swampy and then usually more than that for the next 20 kms to where I want to go.

A few weeks ago I decided to park in Swampy and catch the train, I was massively impressed. I got the regular train on the way there and it was packed. Got the express on the way back and took a little over 20 mins from Pyathai to Swampy - brilliant!

Sorry but I fail to see where all the criticism is based. It will be even better when they extend to Rayong (in about 30 years probably )

[atyclb]

Its OK to board the airport link with a 7 foot short surfboard but when connecting to BTS the board is not allowed on train, despite bicycles being allowed. Bikes are considerably more obtrusive than a rather skinny profile board that when upright is almost a non issue.

[ljerams]

Actually, I tried to find the Station a few months ago to send a friend to the Airport. No motorcycles or Taxis located in Makassan knew where it was! Eventually, we found one who kept on stopping and asking people until he solved the puzzle. It is in Rachada Road if I remember correctly so why is it called Makassan? And access to it if you approach from the opposite side of the main road is difficult.

Yes, once you've found the station and the train, I understand it's good but there are many things before that that need improving drastically