Phenomenal Growth On Airport Link

[NoBrainer]

Here is the news clip from August 3rd where ridership was increased from 300 to 2000 per day.

Then below is todays story where it has suddenly jumped from 2000 per day to 2,000,000 (Yes 2 Million)

Was that the most fantastic marketing campaign ever, or just a sign of the shortcomings of the Thai Education system

where logic is non-existent and math has no use.

Maybe the calculator was broken.

NEWS UPDATE... 3rd August, 2011

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.

Airport Link to increase services to ease congestion

BANGKOK, 14 September 2011 (NNT)-Airport Rail Link will adopt a short term solution to avoid peak hour congestions by adding more trips to its regular time table while the number of users is expected to reach 2 million per day soon.

Deputy Transport Minister Mr. Kittisak Hatasongkroh revealed that the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) was considering the possibility of increasing the frequency by using the express train as an addition to the City Line to decrease train congestion.

The SRT may consider purchasing more trains to solve this problem in the long run. There are currently 4 express trains and 5 normal ones making stop at each station every 15 minutes. They will be arriving 5 minutes sooner in the near future to increase the service capacity to accommodate 2 million passengers per day.

According to Mr. Kittisak, shuttle bus services will be provided to passengers free of charge from hotels in the vicinity of the station. The shuttle bus will be put on trial at Makkasan station first. For those who are hoping that there would be shops inside the Makkasan station, Mr. Kittisak said they would be opened in two months. The Ministry of Transport will confirm the plan again on 21 September 2011.

-- NNT 2011-09-14

[beano2274]

it is expected to reach 2 million

[PattayaParent]

it is expected to reach 2 million

it is expected to reach 2 million soon

[robblok]

it is expected to reach 2 million

If they really have 2000 passengers a day then that is something like 730.000 So they just have to increase almost 300%

[p_brownstone]

it is expected to reach 2 million

If they really have 2000 passengers a day then that is around 730.000 So they just have to increase almost 300%

Almost certainly a Typo; yes 2,000 passengers a day is around 730,000 per year but the article states 2 million passengers a DAY - which means that something like 20% of the total Bangkok population (depending upon the time of year!) is utilising the SARL.

I have to buy shares!

Patrick

[planr]

typo typo typo... not at all uncommon in the English-language media here.

The entire rapid transit system (BTS, MRT, ARL) carries 800,000 ish pax on an average day. It's be a decade at least before the entire system sees 2 million pax per day, assuming new routes come on line more or less as planned

[Bagwan]

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. Unquote.

What utter nonsense. How much is SRT in the red? How much are they losing every day?

[Jawnie]

It's a typo. Not two million passengers a day, not even anywhere near two million. But, it is more the 2000 riders a day for sure.

They still run empty Airport Express trains past waiting riders who are local commuters. The line is really a local commuter line with airport passengers making up about 10% of whatever daily total is. They need to gear service toward daily users going to and from work. What kind of message does it send to your own citizens by running empty trains or trains with a few tourist on board while crowds of Thais waiting to get on over-crowded trains?

I'm not sure which bothers me more: the over-crowded trains, the careless, callous management, or the docile Thais who seem to stand by silently while being treated as second-class citizens by their own government?

[saengsureeya]

2,000,000 per YEAR maybe?

5,500 per day sounds reasonable

[ES1]

2,000,000 per YEAR maybe?

5,500 per day sounds reasonable

Thanks for stating the obvious answer. Something that seems completely lost on the perpetual whiners around here.

[QED]

It's a typo. Not two million passengers a day, not even anywhere near two million. But, it is more the 2000 riders a day for sure.

They still run empty Airport Express trains past waiting riders who are local commuters. The line is really a local commuter line with airport passengers making up about 10% of whatever daily total is. They need to gear service toward daily users going to and from work. What kind of message does it send to your own citizens by running empty trains or trains with a few tourist on board while crowds of Thais waiting to get on over-crowded trains?

I'm not sure which bothers me more: the over-crowded trains, the careless, callous management, or the docile Thais who seem to stand by silently while being treated as second-class citizens by their own government?

Very weird perception, there are regular trains for commuters, and express trains for those that want and can afford it.

I now park at the airport and catch the express train when visiting Bangkok, much more convenient, and as they only run every 30 minutes they are hardly depriving the commuters.

[p_brownstone]

It's a typo. Not two million passengers a day, not even anywhere near two million. But, it is more the 2000 riders a day for sure.

They still run empty Airport Express trains past waiting riders who are local commuters. The line is really a local commuter line with airport passengers making up about 10% of whatever daily total is. They need to gear service toward daily users going to and from work. What kind of message does it send to your own citizens by running empty trains or trains with a few tourist on board while crowds of Thais waiting to get on over-crowded trains?

I'm not sure which bothers me more: the over-crowded trains, the careless, callous management, or the docile Thais who seem to stand by silently while being treated as second-class citizens by their own government?

I have said since this Service was mooted that the Express Service will eventually be discontinued.

Not only is it vastly underutilised it reduces the possible number of runs on the City Line because of timing issues. The operators realise this and will eventually give up their various attempts to increase usage of the Express Service and introduce more regular City Line trains which will provide far more revenue.

Patrick

[planr]

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. Unquote.

What utter nonsense. How much is SRT in the red? How much are they losing every day?

In 2010, the SRT as a whole lost an average of about 25,000 baht per day. I created a handy chart that shows their annual and per day debt from 2000-2010 which is attached. In terms of the ARL, if memory serves me, the SRT Electric Train Co (SRTET), which is a subsidiary company set up by the SRT to operate the ARL, is able to covering about 45% of operating costs from fare revenue, with the rest subsidized by the SRT (as of April 2011). As of April, the ARL was generating about 35 million baht per month against expenditures of 77 million baht per month, so a net loss of 42 million baht per month. Assuming that amount holds true for the entire calendar year, and the SRT's revenue loss is the same as 2010 (~7.5 billion baht), the ARL's revenue shortfall which is subsidized by the SRT would equate to (but not necessarily be a part of) about 7% of the SRT's total annual shortfall.

It's a typo. Not two million passengers a day, not even anywhere near two million. But, it is more the 2000 riders a day for sure.

They still run empty Airport Express trains past waiting riders who are local commuters. The line is really a local commuter line with airport passengers making up about 10% of whatever daily total is. They need to gear service toward daily users going to and from work. What kind of message does it send to your own citizens by running empty trains or trains with a few tourist on board while crowds of Thais waiting to get on over-crowded trains?

I'm not sure which bothers me more: the over-crowded trains, the careless, callous management, or the docile Thais who seem to stand by silently while being treated as second-class citizens by their own government?

I have said since this Service was mooted that the Express Service will eventually be discontinued.

Not only is it vastly underutilised it reduces the possible number of runs on the City Line because of timing issues. The operators realise this and will eventually give up their various attempts to increase usage of the Express Service and introduce more regular City Line trains which will provide far more revenue.

Patrick

The only way to increase the level of service at this time would be to discontinue the Express Line and put those trains into service as a part of the City Line. The SRTET (ARL operator as mentioned above) does not have enough trains to increase the headways beyond their current "every 15 minutes" schedule. While that is a technical improvement, it might not be seen as a policy improvement, and it probably isn't a good idea in terms of looking to the future of the line.