New Skytrain Cars Arrive

[webfact]

New BTS cars arrive

THANATPONG KONGSAI

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- The first batch of additional carriages for the Skytrain system reached Thailand yesterday, raising rush-hour commuters' hopes that they will be able to board the first train that reaches their station and not have to wait due to overcrowding.

During the rush hour, the Skytrain is sometimes so crowded that passengers face long queues and must wait for several trains to come and go before finally squeezing on.

"Now, each train has three cars. But we are going to increase that to four. This means each train will be able to accommodate up to 1,490 people, instead of just 1,106," Surapong Laoha-unya said yesterday as the executive director of the BTSC, which operates the Skytrain system.

Four cars, manufactured by Siemens, reached Thailand's Laem Chabang port yesterday. A total of 31 more Skytrain cars will be sent to BTSC by early 2013 under a Bt2.1-billion purchase contract.

"We will have to prepare a trial run for about two months. The additional cars will be put in service from late October or early November," he said. Surapong disclosed that another contract inked with Changchun Railway Vehicles Company would see 20 cars sent to BTSC by the end of 2013.

Service on another Skytrain extension route will start in December 5 this year. This new route will run from Wongwian Yai to Bang Wa.

-- The Nation 2012-08-29

[EvilDrSomkid]

Finally some good news. There was some garbage talk a while ago about possibly using Bombardier carriages on the Suk line.

[sfbandung]

I love Skytrain. So hooray I say.

Can we have one in Udon Thani?

[tracer5050]

Finally some good news. There was some garbage talk a while ago about possibly using Bombardier carriages on the Suk line.

may make getting on eaiser but for how long

[sangfroid]

Excellent!

[jonw8uk]

Now, each train has three cars. But we are going to increase that to four. This means each train will be able to accommodate up to 1,490 people, instead of just 1,106," Surapong Laoha-unya said yesterday as the executive director of the BTSC, which operates the Skytrain system

So one carriage holds 384 people?? Wow! I knows its very cosy during rush hour, but still, nearly 400 people (about the same as a Boeing 777) is almost 'tardis-like'

[belg]

now some more grease monkey money as they will need stronger locomotives to pull the 4 cars as the motor only is designed to support 3, i guess

why not 2 extra cars in stead of 1 to make it easier on everybody

[SeaVisionBurma]

Now, each train has three cars. But we are going to increase that to four. This means each train will be able to accommodate up to 1,490 people, instead of just 1,106," Surapong Laoha-unya said yesterday as the executive director of the BTSC, which operates the Skytrain system

So one carriage holds 384 people?? Wow! I knows its very cosy during rush hour, but still, nearly 400 people (about the same as a Boeing 777) is almost 'tardis-like'

Yes those numbers seem a little excessive...4 sets of doors on a carriage, that's around 90 people inside each set of doors....

Still it will be very welcome on the Sukhumvit line to have 4 cars instead of the current 3....

[brewsterbudgen]

Finally some good news. There was some garbage talk a while ago about possibly using Bombardier carriages on the Suk line.

They do occasionally - but for some reason only on Sundays!

[KED]

This is definitely a step in the right direction, albeit months overdue. The BTS and MRT are instrumental in the development of Bangkok; i just wish there was more planning and more efficient implementation of needed expansion and improvement. I fear corruption has blocked so much of these projects.

[khunron13]

Much welcomed news, but those capacity numbers are pretty iffy! If for no other reason that people won't move away from the door to let others inside, thereby reducing capacity by at least 1/4!

Edited August 29, 2012 by khunron13

[stormstereo]

Well, the numbers seem legit. I have an old photo from the elevator to Long Table, that says "Max 350 kg or 20 persons".

[bkkjames]

no more than 150 people can fit in one car at a time. kids with backpacks that take up room for 2, poofy haired women with purses, shit all the iPhone fb tappers must use up 1/4 of the space with their arms extended.

384 people per car? stacked on top of one another perhaps.

[sungod]

Just need some for the over crowded MRT now.........................

[davejones]

This is definitely a step in the right direction, albeit months overdue. The BTS and MRT are instrumental in the development of Bangkok; i just wish there was more planning and more efficient implementation of needed expansion and improvement. I fear corruption has blocked so much of these projects.

You should try traveling on London Underground. The skytrain is light years ahead of that. I think they deserve more credit than they get from you guys. They have done a great job. Of course implementation could have been quicker, but try looking on the plus side for once. No need to know everything all the time. Just think what kind of transport system your own countries had when it was still developing. BTS and MRT in Bangkok are fantastic compared to what most countries have. Be happy for once.

[bkkjames]

This is definitely a step in the right direction, albeit months overdue. The BTS and MRT are instrumental in the development of Bangkok; i just wish there was more planning and more efficient implementation of needed expansion and improvement. I fear corruption has blocked so much of these projects.

You should try traveling on London Underground. The skytrain is light years ahead of that. I think they deserve more credit than they get from you guys. They have done a great job. Of course implementation could have been quicker, but try looking on the plus side for once. No need to know everything all the time. Just think what kind of transport system your own countries had when it was still developing. BTS and MRT in Bangkok are fantastic compared to what most countries have. Be happy for once.

I like the BTS and MRT. I just feel that some areas need drastic improvements. Check out Asoke BTS station at 6pm with lines upon lines of people lining up for coins / topping up smart cards and other things. Most changed counters are under-staffed chronically. There is room at each station for many more turnstiles but nope.... line em up and make em wait.

[Greer]

In fact the BTS and the MRT are way better than in many supposedly first world countries - clean and comfortable trains, and for much of the day along the Sukhumvit line, it seems that trains come along about 1 every minute to two minutes - thats excellent.

I have travelled on the Light Rail (similar to BTS but not as frequent) and Monorail (bloody awful) in KL, and ours are way better - I have also used Metro services in Paris (filthy), Tube in UK (dirty and crowded but better than the Metro), the Metro in Rome (ok, but somewhat less pleasant than the BTS), trains in Sydney (not as frequent as ours, although much bigger as they are full sized double deck trains - but truly dirty and unpleasant), MTR in Hong Kong (can be very crowded, but cheap, efficient and pleasant to use), MRT in Singapore (also good), and various rail systems elsewhere in the world - all have their advantages and disadvantages but in comparison, our BTS and MRT do stack up very well against them.

I see quite a few places where extensions to the system are being built right now, so give it a chance - its happening, and Bangkok/Thonburi will be better for it. I do hope some of the up-country centres consider, maybe not a BTS as such, but they could put in place maybe a ground based light rail or something - depends on the city I guess.

[marstons]

now some more grease monkey money as they will need stronger locomotives to pull the 4 cars as the motor only is designed to support 3, i guess

why not 2 extra cars in stead of 1 to make it easier on everybody

thats thinking logically, should no better than to ask questions like that. Stations i read can handle 6 cars, but not in out life times.

[webfact]

New BTS cars arrived in Bangkok for service expansion on Sukhumvit Line

CHONBURI, 29 August 2012 (NNT) – The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has received new Skytrain cars, which are planned for the service expansion of the capital’s Sukhumvit Line.

Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra, on Tuesday, chaired the official ceremony to receive 4 new train cars from Germany, ordered for the city’s elevated electric train service or BTS.

The four new BTS cars are parts of the total of 35 cars that Bangkok Mass Transit System Public Company Limited, the operator of Bangkok’s Skytrain service, has purchased at the price of 2.1 billion baht.

The ceremony took place at the Laem Chabang Port in Chonburi Province. The new cars are to be added to the BTS’s Sukhumvit Line, which currently operates with only 3 cars.

The remainder of the ordered cars is expected to arrive before the end of October.

Mr. Keeree Kanjanapas, Executive Chairman and CEO of the Bangkok Mass Transit System, said that the BTS is now in the middle of a feasibility study to lower the minimum service fare to 10 baht, which is scheduled to be completed this year.

He added that the joint ticket service for the BTS and Bangkok’s express bus service, or BRT, is likely to be implemented within October, while the joint ticketing for the BTS and the MRT (underground train) is expected before the end of the year.

-- NNT 2012-08-29

[impulse]

I like the BTS and MRT. I just feel that some areas need drastic improvements. Check out Asoke BTS station at 6pm with lines upon lines of people lining up for coins / topping up smart cards and other things. Most changed counters are under-staffed chronically. There is room at each station for many more turnstiles but nope.... line em up and make em wait.

I, too like the BTS and MRT. Given that the vast majority of the riders at 6:00 are regulars, they cause their own problem by not buying a stored value card. Takes 30 seconds to buy one during any slack time ride, and 15 seconds to top one up. Unless, of course, they try to top it up at rush hour, but that's not the fault of the BTS (or MRT). If they put enough service windows to keep the lines down at rush hour, they'd be wasting money on windows they don't need the other 12-14 hours the lines run.

I do agree about the turnstyles, but only at very specific hours again so is it worth the money to add more turnstyles that are only needed for an hour or two a day?

[bkkjames]

I like the BTS and MRT. I just feel that some areas need drastic improvements. Check out Asoke BTS station at 6pm with lines upon lines of people lining up for coins / topping up smart cards and other things. Most changed counters are under-staffed chronically. There is room at each station for many more turnstiles but nope.... line em up and make em wait.

I, too like the BTS and MRT. Given that the vast majority of the riders at 6:00 are regulars, they cause their own problem by not buying a stored value card. Takes 30 seconds to buy one during any slack time ride, and 15 seconds to top one up. Unless, of course, they try to top it up at rush hour, but that's not the fault of the BTS (or MRT). If they put enough service windows to keep the lines down at rush hour, they'd be wasting money on windows they don't need the other 12-14 hours the lines run.

I do agree about the turnstyles, but only at very specific hours again so is it worth the money to add more turnstyles that are only needed for an hour or two a day?

Why not put in more of those automatic ticket machines? I see one here or there, put in 5 at each station (big ones anyway) and you dont need 10 staff sitting around all day. The stations were obviously never designed for the volume the bts gets IMO - all that wasted space on empty retail kiosks and poor design that causes log jams like at Asoke.

How about being able to top up your so called smart card at 711 or other convenient places - online even instead of having to line up during rush hour to do it.

[jerrysteve]

The is great news coz they are jammed. The more cars the better. People have a hard time even getting off (no sexual pun intended), at their destination sometimes, let alone getting on.

and I swore the Holy Mother of Buddh, I would never take another taxi if I were dying, but I have been tempted lately.

But a little voice inside said, don't, don't don't! So I didn't, didn't, didn't! The last taxi I took smelled like a combination of vomit, onions, and garlic,& rotten eggs, and urine. I almost threw up

in the taxi and the driver.but

I thought that might be a felony accidently puking all over the taxi and the driver..

i was hoping some day they would come up with a EZ-Bribe Card, but they dragged their feet.

and now that they have an EZ-Bribe Card, I don't take Taxis anymore, which proves only one thing; Timing is Everything.

,

[yougivemebaby]

Awesome!!!

[planemad]

Like many others, I felt 384 per carriage was a little optimistic to say the least, however, travelling last night at around 6 pm I can see that the numbers are reasonably achievable albeit seriously tightly wedged it. Each carriage has 3 seating sections with seats for 14 persons, the entrance ways (4 off) can accommodate (last night) about 45 and the standing area between the seats held about 35, so do the maths, about 330 and realistically, there was room for a few more, not comfortably, but as a means of getting between A and B cheaply and quickly! Hard to fault.

Edited August 31, 2012 by planemad