Elevated Airport Rail Link To Separate From State Railway Of Thailand

[webfact]

Elevated Airport Rail Link to de-link from SRT

BANGKOK, Sept 13 -- The State Enterprise Policy Office (SEPO) on Wednesday approved a plan to separate the Airport Rail Link from the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), setting it up as a new state enterprise to better operate the Airport Link system, according to Deputy Transport Minister Chadchart Sittipunt.

Mr Chadchart said that the SEPO meeting, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister/Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong has agreed to change the status of the SRT Electrified Train company, an SRT subsidiary which has been operated Airport Rail Link to a new state enterprise under Transport Ministry.

The finance ministry will hold all shares in the new state enterprise, he said, adding that the change is aimed at more flexibility of the operations.

After transforming the SRT Electrified Train company, it plans to operate an additional 7 or 8 routes which will be constructed in the future.

A committee will be set up to study the new structure of the SRT Electrified Train company for six months before submitting a plan to the Cabinet for approval, he said.

The Suvarnabhumi Airport Rail Link started official operation since August 2010. Services comprise two lines, non-stop express services between Suvarnabhumi Airport and Makkasan Station and City Train or Commuter services which run between Suvarnabhumi Airport, stop at Lat Krabang, Ban Thup Chang, Hua Mak, Makkasan, Ratchaprarop and Phaya Thai.

Mr Chadchart said that the operations of the Airport Rail Link experienced problems as it carried only 40,000 passengers per day for City Train services while Express services operate with only 5,000 passengers per day. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2012-09-13

[moe666]

I guess someone saw a chance to mine a new revenue strain

[BookMan]

As long as they keep the airport link up and running!

[dddave]

The Rail Link has been showing signs of strain and poor management. Elevators in several stations, Rhamkhamheng especially have been out of service for months meaning anybody with bags must haul them down more than 120 stairs.

There are still no signs at Mahkassan directing passengers to the connecting MRT. The MRT also has not made anything but small handmade signs directing passengers to the Rail Link. Probably just inexcusable pettiness on both their parts.

From my experience, the Rail-Link trains are usually quite full, never less than SRO when i get on at Rhamkhamheng, a mid-point station.

[Katipo]

I guess the Govt. is losing money hand over fist thanks to the enormous tomb that is Makkhasan Station. Has anyone been in there? It's freaking huuuuuuge, and empty. They should turn it into a mall that just happens to have a train station in it, not a station that is trying to have a mall. Failing that, it's big enough to put an all weather 9 hole golf course inside.

Of course they should quit having the Express Train stopping at alternate locations. Either have all of them only stop at Phyathai (where there is actually a useful interchange), or have then both stop at Makkhasan and Phyathai. The latter option would only add a minute or two to the journey. Both choices would require only 4 Express Trains instead of two. Perhaps pass the savings on to the customers while making the trains more full.

Of course I expect no such common sense for the foreseeable future, but would love to be proved wrong.

[Disinto]

The Rail Link has been showing signs of strain and poor management. Elevators in several stations, Rhamkhamheng especially have been out of service for months meaning anybody with bags must haul them down more than 120 stairs.

There are still no signs at Mahkassan directing passengers to the connecting MRT. The MRT also has not made anything but small handmade signs directing passengers to the Rail Link. Probably just inexcusable pettiness on both their parts.

From my experience, the Rail-Link trains are usually quite full, never less than SRO when i get on at Rhamkhamheng, a mid-point station.

Absolutely not true in Makkasan. Get your facts right.

There are multiple signs in the concourse and outside showing the way to the MRT and there's even now a golf cart to bring you next to the nearest MRT entrance.

[wpcoe]

As long as they keep the airport link up and running!

And, continue (and accelerate, if possible) the plans to extend it to Don Muang airport.

The Rail Link has been showing signs of strain and poor management. Elevators in several stations, Rhamkhamheng especially have been out of service for months meaning anybody with bags must haul them down more than 120 stairs.

120 stairs? Wow, that IS a lot! Assuming an average of 12 stairs per story, that means 10 stories high.

[Disinto]

As long as they keep the airport link up and running!

And, continue (and accelerate, if possible) the plans to extend it to Don Muang airport.

The Rail Link has been showing signs of strain and poor management. Elevators in several stations, Rhamkhamheng especially have been out of service for months meaning anybody with bags must haul them down more than 120 stairs.

120 stairs? Wow, that IS a lot! Assuming an average of 12 stairs per story, that means 10 stories high.

ARL stations are super tall in general:

[Xangsamhua]

The SRT is an absolute disgrace. I used to use the long distance trains 40 years ago and they were clean, cool and efficient. Now they are operating with the same rolling stock, but seriously run down, and the trains break down frequently. The whole system looks like nothing's been spent on it. Where has the money gone?

I wouldn't entrust anything to the SRT. I hope the new enterprise can do a better job.

[Jimjim]

It seems crazy to me to have two separate elevated train systems in the same city. They should all be connected and under on umbrella, in my opinion.

[Bagwan]

It seems crazy to me to have two separate elevated train systems in the same city. They should all be connected and under on umbrella, in my opinion.

I agree in principle but don't they use different power supply systems?

[samran]

It seems crazy to me to have two separate elevated train systems in the same city. They should all be connected and under on umbrella, in my opinion.

I agree in principle but don't they use different power supply systems?

I wouldn't have thought that would have mattered, the London tube runs different rolling stock and making one lines trains incompatible with another. You'd never get a circle line train down the jubilee or northern lines.

As for this change, about bloody time.

SRT is not primarily a transport company, rather it is a property company. Best that the only modern piece of rolling stock be taken out of its hands. The airport link has been a success almost despite the fact that SRT oversaw its construction.

[zakk9]

It seems crazy to me to have two separate elevated train systems in the same city. They should all be connected and under on umbrella, in my opinion.

In some civilized cities, like Singapore, one company is responsible for all rail transport within the city with one ticketing system and full coordination between lines. In Bangkok, there are 3 companies, all with their own ticketing systems and rates, for 4 lines. BTS even has 3 different rates for their two lines, the "normal" charge, the "fixed" charge and the extra 15 baht for the Baering extension. I can't wait to see what they will invent for new lines.

[Samedeepwaterasyou]

The ARL is only a few years old, but the track was built by a shoddy chinese contractor, who has long left Thailand, with subpar materials all imported from China, and which are already showing serious signs of fatigue. If you factor in the quasi lack of maintenance work by SRT due to lack of funds, it is only a matter of time , before a major accident happens

[zakk9]

One way they could increase the number of passengers on the Airport Link dramatically is to build parking houses at the stations outside Srinakarin. The locations of those three stations are perfect for park-and-ride, and would be a great money as well as time saver for people coming by car from areas east of Bangkok. The limited parking space at those stations are already more than fully utilized.

[hellodolly]

"Mr Chadchart said that the SEPO meeting, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister/Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong"

We are doomed. Mr white lie is in charge. I bet he already has the progress reports written.

[asiawatcher]

I guess the Govt. is losing money hand over fist thanks to the enormous tomb that is Makkhasan Station. Has anyone been in there? It's freaking huuuuuuge, and empty. They should turn it into a mall that just happens to have a train station in it, not a station that is trying to have a mall. Failing that, it's big enough to put an all weather 9 hole golf course inside.

Of course they should quit having the Express Train stopping at alternate locations. Either have all of them only stop at Phyathai (where there is actually a useful interchange), or have then both stop at Makkhasan and Phyathai. The latter option would only add a minute or two to the journey. Both choices would require only 4 Express Trains instead of two. Perhaps pass the savings on to the customers while making the trains more full.

Of course I expect no such common sense for the foreseeable future, but would love to be proved wrong.

Thailand - the land of logic. Spock would have heart failure here.

[sprq]

The SRT is an absolute disgrace. I used to use the long distance trains 40 years ago and they were clean, cool and efficient. Now they are operating with the same rolling stock, but seriously run down, and the trains break down frequently. The whole system looks like nothing's been spent on it. Where has the money gone?

I wouldn't entrust anything to the SRT. I hope the new enterprise can do a better job.

The politicians haven't figured out how to get rake-offs out of developing it, and the SRT admin and staff are dinosaurs who just want to carry on with their featherbedded jobs in a hugely overstaffed organisation. The politicians and govt officials can rake off lots more money and lots more quickly from road projects, trucking companies and bus companies, so that's what they go for, leaving the railways to sink.

I used to use the railways a lot for long distance travel; now, I never do -- it's too painful. I don't use the buses, either -- they're too dangerous, often too cold, and often play horrendous videos or music that damage your brain. I fly.

[bkk_mike]

The fact of the matter is - they made Makkasan station, located in the middle of one of the biggest traffic snarl-ups in Bangkok generally, the check-in station for the express train.

Without building a step-free link to the MRT, or building a drop-off loop extension to the expressway at Makkasan station (so that taxis or private vehicles could drop people off from the expressway without having to join the traffic jam to do it), who exactly is going to use Makkasan, other than people that live on Asoke (so that are stuck in that traffic jam already)

i.e. Where it's located, it's generally faster to just go to the airport in a taxi, than go to the train station, and catch a train.

Phaya Tai makes a lot more sense because there is an actual link to the skytrain. (But, as someone earlier said, they should either make all the express trains simply come from Phaya Tai, or have them stop at both stations. Airport Express trains in Hong Kong stop at Hong Kong (Central), Kowloon and Tsing Yi, with interchanges at each with other services. Why can't the Bangkok express trains stop at Phaya Tai and Makkasan.

As for the regular trains, they would definitely benefit from additional, easier parking, but they're not suffering from quite the same shortage of passengers as the express service.

Edited September 24, 2012 by bkk_mike

[baboon]

40,000 passengers a day on the city line? They must have all been on the same train as me last Friday morning. It was packed!

[thaibeachlovers]

The ARL is only a few years old, but the track was built by a shoddy chinese contractor, who has long left Thailand, with subpar materials all imported from China, and which are already showing serious signs of fatigue. If you factor in the quasi lack of maintenance work by SRT due to lack of funds, it is only a matter of time , before a major accident happens

Situation normal, then!