Govt seeks public-private management of Blue Line rail services



BANGKOK, 12 May 2016 (NNT) - The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Policy committee has indicated it will contract a private company to help manage the Blue Line train services.

Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong said that private companies will have the opportunity to form an investment partnership with the government in the areas of management, services and maintenance of the railway.

A special committee will be established to organize the bidding process for concessions to the Blue Line. The auction is expected to kick off later this month. The railway service would begin operations in three years.

However, if the committee chooses Bangkok Expressway and Metro (BEM) PCL to run the Blue Line, its operations would be ready in 15 months. BEM previously won concessions to manage the MRT Chaloem Ratchamongkhon Line.

The Blue Line consists of two branches. The construction of the first branch stretches from Hua Lamphong Station to Bang Khae district and the second branch from Bang Sue district to Tha Phra Intersection.


-- NNT 2016-05-12

Hopefully that means I will have to buy another rail card with the 3 I have already.......

Would be nice if the government would let a private company run the Airport Link too. The SRT has demonstrated their incompetence so many times,

"the second branch from Bang Sue district to Tha Phra Intersection"

Is that the missing link between MRT line BangSu - HuaLamphong and the new Purple line which now goes into 'get a free ticket' to try it out ?