Airport link train sucks

[josephbloggs]

Says it all that the SRT are incapable of putting seating in the two airport express carriages Pathetic shambles

 

 

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They are a pathetic shambles, no doubt about that! But as Lakegeneve says this is approved to happen. I am guessing the issue is the amount of time the trains (s) would need to be out of service to carry out that conversion. It is so horrendously overcrowded almost permanently these days that I don't think they can afford to lose any capacity at all - even if it is to increase capacity. Of course they should never have let things get in to this position in the first place.

 

Even at 9.45am this morning - hardly typical peak time - they were not letting people up on to the platform and it took four trains before I could get on. Just awful.

 

[Travel2003]

Probably a good thing for many travelers.

 

Personally.....

Departure?

Instead of taking a taxi from my hotel in BKK to the link, drag my luggage with me on link, then to airport. 

I take a taxi directly to the airport.

 

Arriving?

Instead of link to city, then drag bags to taxi, and so on to the hotel.

I take taxi directly to hotel.

 

 

[bkk6060]

WOW, what an odd post and responses seems some haters have never actually been to BKK?

It is much much cheaper and faster if you are going to Sukhumvit/Nana area.

And, is so much better then most places in the world for transport.

I love the APL and take it every time think it is great.

To each their own.

 

Edited September 7, 2017 by bkk6060

[Travel2003]

I think it was a regular post, which one sometimes agree with and sometimes disagree with.

[shanesox]

WOW, what an odd post and responses seems some haters have never actually been to BKK?
It is much much cheaper and faster if you are going to Sukhumvit/Nana area.
And, is so much better then most places in the world for transport.
I love the APL and take it every time think it is great.
To each their own.
 

What a silly comment! And if you knew anything about the mass congestion ,overcrowding,lack of carriages etc you might think again. Oh and I have been to BKk . Live in the place( yes I'm mad)


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[orchidfan]

All that the Authorities have to do is take a junket to Hong Kong and see how well and efficiently the MTR and Airport Express system works there.

Trains just minutes apart and MUCH higher fares on the ARL to discourage the local commuters. 

Full airline checkins done at several stops along the way. They know about efficiency and how important it is to business and tourism

[bkksteve123]

I would say that the MRT and BTS suck just as much.

 

They have been overcrowded for years already (or more like a decade), with seemingly little done to fix the issues (they still need to add trains and frequency). When they extend the system and add new stations they should consider that x amount people will start using it and adjust accordingly, but sadly they don't. Greed?

 

I also don't like the whole ticket system. It's fine if you have the rabbit card, which I did when I was using it daily, but now that I don't use it daily I can't be bothered, so it's a pain to first exchange money and then buy the ticket separately. Walk up the stairs in 35-45C heat and wait 5-10 minutes with sweat dripping down my face and back, then finally it shows up beyond full capacity and I have to try to squeeze in.

 

Yeah, whoever says the BTS/MRT is good, I don't know what they are talking about.

[bkk6060]

Every major city in the world where they have these type of commuter transport are crowded.  Gee, maybe that's why they have them?  I have been here for almost 2 years and never had to wait for more then one train.  And that was maybe 2 or 3 times.

  

This place has its act together compared to let's say: Los Angeles.  And much better then many other cities that suffer from poor planning.

Walking up the stairs?  It's called exercise I know an unknown concept to some. But if it is too much they do have elevators at several of the stops. 

The rabbit card is fantastic not only to expedite your travel, but can be used to buy food at the mall and several restaurants.

If one still does not like it then there is always a nice airconditioned Taxi where you can sit and relax in bumper to bumper traffic where it takes 4 times as long to get someplace at 5 times the cost.

Bangkok is a great city and MRT/BTS/APL fantastic and efficient ways to get around.

 

I love it....

Edited September 11, 2017 by bkk6060

[bkksteve123]

1 hour ago, bkk6060 said:

Every major city in the world where they have these type of commuter transport are crowded.  Gee, maybe that's why they have them?  I have been here for almost 2 years and never had to wait for more then one train.  And that was maybe 2 or 3 times.

  

This place has its act together compared to let's say: Los Angeles.  And much better then many other cities that suffer from poor planning.

Walking up the stairs?  It's called exercise I know an unknown concept to some. But if it is too much they do have elevators at several of the stops. 

The rabbit card is fantastic not only to expedite your travel, but can be used to buy food at the mall and several restaurants.

If one still does not like it then there is always a nice airconditioned Taxi where you can sit and relax in bumper to bumper traffic where it takes 4 times as long to get someplace at 5 times the cost.

Bangkok is a great city and MRT/BTS/APL fantastic and efficient ways to get around.

 

I love it....

Sure, love it all you want. I've lived here for 4 years and used both the MRT and BTS quite a lot before I got my own motorcycle.

 

I've also lived in Hong Kong, London and Barcelona where I used public transportation systems regularly and found them all to be much better than here. Obviously also visited countless major cities where I've used public transport.

 

I'd still rate BKK one of the worst, and there is a clear lack of any action from them to fix it.

 

There is nothing wrong with exercise, which I do daily, but I prefer not to have to walk up many sets of stairs in 40 degree heat wearing jeans and a shirt on my way to work.

[observer90210]

If you have luggage (as most tourists have!), it is not the most practical due to all the flights of steps in the stations!!

 

I always use it well in advance of the flight time, inbetween rush hours, and never had other issues then trudging the suitcase above the stairs!!

 

But it is worth the trip as it avoids the annoying arguments with the taxi cheats who refuse the meter and try to rip you off!

Edited September 11, 2017 by observer90210

[lamyai3]

2 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

Every major city in the world where they have these type of commuter transport are crowded.  Gee, maybe that's why they have them?  I have been here for almost 2 years and never had to wait for more then one train.  And that was maybe 2 or 3 times.

You evidently don't travel at peak hours - try taking the outbound airport link from Makkasan around 7pm on a weekday and let us know how you got on.

 

The question is not so much about whether the BTS, MRT and ARL are a good thing for Bangkok (I would say completely indispensable), rather it's that they haven't been upgraded to meet increasing demand over time. If you've only been here a couple of years you may not have seen much change, but over a longer period the problems caused by increased overcrowding become very visible. 

[phkauf]

1 hour ago, lamyai3 said:

You evidently don't travel at peak hours - try taking the outbound airport link from Makkasan around 7pm on a weekday and let us know how you got on.

 

The question is not so much about whether the BTS, MRT and ARL are a good thing for Bangkok (I would say completely indispensable), rather it's that they haven't been upgraded to meet increasing demand over time. If you've only been here a couple of years you may not have seen much change, but over a longer period the problems caused by increased overcrowding become very visible. 

Completely agree about Makkasan at peak times. Was there on Thursday night around 7pm and the platform was a madhouse. The guards were moving lines around based on which setup of carriages would come in next - really aggravating for those at the front of a line. But shockingly they brought in an empty train to start at Makkasan and took everyone, so maybe there is one person at SRT with an education above 10th grade (or did they hire a token farang).

The ARL is a good idea horribly executed and managed. It could and should be an easy fix.