Airport link should open August
February 24, 2010 by Rapeepat Mantanarat
Filed under News
Thailand’s first airport rail link should officially roll out services, 12 August, an auspicious day when the nation celebrates HM the Queen’s birthday.
However, free demonstration rides for the public will be arranged on weekdays leading up to the official opening date.
The rail system has already been tested to operational standard, but back-up facilities are still lagging behind their completion dates.
One of the delays involves the set up of a subsidiary company of the State Railways of Thailand to manage the Airport Link, while another involves hiring top executives such as the CEO and a chief financial officer.
The service has two lines; SA Express and SA City Line. The Express line is an express train service running non-stop from Makkasan Station to Suvarnabhumi Airport Station, located in the basement of the terminal building. The transfer takes 15 minutes from the downtown railway station.
A single trip fare has been set at Bt150. The train has four carriages — three for passengers, capable of seating 160 passengers and one for luggage.
The City Line, a commuter service, has eight stations including the starting point Phaya Thai Station and the airport terminal. The train has three carriages capable of accommodating 745 passengers. It will serve mainly suburban commuters travelling to and from work in downtown Bangkok. The entire trip will take 30 minutes.
At the Phya Thai Station, passengers can transfer from the BTS Skytrain, via a short walkway (yet to be completed). The line is also about 200 metres from the MRT subway station on the corner of New Phetchaburi Road.
On the City Line, the fare starts at Bt10, plus a kilometre charge. From Phaya Thai Station to Suvarnabhumi Airport, a distance of 28 km, with six stations in between, the one-way fare should be Bt38.
The main station is located in downtown Makkasan district, near the Ratchaprarop intersection with Makkasan Rd, and almost opposite the Bangkok Palace Hotel.
It will serve as a city air terminal, where airlines can check-in passengers and transfer luggage directly to the airport. However, there are snags in establishing downtown check-in; one being the SRT’s failure to establish a subsidiary in time to negotiate agreements.
Some airlines are showing interest, but it will depend on the terms and conditions of the managing company and whether it will save costs for the airlines. Airlines would like to reduce the check-in counters at the airport as the rental and service fees are very high, but the SRT has not indicated what the down-town check in facilities would cost. The service would also have to meet certain security guidelines for checked baggage.
In the long-term the main rail terminal is set up to offer downtown check-in with passenger services such as a business lounge, shops and taxi services that will not be part of the cartel that operates at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Frequent travellers who post blogs say they are “sick and tired” of the taxi mess at Suvarnabhumi and will use the rail service from the airport to town to avoid alarming and sometimes potentially dangerous tactics used by what is described as a “mafia-like taxi cartel” at the gateway airport.
However, very few details are available on the taxi set-up at the railway terminal. If it is an open system that allows standard city taxis to queue, without any parking fees, frequent visitors will have more confidence in the rail service. However, if SRT allows the same companies that operate at the airport to establish themselves at the railway station, it will face a barrage of criticism from the general public.
The construction phase of the airport link, valued at Bt25.09 billion, started 19 February 2005, but is now more than a year behind schedule. The airport line is being built by a B Grimm consortium, led by B Grimm MBM Hong Kong, with partners Siemens AG of Germany and Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction.
Notepad
Type: Rapid Transit
Owner: State Railway of Thailand
Line Length: 28.6 km
Operating Speed: 160 km/h
Capacity: 14,000 to 50,000 passengers/ day/ direction
Stations: Phya Thai, Ratchaparop, Makkasan (city air terminal), Ramkamhaeng, Hua Mak, Ban Tap Chang, Lad Krabang and Suvarnabhumi Airport
Here , Here how true words have been written remember Nero fiddled while Rome burnt try not to let it happen in Bangkok.
There are delays with nearly all major transport projects in and around the city it is starting hurting the city and this not funny.
Fine words butter no parsnips – one would not rule out further delays. And what about the extension to the BTS past On-nut down to Sukhumvit 105 (Lasalle)? Four stations ready to go, rotting while Bangkok fiddles…….