Check-in Opens for Bangkok Airport Link

It has taken more than four years, but Suvarnabhumi Airport now has a fully functional Airport Rail Link. People arriving in Thailand can now take an express train from the airport to downtown Bangkok in just only 15 minutes. Also this week saw the official opening of the check-in service at Makkasan Station. This now allows people to check-in their luggage before boarding the train in Bangkok and they then don’t need to worry about it until they arrive at their destination country. Sounds great, but this service is not going to be ideal or even convenient for everyone.

The Bangkok Post reported that on the first day that only 11 passengers and four bags were actually processed here. Not surprising as the check-in is only available for passengers of THAI International and Bangkok Airways. So, no good if you are going to fly THAI to say Chiang Mai. However, there are plans to increase more airlines at a later date. A secondary problem is that there is no easy access to Makkasan Station. There is an MRT underground station nearby but you have to drag your bags along uneven sidewalks to get there. Again there is a plan for a skybridge but it won’t be completed until mid-2011.


Up to now they have been doing trial runs. I went for a ride back in June and you can see my report over at MyThailandBlog.com. There are basically two lines; the City Line which is for local commuters and takes 30 minutes and the Express Line that takes only 15 minutes. And that is fast! The prices have also gone up now that the trial period is over. The City Line is from 15-45 baht and the Express Line is 150 baht. You can join the City Line at Phaya Thai Station [see MAP] and I am told that the skybridge there from the sky train has now been completed.

The problem with Bangkok is that there isn’t really a downtown area or even a city center. So, if you take the Airport Rail link to either Makkasan or Phaya Thai, you will probably have to change to other transport like BTS Skytrain, MRT Underground or even a taxi. The same for going to the airport. Most people will have to take a taxi to Makkasan as the BTS and MRT are not really that convenient for suitcases. But, if there are two or more of you, then you might as well go all the way to the airport in the taxi as the fare will be less than 300 baht. What do you think? Will you use the Airport Link?

(Top photo: Bangkok Post)

3 years of traffic hell, and then Bangkok will be 'a better place'

People in Greater Bangkok are being warned of "nightmare" traffic jams for the next three years as construction on at least seven railway lines gets into full swing.

Long-distance commuters can expect to spend four to six hours a day commuting until 2014, said Soithip Trisuddhi, director of the Transport Ministry's Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning.

Tenders for the electric train projects, preparation of construction sites and partial construction will start this year. Work on at least five new projects will begin late in the year, in addition to the two that have already begun.

Bangkok is expected to have 236 kilometres of electric train lines and most railway crossings will be replaced by flyovers by 2015, Ms Soithip said.

"Bangkok in 2015 will be a better place to live. It will be totally different from what it is today," she said.

"Railway crossings will become flyovers and people will have electric trains as their choice of travel, and the trains will cover much wider areas.

"But prior to that point, people in the capital may have to suffer severe hardship, so I apologise for that beforehand."

Ms Soithip said construction of the Purple Line from Bang Sue to Bang Yai and the Red Line from Bang Sue to Taling Chan was under way. Construction of the Red Line from Bang Sue to Rangsit will start after August.

Construction of the Green Line from Soi Baring to Samut Prakan and from Mor Chit to Saphan Mai will begin late this year, and the Pink Line from Khae Rai to Pak Kret will be accelerated so construction can begin this year.

Next year may see the start of work on the Blue Line from Bang Sue to Tha Phra and Hua Lamphong and the Purple Line from Bang Sue via the new parliament house in Kiakkai to Wang Burapha.

Bang Sue railway station will be upgraded to become the hub for most of the electric train services, including the Airport Rail Link and commuter trains.

Ms Soithip said the Purple Line from Bang Sue to Bang Yai would be ready in 2014. The Red Line from Bang Sue to Taling Chan and from Bang Sue to Rangsit would open in 2015.

The Blue Line from Bang Sue to Tha Phra and from Hua Lamphong to Bang Khae would start operations in 2016. The Pink Line from Khae Rai to Nonthaburi would be accelerated so it could be completed in either 2014 or 2015.

Under its 10-year electric railway master plan, the planning office foresees greater Bangkok having a combined 391km of electric railway lines by 2019.

By that time, extended sections of existing electric railway projects would be completed.

They include the Red Line that would extend from Rangsit to Thammasat University's Rangsit campus and from Bang Sue via Phaya Thai to Makkasan, the Green Line from Saphan Mai to Khu Khot, the Purple Line from Wang Burapha to Rat Burana, the Airport Rail Link from Phaya Thai via Bang Sue to Don Mueang, and the Orange Line from Taling Chan via the Thailand Cultural Centre to Min Buri.

For the Orange Line, the Din Daeng-Bang Kapi section would open in 2016, the Bang Kapi-Min Buri section in 2018 and the Taling Chan-Thailand Cultural Centre section in 2019.

By 2019, electric railway lines should cover a catchment area of 525 square kilometres and serve 3.8 million commuters a day.

The planning office expects all 12 electric railway projects for greater Bangkok to be completed in 2029. They will have a combined distance of 509km, cover a catchment area of 680 square kilometres and serve 5.1 million commuters a day.