Rail transport in Bangkok

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Hua Lamphong Railway Station

Rail transport was introduced to Bangkok in 1893, and the national railway network was developed during the 20th century. Rapid transit in Bangkok includes several rail lines: the BTS Skytrain, MRT and Airport Rail Link.

History[]

Bangkok's first rail line was the private Paknam Railway linking Bangkok to Samut Prakan which opened in 1893. The national railway network was subsequently developed and first opened in 1896, linking Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima and then expanding to reach Chiang Mai, Nong Khai, Ubon Ratchathani and Su-ngai Kolok.

Electric trams served the city from 1894 to 1968. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, King Rama V eagerly built a tram network for Bangkok by employing foreign engineers and technicians, especially Danish engineers. However, due to a lack of interest and maintenance, the tram network was completely scrapped in 1968.

Although proposals for the development of rapid transit in Bangkok had been made since 1975,^[1] leading to plans for the failed Lavalin Skytrain, it was only in 1999 that Thailand's first rapid transit system, the BTS Skytrain, began operation.

The underground MRT subsequently opened in 2004, the Airport Rail Link began operation in 2010, and the SRT Red Lines began trial operation in 2021.

State Railway of Thailand (SRT) for Inter-city and commuter rail[]

Commuter rail at Hua Lamphong Railway Station

Bangkok is the location of Hua Lamphong Railway Station, the main terminus of the national rail network operated by the State Railway of Thailand (SRT). Trains travelling on the Northern Line to Chiang Mai, the Northeastern Line to Nong Khai and Ubon Ratchathani, and the Eastern Line to Aranyaprathet originate at the station, and so do some trains of the Southern Line, which terminates at Su-ngai Kolok and has a connection to Malaysia (the other Southern terminus is Thonburi). In addition to long-distance services, the SRT also operates a few daily commuter trains running from and to the outskirts of the city during the rush hour, but passenger numbers have remained low.

Mass Rapid transit (Metro Train System) in Bangkok[]

Bangkok is currently served by four rapid transit systems: the elevated BTS Skytrain, the underground and elevated MRT, the elevated Airport Rail Link, and the partially elevated SRT Red Lines.

System	Began operation	Lines in operation	Lengths in operation	Stations in operation	Operators
BTS Skytrain	1999	3	70.05 km (43.53 mi)	62	BTSC under concession from BMA
MRT	2004	2	70.6 km (43.9 mi)	53	BEM under concession from MRTA
Airport Rail Link	2010	1	28.6 km (17.8 mi)	8	SRT
SRT Red Lines	2021	2	41 kilometres (25 mi)	14	SRT
Total			210 km (130 mi)

Map of current & future Bangkok Mass Rapid network as of December 2019

BTS Skytrain[]

BTS Skytrain

The Skytrain consists of two lines, totalling 68.25 kilometers (42.41 mi): Sukhumvit Line running southwards from Khu Khot Station along Phahon Yothin Road and then eastwards along Sukhumvit Road to Kheha Station in Samut Prakan. The Silom Line runs eastwards from National Stadium Station in Pathum Wan District, then southwest along Ratchadamri, Si Lom, Narathiwat Ratchanakharin and Sathon Roads, crossing the Chao Phraya passing Wong Wian Yai Station in Khlong San towards Bang Wa Station in Phasi Charoen District. Both lines are elevated, and interchange at Siam Station in Pathum Wan.

MRT (Metro)[]

MRT Purple Line

The partially underground MRT system opened in July 2004, and currently consists of two lines, the Blue Line and Purple Line. The Blue Line runs for 37.1 kilometres (23.1 mi) from Tao Poon Station in a southward arc through the east along Ratchadaphisek Road, via Hua Lamphong, where it connects to the central railway station, to Lak Song. It has 38 stations, and connects to the BTS system at BTS stations Mo Chit, Asok, Sala Daeng and Bang Wa. The Blue Line was extended to form a circle in 2020. The Purple Line opened in 2016.

Although initial passenger numbers were low and their service area remains limited to the inner city, these systems have become indispensable to many commuters. The BTS reported an average of 392,167 daily trips in 2010, while the MRT had 178,334 passenger trips per day. However, relatively high fare prices have kept these systems inaccessible to a portion of the population.

Airport Rail Link[]

The Airport Rail Link, opened in August 2010 after many delays, connects the city centre to Suvarnabhumi Airport in Samut Prakan Province to the east. It is operated by the SRT, and offers services between the airport and Makkasan where it connects with Phetchaburi Station of the MRT. It terminates at Phaya Thai Station, where it connects to the BTS. Its eight stations span a distance of 29 kilometres (18 mi).

Red Lines[]

The Red Line Mass Transit System Project is a commuter rail system serving the Bangkok Metropolitan Region.Construction began in January 2009 and free public trial operation began on 2 August 2021, with full commercial service to begin in November 2021 when Bang Sue Grand Station opens. It consists of two lines, the Dark Red Line and Light Red Line.

Lines in operation[]

Line	System	Stations	Length	Terminus	Daily ridership	Began operation
						Initial part	Last extension
Sukhumvit line	BTS Skytrain	47	53.58 km (33.29 mi)	Khu Khot ↔ Kheha	combined 900,000[2]	1999	2020
Silom line		13	14.67 km (9.12 mi)	National Stadium ↔ Bang Wa			2021 (infill station)
Gold Line		3	1.8 km (1.1 mi)	Krung Thon Buri ↔ Khlong San	–	2020	–
Blue Line	Metropolitan Rapid Transit (MRT)	38	47 km (29 mi)	Tha Phra ↔ Tao Poon ↔ Lak Song	400,000[3]	2004	2019
Purple Line		16	23.6 km (14.7 mi)	Khlong Bang Phai ↔ Tao Poon	50,000[4]	2016	–
Airport Rail Link	Airport Rail Link	8	28.6 km (17.8 mi)	Phaya Thai ↔ Suvarnabhumi	65,000	2010	–
Dark Red Line	SRT Red Lines	10	26 km (16 mi)	Bang Sue ↔ Rangsit		2021	–
Light Red Line		4	15 km (9.3 mi)	Bang Sue ↔ Taling Chan
Total			210 km (130 mi)

Future expansion[]

The entire Mass Rapid Transit Master Plan in Bangkok Metropolitan Region consists of eight main lines and four feeder lines totalling 508 kilometres (316 mi) to be completed by 2029.

Extensions to the Sukhumvit Line to the east and north, and the MRT Blue Line are currently under construction. All are due for completion between 2018 and 2020. New lines under construction are the MRT Orange Line and two MRT monorail lines - the MRT Pink Line and the MRT Yellow Line - which both commenced construction in 2017.

Rolling stock[]

Line	Class (family[a])	Image	Manufacturer(s)	Manufactured in
Sukhumvit line    Silom line	EMU-A1 (Modular Metro)		Siemens Mobility SGP Verkehrstechnik	Austria  Germany
	EMU-A2		Siemens Mobility Bozankaya	Turkey
	EMU-B1 and EMU-B2		CNR Changchun Railway Vehicles	China
	EMU-B3		CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles
Blue Line	EMU-IBL (Modular Metro)		Siemens Mobility	Austria
	EMU-BLE (Modular Metro)			Austria  Germany
Airport Rail Link	Modified Class 360 (Desiro)			Germany
Purple Line	S24-EMU ( [ja])		Japan Transport Engineering Company	Japan
Dark Red Line	1000 series (AT100)		Hitachi Rail
Light Red Line	2000 series (AT100)
Pink Line	INNOVIA Monorail 300	N/A	Bombardier Transportation CRRC Nanjing Puzhen	China
Yellow Line
Gold Line	INNOVIA APM 300

Ticketing and fare rates[]

MRT Blue line[]

There are many types of stored value cards separated by passengers’ age. Elder card is for over 65 years olds and provides 50% discount from the full fare. Student card is for under 23 years olds and provides 10% discount from the full fare. Child card is for under 14 years olds and under 120 cm tall and provides 50% discount from the full fare. Adult card is for everyone doesn't provide any discount from the full fare.

The fare rates are counted by the number of stations, starting from 16 Baht for a station, increasing by 2-3 Baht for each station up to 42 Baht for 17 stations.^[5]

MRT Purple line[]

Use the stored value cards as MRT blue line. The fare rates start from 15 Baht for a station, increasing 1 Baht for each station up to 29 Baht for 15 stations.^[6]

For the passengers that don't have cards, the fare rates start from 17 Baht for a station, increasing 2-3 Baht for each station, then reach the maximum values at 42 Baht for 11 stations.^[7]

Airport Rail Link[]

For the city line, the fare rates start from 15 Baht for a station, increase 5 Baht for each station up to 45 Baht for 7 stations.^[8]

BTS[]

BTS has its own stored value cards called “Rabbit card”. There are 3 types of Rabbit card: adult, student, and senior, with 100 Baht initial stored value.^[9]

BTS fare rates start from 16 Baht. The costs is based on the distance travelled. Travelling between Wongwian Yai - Bang Wa stations, On-Nut - Bearing stations will cost you 15 Baht. If you are travelling between these stations to the other station on the main line, 15 baht will be added to your fares. There are now currently free access station which will not cost you any money. Between Kasetsart University - Mo Chit stations, and Bearing - Kheha stations.

See also[]

• Rail transport in Thailand
• Rapid transit in Thailand

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rail transport in Bangkok.