The Airport Rail Link (ARL) (Thai: รถไฟฟ้าเชื่à¸à¸¡à¸—่าà¸à¸²à¸à¸²à¸¨à¸¢à¸²à¸™à¸ªà¸¸à¸§à¸£à¸£à¸"ภูมิ) is an express and commuter rail in Bangkok, Thailand. The line provides an airport rail link from Suvarnabhumi Airport, via Makkasan Station, to Phaya Thai station in central Bangkok. Most of the line is on a viaduct over the main eastern railway. It is owned by State Railway of Thailand (SRT) and operated by SRT subsidiary SRT Electrified Train (SRTET). The 28.6 kilometers (17.8 mi) Airport Rail Link opened for service on 23 August 2010. Services originally consisted of both express services and the City Line, a commuter rail service with eight stations. As of September 2014, all express services were suspended until further notice due to a shortage of rolling stock availability.
History
The airport link contract was signed in January 2005, and construction began in July 2005. The line was built by a consortium of B.Grimm, STECON, and Siemens. It is operated by SRTET (SRT Electric Train Company), a wholly owned subsidiary of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT). The cost of the project was 25.9 billion baht.
The line is built largely along the same alignment as the failed Bangkok Elevated Road and Train System (BERTS) project, started by Hopewell, but stopped in 1997 when only 10 percent had been completed. Many previously constructed BERTS pillars stood in the way of the new system. After extensive debate and an engineering review on their suitability for use in the ARL projectâ€"and demands for compensation from Hopewellâ€"the SRT eventually decided to demolish the pillars and build new ones.
Originally scheduled to be completed by 2007, the Hopewell debacle, an extended bidding process, and a series of legal challenges from squatters and property owners who had encroached on SRT's land, repeatedly delayed the project. Initial test runs were conducted in October 2009, with a free limited trial service open to the public running from April 2010. Full commercial services were launched on 23 August 2010.
Operations
The ARL operates daily from 06:00 to 24:00, with commuter City Line trains departing every 10 minutes during peak hours (06:00-09:00 and 16:00-20:00) and 15 minutes off peak and weekends.
The number of passengers using the service of both lines in the first three years of operation was about half that projected. The SRT estimated about 95,000 passengers for the two lines per day, but the actual ridership was about 40,000, including 38,000 for the City Line and 2,500 for the Express Line running between Suvarnabhumi airport and the Phaya Thai and Makkasan terminals. Airport Rail Link, a subsidiary of the SRT set up to operate the Airport Link services, has operated at a loss since the start of its operations and cannot afford a long overdue major overhaul.
City Line
The commuter/suburban City Line stops at all eight stations. It is used by many residents and students in the eastern suburbs as well as airport staff. The City Line has suffered from significant overcrowding since 2012. The City Line currently averages around 56,000 passengers a day on weekdays and 40,000 a day on weekends. City Line units allow passengers to bring bicycles during off peak periods and on weekends, but excessively large bags for trips to the airport can be difficult during peak periods. The system has come under some local scrutiny for this.
Express Line
As of September 2014, all express services were suspended until further notice due to a shortage of rolling stock.
On 1 June 2011, additional Express Line services became available between Phaya Thai station and the airport with a total journey time of 18 minutes. This effectively means that there are two distinct Express Services: one to/from Phaya Thai with a 60-minute headway; and one to/from Makkasan Terminal also with a 60-minute headway. This is due to a design flaw in the original laying of the rail which meant that the Express Line track terminates at Makkasan and does not connect with the City Line track which run on the outer side of the Express line, to Phaya Thai. The SRT allocated 17m baht in Feb 2012 to rectify this problem. As of July 2014 the two tracks had not been connected.
At the end of April 2014, the Phaya Thai Express service was suspended for 12 months due to insufficient rolling stock being available while long term, overhaul maintenance of the express rolling stock is undertaken. As such, the hourly Makkasan Express service is only averaging 400 passengers a day. Subsequently, in September 2014 the Makkasan Express was also suspended due to insufficient rolling stock.
Fares
Standard fare for the City Line is between 15â€"45 baht depending on distance. The Express Line was priced between 90â€"150 baht.
Former City Air Terminal check-in service at Makkasan Station
From 4 January 2011, a baggage check-in service began for passengers traveling on flights operated by Thai Airways International, 08:00â€"21:00. Passengers checking in at Makkasan station (the city air terminal) were required to purchase an Express Line ticket and check in at least between 3 and 12 hours in prior to flight departure. Bangkok Airways discontinued baggage check-in service in this facility on 13 June 2011. However, very few passengersâ€"20 or fewer per dayâ€"used the Makkasan station check-in service. The SRTET stated that they wanted to encourage further airlines to use the City check in service in early 2014 with a target of 1,000 people a day by late 2014. However, in July 2014 the SRTET stated that it would most likely cease check-in operations as only 10 people were using it a day with only 200 pieces of luggage checked in each month. The service was costing SRTET 5.27m baht a month. Check-in services ceased in September 2014.
Specifications
The standard gauge line is 28.6Â km long and is elevated, running above the existing eastern railway, with an underground terminal at the airport. Commuter trips take 27 minutes from Phaya Thai to Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Siemens supplied nine Desiro Class 360/2 trainsets. The only significant difference from the UK units is a much larger air conditioning pod on the roof, providing extra cooling to cope with the Thai climate. City services are operated by five three-car trains, and the express services by four trainsets with a fourth car for check-in baggage. The first trains left Germany in September 2007, and testing in Bangkok began in March 2008. On 15 May 2012 the Thai Cabinet approved a budget of 5.2 billion baht for the SRT to order seven new, four car sets of Siemens Desiro rolling stock to be delivered by 2014. However, as of June 2013 no orders for new rolling stock had been placed.
The line is electrified at 25 kV AC. All stations were built to accommodate 10-car trains, and the express train platform of Makkasan station and all platforms at Suvarnabhumi are fitted with platform automatic screen doors. The top speed is 160Â km/h, but the short distances between the stations do not permit commuter services to reach that speed.
At Makkasan and Suvarnabhumi, both lines have their own tracks and platforms. At Hua Mak the express line can bypass the city line via a passing loop.
Rolling stock
The nine sets of Siemens Desiro II trains were built in Krefeld, Germany.
Four trainsâ€"four cars, red colourâ€"were used for the two separate express service between Makkasan and Phaya Thai and Suvarnabhumi Airport. The other five trainsâ€"three cars, blue colourâ€"are used for commuter City Line service stopping at all eight stations on the Airport Line. All units are based on the Class 360, which operates with British TOCs Abellio Greater Anglia and Heathrow Connect.
New rolling stock to be ordered
Approval was granted by the Transport Ministry (MOT) for the SRT to purchase seven new, four car sets of rolling stock in early 2012 due to overcrowding and the urgent need to provide extra rolling stock. During, 2013 the MOT reviewed the purchase intention to consider cheaper Chinese rolling stock. In December 2013, the Thai Cabinet approved 4.9 billion baht for the seven new sets of rolling stock. As of mid-2014, a supplier had not been selected, but the SRT indicated its intention to invite bidders to tender for new rolling stock in September 2014. This was subsequently delayed with the SRT expecting to conduct an e-tender in April 2015 with a schedule to sign the contract by June 2015.
Stations
Future extensions
Extension to Don Meang Airport
Since its inception, the ARL was intended to be extended north to the new SRT Bang Sue Terminal (under construction) and ultimately Don Mueang Airport (DMK). This would use the SRT Red Lines (former BERTS) corridor. The 21.8 km extensionâ€"3.5 km underground and 18.3 km elevatedâ€"would consist of five stations beyond the current terminus at Phaya Thai: Chitladda Palace (underground), Bang Sue Intercity Terminal (under construction), Bang Khen, Laksi, and Don Mueang.
Originally, it was thought that work on the extension would not commence until after 2016. However, the Thai Cabinet designated a two-airport policy in March 2012 encouraging airlines, particularly low-cost carriers, to move to DMK. This resulted in an advance of the ARL extension timeline. The SRT budgeted for the extension in its 2013 budget and the 27 billion baht extension was planned to be tendered in the latter half of 2013. The political crisis in the last three months of 2013 and early-2014 delayed any further progress of the project. The military coup of May 2014 resulted in a military administration. It did not fund the project in 2014.
In February 2015, the Thai Cabinet approved a budget for land appropriation with the expectation that the extension would be tendered later in 2015.
Other extensions
Passive provision is being made for an extension of the rail link to a future second terminal at Suvarnabhumi Airport. The Suvarnabhumi second terminal station will be on ground floor before the Suvarnabhumi station that is on underground floor.
The ARL was intended to be the backbone of a future high speed rail line (HSR) to Chonburi and Rayong, scheduled to be completed by 2018. The military coup of May 2014 subsequently resulted in military administrators deferring all HSR line proposals.
Gallery
References
External links
- Airport Rail Link â€" official website (in English)
- Airport Rail Link, BTS, MRT & BRT network map
- "2Bangkok Airport Rail thread" Semi-regular updates, articles, pictures and commentary (In English)
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