Bangkok Metro
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| Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Info | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owner | Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Locale | Bangkok, Thailand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Transit type | Rapid transit | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of lines | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of stations | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Daily ridership | Over 300,000[citation needed] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Began operation | 3 July 2004 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operator(s) | Bangkok Metro PCL | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| System length | 20 km (12.43 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Bangkok Metro, officially called the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), is Bangkok's underground metro system. It was constructed under a concession concept. Most civil infrastructure were provided by the government sector, Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) and handed over to their concessionaire under a 25-year concession agreement. Bangkok Metro Company Limited (BMCL) is the only private sector company that won a bid in MRTA's concession contract for the blue line. As MRTA's concessionaire, BMCL provides M&E equipment, including electrical trains, signalling systems, SCADA, communication, PSD, etc for the subway project and fully operates the system. To maintain the system, BMCL has subcontracted in 10 years to Siemens which was the M&E system supplier since system opeing and 7 years maintenance contract to two local maintenance services for north and south line. The MRT line is officially known in Thai as rotfaifah mahanakhon (รถไฟฟ้ามหานคร) or "metropolitan electric train", but it is more commonly called rotfai taidin (รถไฟใต้ดิน), literally, "underground train". The metro has a fleet of 19 trains; the 19th train entered service in October, 2007 after a major accident.
Besides the MRT, Bangkok also has an elevated rail system called BTS or informally the Skytrain.
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[edit] History
The construction of the first Bangkok Metro line, officially known as Chaloem Ratchamongkhon (Thai สายเฉลิมรัชมงคล) – "Celebration of Royal Auspice" – or informally as the "Blue Line", began on 19 November, 1996. The project suffered multiple delays not only because of the 1997 economic crisis, but also due to challenging civil engineering works of constructing massive underground structures deep in the water-logged soil upon which the city is built.
The Blue Line was opened for a limited public trial period of several weeks starting on 13 April 2004. On 3 July 2004 the line was officially opened at 19:19 local time by HM King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit, who were accompanied by other members of the royal family. Within 30 minutes of its opening, sightseers filled the system to its maximum capacity, but after the initial rush ridership has settled down to around 180,000 riders daily — considerably lower than projections of over 400,000, despite fares being slashed in half from 12-38 baht to 10-15 baht per trip. From 2006 until 2008, fares ranged between 14-36 baht per trip. The fare was raised to 16-41 Baht on 1 January 2009.
[edit] Operation
The 21-kilometer, 18-station Blue line presently runs from Bang Sue to Hua Lamphong via Phra Ram 9 and has a carrying capacity of 40,000 people in each direction per hour. Similar to the Skytrain, the Metro uses trains supplied by Siemens which travel up to 80 km/h. Passengers can conveniently connect to the Skytrain at Si Lom, Sukhumvit and Chatuchak Park stations. The metro has a large depot in Huai Khwang district, which is located between Phra Ram 9 and Thailand Cultural Centre stations. Considering that Bangkok is a low-lying plain which is prone to flooding, all of the Metro's station entrances are raised about one metre above the ground level and are equipped with built-in floodgates in order to avoid water inundating the system. Lifts and ramps are found at all stations, providing easy access for passengers in wheelchairs. Stations have multiple passage ways (generally four) which allow passengers to connect to any corner of the adjacent surface intersection. Maps depicting the local area and exit points are posted on the walls on the way out. Due to safety considerations, platform screen doors are installed. Uniformed security personnel and security cameras are present at each and every platform.
19 three-car metro trains, of the Siemens Modular Metro type, are used. Each metro train consists of two motor cars and a centre trailer car.[1]
The ticketing system uses RFID contactless technology with round black tokens issued for single trips and contactless stored value cards for frequent travellers. In the near future, a joint ticketing system will be set up so that passengers can use a single ticket on the Metro as well as on the Skytrain. Multi-storey park & ride facilities are provided at Lat Phrao and Thailand Cultural Centre. Motorists who park their cars at these premises will be issued with additional contactless smartcards and they need to have them electronically stamped at their destination station.
[edit] Major accident record
On 17 January 2005, just after 09:15, an empty train returning to the depot collided with a peak-hour train filled with passengers at the Thailand Cultural Centre station. 140 people were hurt, most of whom sustained only minor injuries, and the entire Metro network was shut down for two weeks.
After initial investigations, it was found that the empty train had run into problems shortly before the accident, grinding to a halt on a curve leading to the depot. The driver applied its brake and was waiting to be towed to the maintenance centre close to Thailand Cultural Centre station.
A rescue train was attempting to connect to the stalled train when the driver was told to release the brake while coupling had not yet been successful. It was then that the empty train began to roll backwards at a speed of ten metres per second, before smashing into the other train, which was carrying passengers. Therefore, it was believed that the incident was caused by negligence due to insufficient training of operation staff.[2] This accident also resulted in two damaged trains with heavily damaged areas limited to the two leading cars. The colliding speed was suspected to be about 60 km/hrs due to the appearance of damaged areas. However, one train, which was rebuilt from the repair of the minor-damaged cars, was already fitted for operation at the end of 2006 and the remaining one was still under heavy repair until mid of 2007; it was released into service in October, 2007. The cost resulting from the accident might be a much higher figure than BMCL quoted, and it was expected to be at least 400 million baht, which was totally insured by a local insurance company. The accident was recorded as the most severe damage ever in any metro system in Thailand.
The Metro resumed full operation on 1 February 2005, and passenger numbers soon rose back to pre-crash levels, partly due to a temporary promotional fare scheme which allowed passengers to travel any distance on the MRT for only ten baht (~0.25 USD).
[edit] Underground malls
Passageways between exits have been setup as malls and are steadily opening, creating underground cities. This is ironic since food and drink is not allowed in stations.
[edit] List of stations
[edit] Blue Line
[edit] Expansion plans
| Blue Line | |
|---|---|
| Info | |
| System | Bangkok Metro (MRT) |
| Status | 18 stations built and extension of 21 stations is planned. |
| Locale | Bangkok, Thailand |
| Termini | Hua Lamphong Bang Sue |
| Stations | 18 |
| Operation | |
| Character | Underground |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 21 km (13.05 mi) |
Various expansion plans of the Metro have been proposed, but as of 2009[update], construction work has not started on any. It is planned that, eventually, the combined route distance of the Metro alone will total 91 km with 3 Metro lines covering all of the major areas of Bangkok. The Blue line, once completely extended, will form a lariat-shaped loop encircling the city.
The initial expansion plan can be summarised as follows:
- Blue Line extension:
- Bang Sue – Bang Phlat – Tha Phra (13 km)
- Hua Lamphong – Tha Phra – Bang Khae (14 km)
- Orange Line: Bang Kapi – Sam Sen – Bang Bamru (24 km)
- Purple Line: Bang Yai – Sam Sen – Rat Burana (40 km)
Other expansion plans for the metro include:
- Yellow Line: Lat Phrao – Sri Nagarindra – Samut Prakan
- Brown Line:Bang Kapi – Ramkamheang Road – Saen Saep (10 km)
- Pink Line:Saen Saep – Ram-Inthra Rd. – Chaeng Watthana Road – Tiwanon-Ngamwongwan Road intersection. (35 km)
[Note] that these plans do not include the extension proposed for the Skytrain, SRT Lines and airport link which is under the control of State Railway Thailand. BMCL itself expects to be the operator for the extension project and other lines but the final decision is still dependent on MRTA (government sector).
As per the BMCL's annual report, earning of profit from operation is still far away and BMCL is still subsidized by main share holder which is CH Karnchange. An accumulated deficit from now is estimated between 1,000 and 1,500 Million Bahts. Nevertheless, the deficit is partially mitigated by initial public offering and the earning per share is still giving with no hope to public share holder from now.
[edit] See also
| Bangkok Rapid Transit System | |
| BTS Sukhumvit Line | |
| BTS Silom Line | |
| MRT Blue Line | |
| Airport Link (under construction) | |
| MRT Purple Line (under construction) | |
| MRT Orange Line (planned) | |
| SRT Dark Red Line (planned) | |
| SRT Light Red Line (under construction) | |
| MRT Yellow Line (planned) | |
| MRT Brown Line (planned) | |
| MRT Pink Line (planned) | |
[edit] References
- ^ "Bangkok's first underground metro open". International Railway Journal. findarticles.com. July, 2004. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQQ/is_7_44/ai_n6131837. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4180109.stm
[edit] External links
[edit] Official sites
- Bangkok Metro Company Limited
- Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand
- http://www.bkkmrtmasterplan.com/
[edit] Unofficial sites
- Bangkok subway history at 2bangkok.com
- Bangkok Mass Transit
- The Modern Rail Based Mass Transit of Thailand (MRT and BTS photos)
[edit] Downloads
- Download the System Map of Bangkok Rail Transit Network in PDF format
- Download the Master Plan of Bangkok Transport Network in PDF format (includes proposed extensions)
- Download Unofficial Technical Data
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