Suvarnabhumi Airport Link
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This article or section contains information about a planned or expected public transportation infrastructure. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the construction and/or completion of the infrastructure approaches, and more information becomes available. |
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The Suvarnabhumi Airport Link is an airport rail link under construction from Suvarnabhumi International Airport to the planned City Air Terminal in Makkasan, Bangkok, Thailand.
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[edit] History
Construction of the line started in 2005. The line is being built by a consortium of B Grimm, STECON and Siemens, and will be owned and operated by State Railway of Thailand (SRT). The estimated cost of the project is 25.9 billion baht [1].
The line is built largely along the same alignment as failed Bangkok Elevated Road and Train System (BERTS), started by Hopewell but stopped in 1997 when only 10% had been completed. Some BERTS pillars stood in the way of the new system, and after extensive debate on their suitability for reuse and demands for compensation from Hopewell, SRT decided to demolish the pillars and build new ones[2].
While originally scheduled to be completed by 2006, the Hopewell debacle, an extended bidding process and a series of legal challenges from property owners who had encroached on SRT's land have delayed project. As of October 2006, the line is 44% complete and is expected to be ready for service in October 2008.
A second stage, continuing along the BERTS alignment from Phayathai north to Don Muang (site of Don Muang International Airport), is also planned.
[edit] Specifications
The line will be 28.6 km long and is elevated for most its length, running above existing right-of-way, with a short at-grade connection to the airport. Both non-stop Suvarnabhumi Airport Express services (known informally as the Pink Line) and stopping Suvarnabhumi Airport City Line services (the Red Line) will be operated. Siemens Desiro trainsets, capable of a speed of up to 160 km/h, will be used, with Express journeys taking 15 minutes and Commuter trips 27 minutes[1].
[edit] Stations
| Name | Express | City Line | Interchange |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suvarnabhumi Airport | X | X | |
| Lad Krabang | ¦ | X | |
| Ban Thabchang | ¦ | X | |
| Hua Mark | ¦ | X | |
| Ramkhamhaeng | ¦ | X | |
| Makkasan (City Air Terminal) | X | X | MRT Blue Line (Phetchaburi Station) |
| Ratchaprarop | X | ||
| Phayathai | X | BTS Sukhumvit Line (Phayathai Station) |
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Work starts on link to Bangkok's new airport". David Briginshaw, International Railway Journal, April 2005.
- ^ "Removing 25 unusable Hopewell pillars to make way for the Airport Link", Prachachat Thurakij, November 18, 2004
[edit] External links
- Airport Rail Link (official site, in Thai)
