New BTS lines

[runner]

This will make bkk a whole lot better

I was at Bang Wa BTS station today and saw a new line semi completed. They are also intensively working on the miles of long abandoned concrete structures above the Don Meuang railway line

[Mr Earl]

I was wondering what that construction was about.

Anyone know what's going on around Hua Lamphong train station? There's been a big project there going on for months.
I'd love to see that MRT system extention into Chinatown.

[runner]

Looking at that map, it'sthe same line I saw at Bang Wa

[Bettyboo]

That map looks strange to me...

Some of the lines (blue) look to be MRT lines, but I've seen the stations and track as per BTS...

It just looks generally confusing, even if it (any of it) does ever get built.

Having said that, the BTS and MRT are good. Even the train to Swampy is good - if they could all be integrated well and work smoothly that'd be fantastic.

[Seekingasylum]

if they could all be integrated well and work smoothly that'd be fantastic.

I shouldn't hold your breath.

They fell at the first hurdle when they plumped for an overhead system in the inner city instead of a subway. The Skytrain is intrusive, inefficient, inconvenient and, in this heat, an unrelenting, ghastly obstacle course.

Utter disaster for any inner city but since environmental factors and aesthetics mean little to the Thai I suppose it doesn't matter. The problem is that any significant development along the BTS route insists that it be connected by walkways to it. This exacerbates the adverse impact upon the environment around it, increasing ambient heat levels, depriving the lower areas of natural light, amplifying noise levels and making the city even uglier than it is.

[nidhogg]

Oh God, I hope that is true and coming soon.......would be frigging awesome for me...

[jaiyenyen]

Can't wait to get that Lam Luk Ka extension, but I reckon it'll be a good few years before it's built.

[terry57]

The Skytrain is intrusive, inefficient, inconvenient and, in this heat, an unrelenting, ghastly obstacle course.

Bolliks to that Thegent, the Skytrain is highly efficient, convenient, safe and clean.

Back in Pomgolia it would of been targeted by graffiti artists on its first outing.

The public transport MRT BTS is simply outstanding in Bangkok and these new lines will be a great success.

[boloa]

The public transport MRT BTS is simply outstanding in Bangkok and these new lines will be a great success.

Yes a very good system that makes travelling around BKK very easy

[Seekingasylum]

The Skytrain is intrusive, inefficient, inconvenient and, in this heat, an unrelenting, ghastly obstacle course.

Bolliks to that Thegent, the Skytrain is highly efficient, convenient, safe and clean.

Back in Pomgolia it would of been targeted by graffiti artists on its first outing.

The public transport MRT BTS is simply outstanding in Bangkok and these new lines will be a great success.

Jesus, use your imagination. Can you think what Paris, London, Hong Kong, Singapore would be like if the entire city centres were infested with snaking ribbons of thousands of tons of fucking concrete 100 feet above street level supported by marching columns of pillars every fucking 300 metre or so and the noise of 200 tons worth of train carriages every 4 minutes ?

It's an environmental disaster destroying any city. Given a choice, only a fucking cretinous city council would ever choose the Skytrain system over a subway.

[taxexile]

^
true, but the exercise one gets by walking up 4 flights of stairs three or four times a day is very beneficial.

[aging one]

Many cities have elevated rail lines.

• 
  
  Green Line train in Downtown Chicago.
  
  

• 
  
• 
  
  Chinatown station in Los Angeles.
  
  
• 
  
  A Queens bound 7 train in New York City.
  
  
• 
  
  Elevated section of the Docklands Light Railway in London.
  
  

[runner]

Only because it is cheaper than tunneling. London is currently building many miles of new tunnels

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...y-through.html

[thaimeme]

The Skytrain is intrusive, inefficient, inconvenient and, in this heat, an unrelenting, ghastly obstacle course.

Bolliks to that Thegent, the Skytrain is highly efficient, convenient, safe and clean.

Back in Pomgolia it would of been targeted by graffiti artists on its first outing.

The public transport MRT BTS is simply outstanding in Bangkok and these new lines will be a great success.

Indeed it is, Ter....
Could be worse - can't imagine one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world without an extensive system such as this.

Relieves the burden somewhat.
Chaos without it.

[Humbert]

Elevated systems usually turn a profit faster. Underground systems often times require taxpayer subsidies for a long time.

[VocalNeal]

Funny how it looks like the London Underground map

[Mr Earl]

or the Paris Metro

[taxexile]

the Skytrain is highly efficient, convenient, safe and clean.

safe and clean maybe, but efficient ? no.

there are not enough carriages, leading to severe overcrowding, and the layout of the stations are poorly thought out, leading to continual congestion at the busier stations as passengers going one way meet passengers going the other way, and crowding as they queue up to access escalators and ticket dispensers.

the ticketing arrangements are nothing more than a badly thought out shambles, with ticket prices involving inconvenient amounts necessitating lining up to change money before lining up again, blocking passenger traffic, to buy the ticket.

access for the disabled is pretty much non existent, and lugging a suitcase or a pram up 4 flights of stairs when the temperature is 35C is hardly convenient either.

the ugliness of the project and the streets when viewed from ground level has already been mentioned.

[Hans Mann]

I'd venture that all mass transit maps look the same because they're largely made up of coloured lines and hard to read text.

[terry57]

true, but the exercise one gets by walking up 4 flights of stairs three or four times a day is very beneficial.

Not only that but Thegent overlooks the brilliant aspect of the walkways it provides directly into the buildings, shopping centers and between stations plus the shade provided underneath.

The system works brilliantly. Another huge plus is that it provides people with a birds eye view of the city.

The Subway is boring as shit.

[terry57]

Safe and clean maybe, but efficient ? no.

The ticketing arrangements are nothing more than a badly thought out shambles .

access for the disabled is pretty much non existent.

The ugliness of the project

Firstly, If you travel in peak time it is rammed full same as every public system in the world. Be smart and time your travel off peak.

Secondly, Buy yourself a pass, Jesus that ain't hard is it ??

Thirdly, Access is available for the disabled via a lift.

Fourthly, Ugly my Ass, the system looks good and maintained spotlessly.

[taxexile]

Be smart and time your travel off peak.

should everybody then be smart and travel off peak?

[terry57]

^

If you cannot travel off peak that's just tough luck innit, the situation is the same in every country in the world at Peak time.

To call the Transport system of Bangkok to be flawed simply because its maxed out at peak time is not being objective or realistic.

[runner]

Having to change notes to coins in one queue and then queue up to buy a ticket is a joke. I use a pass but seeing and getting through the 10 metre long queues somewhere like Asoke from 4pm to 8pm is shocking.

I am wondering why the mid level areas in the MRT don't have cafes etc. They are the size of a small shopping centre and completely empty.

[toddaniels]

Terry; ease off the sauce some and fer christsakez take off your frickin' rose colored glasses every once in a while! You're starting to sound like those thai apologists on the "other forum"!!

Unfortunately, everyone can't have the luxury you do (doin' fuck all here) and some of us actually have to be some where at a specific time!

The MRT (18 stations), the BTS (13 stations on the Silom line & 22 stations on the Sukhumvit line) or the Airport Link (8 stations) are NOTHING to brag about in a city this size with the population density it has! The coverage is minimal, and some stations are totally nonsensical in their placement (MRT - Khlong Toey for instance).

The two main systems aren't even compatible! They were bragging a while back about both the MRT & the BTS using the same card. However, the two companies which own them evidently couldn't find the technology that tells them which customer paid where, so the deal stalled out. Now even a semi intelligent person might ask if the MRT can have coin-op machines which take bills why can't the BTS

They were poorly planned, they were rife with corruption, they ran crazy over budget and they are poorly run. During rush hour comin' into and getting outta town is a night mare.

As big as this country is on talk and as slow as they are on actually getting shit done. I don't think we're gonna see substantial increases to the lines in our lifetimes.. They've been workin' away like crazy for eons....

How late did the linez out to Bearing or across the river at Saphan Taksin open from their "optimistic estimated completion dates"?

Christ they still can't decide what do to at Saphan Taksin because there's only one rail line across the river instead of two like everywhere else.. First they're gonna close it, then widen it..

Either you travel on them in your off peak times not all that far or you're in another Bangkok Thailand than I am..