Cabinet approves five Bangkok rail lines

Cabinet approves five Bangkok rail lines

The cabinet today approved a master plan to construct five new mass transit lines in Bangkok, one underground and four Skytrain-type lines.

Ministers instructed the Ministry of Transport to draft a detailed plan for the project, which calls for extending five rail lines in the capital -- known as purple, red, blue, light green and dark green.

The Purple line, which is to run from Bang Yai to Bang Sue, and the Red line from Rangsit to Makkasan via Bang Sue will come first.

Later, construction will take place on the Blue line from Hua Lamphong to Tha Phra and Bang Sue to Bang Khae, the Light Green line from National Stadium to Prannok, and from On Nut to Samut Prakan, and the Dark Green line from Mor Chit to Saphan Mai, and from Taksin to Bangwa.

It will be up to Transport Ministry to decide whether it will hold a bidding contest for the construction of all five routes, or one route at a time.

It is expected that the first bid for the rail construction will be held by early next year.

According to acting Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) governor Yiamchai Chatkaew, the Blue line will be the underground subway line while others will be those of skytrain.

Five electric train routes win backing

Total investment cost estimated at B165bn

AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK & PRADIT RUANGDIT
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Five electric train lines with a combined length of 118 kilometres and an estimated cost of 165 billion baht received official backing from the government yesterday, with construction set to be completed within six years.
The mass transit blueprint was part of a number of megaprojects initiated under the previous government that have survived the axe of recently-installed Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont.
However, while the previous administration of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra set the projects as state enterprises, Gen Surayud's cabinet yesterday said the rail lines would now be a joint state-private venture. The state will bear the cost of civil engineering work, designs and land expropriation while the private sector will be invited to invest in trains and signalling systems.
Maitree Srinarawat, director of the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning, an agency under the Transport Ministry, said the state could not afford to bear all the costs of the mass transit projects.
The approval in principle of the five routes are the Blue, Red, Dark Green, Light Green and Purple lines.
Gen Surayud said the government would be open to public opinion on the train projects over the next two months, and in January would incorporate suggestions into its final plan on the railway lines.
The government would like to sound out public opinion on the environmental impacts of the railway lines and the suitability of the proposed routes, he said.
Transport Minister Theera Haocharoen said the government would find ways to keep fares at affordable levels and prevent an operator's monopoly.
The construction of some railway lines should start within the next year while the Finance Ministry will consider the proportion of loans and state funds to pay for the construction, he added.
Mr Maitree said the Purple line and a section of the Red route from Bang Sue to Taling Chan would be the first to be built because the study and design of the two routes were already complete.
According to Adm Theera, Gen Surayud stressed that the project implementation must be undertaken in a transparent manner. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Pridiyathorn Devakula said that finishing railway designs before inviting bids would be an effective way to prevent corruption in the multi-billion-baht railway project.
If the public do not oppose the five railway lines, Pridiyathorn said the terms of reference and other bidding documents should be available for interested parties by March. The government also approved a budget for the feasibility studies and designs of the other railway lines. The Mass Rapid Transit Authority is responsible for the designs of the Purple and the Blue lines, the State Railway of Thailand for the Red line and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration is in charge of both the light and dark Green routes.

about fucking times.

Bangkok is 10 years behind in terms of public transport development. What have they been doing for the last 5 years ?

don't you just love the way they all go out toward DM...

yeah, saw that :D

That's what I call effective planning

that's what I call 5 to 10 years behind :)

Construction of Purple Line Rail Project to commence on 10 Sept : National News Bureau of Thailand

Construction of Purple Line Rail Project to commence on 10 Sept

BANGKOK, 2 September 2010 (NNT) – The Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) will commence the construction under the 2nd contract of the Purple Line Rail Project on 10 September.

MRTA announced on Thursday that Sino-Thai Engineering & Construction Public Company Limited will commence the construction of the second line contract of the Purple Line Project, Bang Yai - Bang Sue Section, starting on 10 September.

The laying of foundation pile will begin at Bang Yai market. Therefore, the traffic island in the middle of Kanchanapisek Road will be closed for a distance of one-kilometer. The construction will also take up one of each inbound and outbound lanes, starting at the Khlong Thanon area to Big C Rattanathibet.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/loca...or-purple-line

Subway operator has eye for Purple Line

• Published: 29/11/2010 at 12:00 AM
• Newspaper section: News

Bangkok Metro Plc has decided to put in a bid to run a section of the new Purple Line subway.

The company believes its experience in operating the existing MRT service and its attractive bid would enable it to win the contract.

BMCL managing director Sombat Kitjalaksana said the result of the tender, to be announced by the State Railway of Thailand on Feb 24, would be decided by price rather than the bidders' technical knowledge of the service.

Mr Sombat said BMCL, which operates the MRT from Hua Lampong to Bang Sue, should easily meet the requirements for technical knowledge - but so should its rival, skytrain operator Bangkok Mass Transit System Plc (BTS).

BMCL has begun working on its bid and has been talking to electric train manufacturers across the world to find a supplier should it win the contract.

The government is looking for a private company to operate the Klong Bang Phai-Tao Pun section, part of the 23km Purple Line that will connect Bang Sue and Bang Yai.

The winning bidder will be given the contract to operate the service and maintain the trains, but the fares will be set by the government.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2010...-30143432.html

Skytrain's Soi Baring extension to run in August

By By Jeerawan Prasomsap
The Nation
Published on November 30, 2010
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The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) yesterday signed a contract to have Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS) operate the 5.25km-long Skytrain extension from On Nut to Soi Baring in exchange for Bt647.1 million per year.

Prapanpong Vejjajiva, director of Krungthep Thanakom - a BMA enterprise - and BTS President Khiri Kanchanapas signed the contract in front of BMA deputy governor Theerachon Manomaipibul.

BTS chief operating officer Surapong Laoha-Unya said that, under this one-year contract worth Bt647.1 million (including VAT), the company would provide trains to serve commuters on the extension from On Nut to Soi Baring, which would be officially open for public use from August 12, 2011 onwards.

After the contract ended, they would discuss about renewal - possibly for another 19 years, equal to the remaining period of Sukhumvit and Silom lines' concession granted BTS by the city.

Following this contract signing, BTS would buy 35 more bogies from Germany-based Siemens for Bt2 billion to run on the Sukhumvit line and this extension. Also a previous order remains for 12 trains (totalling 48 bogies) from China that would operate on the Silom line.

BTS will collect all fares for the BMA for this extension but not pocket them - because BTS already has received the city's payment for its operating service. It was expected that 100,000 people would use it per day in the first year.

Affirming that BTS was financially strong enough to run the city's Skytrain extensions if approved in future, Khiri said the firm planned to issue a convertible bond of Bt10 billion on the foreign currency market - following the domestic bond worth Bt12 billion it issued last August.

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Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/loca...or-purple-line

Subway operator has eye for Purple Line

• Published: 29/11/2010 at 12:00 AM
• Newspaper section: News

Bangkok Metro Plc has decided to put in a bid to run a section of the new Purple Line subway.

The company believes its experience in operating the existing MRT service and its attractive bid would enable it to win the contract.

BMCL managing director Sombat Kitjalaksana said the result of the tender, to be announced by the State Railway of Thailand on Feb 24, would be decided by price rather than the bidders' technical knowledge of the service.

Mr Sombat said BMCL, which operates the MRT from Hua Lampong to Bang Sue, should easily meet the requirements for technical knowledge - but so should its rival, skytrain operator Bangkok Mass Transit System Plc (BTS).

BMCL has begun working on its bid and has been talking to electric train manufacturers across the world to find a supplier should it win the contract.

The government is looking for a private company to operate the Klong Bang Phai-Tao Pun section, part of the 23km Purple Line that will connect Bang Sue and Bang Yai.

The winning bidder will be given the contract to operate the service and maintain the trains, but the fares will be set by the government.

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Does anyone else find this approach a bit worrying, price before expertise, especially when the winning bidder will be given a contract to operate and maintain the trains? OK you can reassure the public over corruption (wasn't the purple line subject to some discussion in the no confidence vote earlier this year?) as allegedly you will be getting the cheapest price. However if profits are to be made surely maintenance will take a back seat, let alone expertise, to run the system.

http://www.tannetwork.tv/tan/ViewData.aspx?DataID=1038063

Bid Deadlines Pushed Back for Red-Line Rail Project

UPDATE : 2 December 2010

The State Railway of Thailand has extended the deadline for bid submissions for the construction of the 26 kilometer section of the Red Line rail route, between Bangsue and Rangsit for another two weeks.

State Railway of Thailand or SRT Governor Yutthana Tapcharoen said the deadline for submitting bid documents for the Red Line rail project has been put off for two weeks.

He said the deadline for the first contract, which involves the construction of Bangsue Station and a maintenance depot, is postponed to be on December 13, while the new submission deadline for bids for the construction of the route from Bangsue to Rangsit is December 14.

Yutthana noted that the January 17 deadline remains for the third contract, which covers the installation of electrical and mechanical systems as well as train procurement.


The SRT governor explained that the delays are because the agency has yet to clarify project details and procedures with prospective bidders, as well as ensured that all questions have been answered, so that all parties have the same understanding when the bidding takes place.

This is Thai Fiddling their fingers to the absurd.
The On-nut infrastructure has been in place for over 2 years and only now they agree with BTs to run the system.
Similarily the Wong Wian Yai to Petkhasem infrastructure has been in place for the last year or more, but no agreement for anyone to provide the trains etc.
At this rate all those pink,green,red,blue,orangeor purple lines should be complete by 2020. At least the infrastucture will and then allow another 5 years for someone to put bloody trains on the tracks.

http://www.tannetwork.tv/tan/ViewData.aspx?DataID=1038729

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Transport Minister Presses Forward with New MRT Routes Projects

UPDATE : 21 December 2010

The Transport Ministry is pressing forward with the construction project of the new MRT routes, estimated value of more than 100 billion baht.

Permanent-Secretary of the Transport Ministry Supoj Saplom, who is also the president of the Mass Rapid Transit or MRT, has announced that starting from next year, the ministry will compose data on the construction project of 3 MRT routes consisting of the Pink Line, Pakkred to Nonthaburi, Orange Line, Bang Kapito Thailand Cultural Center and the Purple Line, Taopoon to Wang Burapha.

The total cost of the project has been estimated to be at 106 billion baht.


The transport ministry will also initiate the construction bidding process for the Green Line, Mo Chit to Saphan Mai and the Light Green Line, Bearing to Samutprakarn in January.

Interested construction companies could make their bids for the Light Green Line then.

Meanwhile, the environment impact assessment is being conducted for the construction of the Green Line, while its bidding process is expected to begin in mid 2011.

Meanwhile, the construction project of the Blue Line, Hua Lamphong to Bang Kae, which has previously been suspected of corruption in the bidding process, is now being reviewed by the prime minister.

If no irregularity is found in the project plan, the construction company will approve the project by the last week of this year.

http://www.tannetwork.tv/tan/ViewData.aspx?DataID=1039040

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Cabinet Approves Joint Venture for Construction of MRT Blue Line

UPDATE : 29 December 2010

The Cabinet has approved a private joint venture for the construction of the MRT Blue Line's Hua Lamphong-Bang Kae and Taopoon-Tha Phra sections.

Yesterday, the Cabinet approved a private joint venture for the construction of the MRT Blue Line's Hua Lamphong-Bang Kae and Taopoon Tha Phra sections, in the form of a public private partnership, as recommended by the National Economics and Social Development Board under the Transport Ministry's guideline.

According to the agreement, the government will take on the total construction cost, while private contractors will be responsible for the installation of the electrical system, the procurement of trains, and maintenance.


The state will also be responsible for revenue collection and private contractors will be reimbursed in the form of salaries and maintenance fees.

The joint venture project will be overseen by the Mass Rapid Transit and the Transport Ministry.

The Cabinet also approved 448 million baht to retain service and security system consultants to ensure the security of the new line before opening for the public.

The budget will be allocated by the Finance Ministry and the Budget Bureau.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/tran...a-better-place

3 years of traffic hell, and then Bangkok will be 'a better place'

• Published: 4/01/2011 at 12:00 AM
• Newspaper section: News

People in Greater Bangkok are being warned of "nightmare" traffic jams for the next three years as construction on at least seven railway lines gets into full swing.

Long-distance commuters can expect to spend four to six hours a day commuting until 2014, said Soithip Trisuddhi, director of the Transport Ministry's Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning.

Tenders for the electric train projects, preparation of construction sites and partial construction will start this year. Work on at least five new projects will begin late in the year, in addition to the two that have already begun.

Bangkok is expected to have 236 kilometres of electric train lines and most railway crossings will be replaced by flyovers by 2015, Ms Soithip said.

"Bangkok in 2015 will be a better place to live. It will be totally different from what it is today," she said.

"Railway crossings will become flyovers and people will have electric trains as their choice of travel, and the trains will cover much wider areas.

"But prior to that point, people in the capital may have to suffer severe hardship, so I apologise for that beforehand."

Ms Soithip said construction of the Purple Line from Bang Sue to Bang Yai and the Red Line from Bang Sue to Taling Chan was under way. Construction of the Red Line from Bang Sue to Rangsit will start after August.

Construction of the Green Line from Soi Baring to Samut Prakan and from Mor Chit to Saphan Mai will begin late this year, and the Pink Line from Khae Rai to Pak Kret will be accelerated so construction can begin this year.

Next year may see the start of work on the Blue Line from Bang Sue to Tha Phra and Hua Lamphong and the Purple Line from Bang Sue via the new parliament house in Kiakkai to Wang Burapha.

Bang Sue railway station will be upgraded to become the hub for most of the electric train services, including the Airport Rail Link and commuter trains.

Ms Soithip said the Purple Line from Bang Sue to Bang Yai would be ready in 2014. The Red Line from Bang Sue to Taling Chan and from Bang Sue to Rangsit would open in 2015.

The Blue Line from Bang Sue to Tha Phra and from Hua Lamphong to Bang Khae would start operations in 2016. The Pink Line from Khae Rai to Nonthaburi would be accelerated so it could be completed in either 2014 or 2015.

Under its 10-year electric railway master plan, the planning office foresees greater Bangkok having a combined 391km of electric railway lines by 2019.

By that time, extended sections of existing electric railway projects would be completed.

They include the Red Line that would extend from Rangsit to Thammasat University's Rangsit campus and from Bang Sue via Phaya Thai to Makkasan, the Green Line from Saphan Mai to Khu Khot, the Purple Line from Wang Burapha to Rat Burana, the Airport Rail Link from Phaya Thai via Bang Sue to Don Mueang, and the Orange Line from Taling Chan via the Thailand Cultural Centre to Min Buri.

For the Orange Line, the Din Daeng-Bang Kapi section would open in 2016, the Bang Kapi-Min Buri section in 2018 and the Taling Chan-Thailand Cultural Centre section in 2019.

By 2019, electric railway lines should cover a catchment area of 525 square kilometres and serve 3.8 million commuters a day.

The planning office expects all 12 electric railway projects for greater Bangkok to be completed in 2029. They will have a combined distance of 509km, cover a catchment area of 680 square kilometres and serve 5.1 million commuters a day.

Any links to maps of the proposed lines anywhere?

http://web.mac.com/witpim/Wits_site/Welcome_files/work01.pdf

^^This is the ''If there was no corruption'' map of all existing and proposed lines.

For some reason, the San Saeb canal is marked too.

^ Cheers

http://2bangkok.com/2bangkok/MassTra...asterMap.shtml

Has all the maps etc you can download the pdf things etc

http://www.tannetwork.tv/tan/ViewData.aspx?DataID=1039509

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Transport Min Eyes Purple Line Launch in 2014

UPDATE : 12 January 2011

The transport minister is satisfied with the progress of the Purple Line electric train construction and is confident the service can be launched by 2014.

Transport Minister Sophon Sarum reported the construction Purple Line Bangyai-Bangsue of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority sees a 20 percent completion so far, which is about two percent faster than scheduled.

Therefore, he is confident that the service can be launched by 2014 as scheduled and there will be no delays to this line like that seen with the Airport Rail Link.


The ministry will be spending a total of 400 million baht, earlier slated to be use to study a Blue Line extension by the Samak Sundaravej administration, on feasibility studies of the Pink Line section from Pakkred to Suwintawong, the Orange Line section from Talingchan to Thailand Cultural Center, and the Purple Line section from Tao Poon to Ratburana.

Sophon added the Pink Line service is next in line for construction.

Meanwhile, the minister said the State Railway of Thailand and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration are working to find an agreement on issues related to the Green Line extension from Baring to Samutprakarn.

He gave assurance that construction progress will not be affected should there be any change of agencies that supervise the project.

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Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

The transport minister is satisfied with the progress of the Purple Line electric train construction and is confident the service can be launched by 2014.

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They are quite fast at putting up the concrete structure and the elevated tracks. It is small details such as purchasing signals and deciding who runs the network that will slow it down.

don't you just love the way they all go out toward DM...

What does DM stand for? Some of us that are not part of the "in" crowd may not know.

-

http://www.tannetwork.tv/tan/ViewData.aspx?DataID=1039664

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MRT Announces Purple-Line Commercial Plan

UPDATE : 17 January 2011

The MRT president has announced commercial development plans for the Purple Line that will run from Bang Yai to Bang Sue, pointing out that only one bidder will be granted commercial rights to stations on the line.

Permanent-Secretary of the Transport Minister Supoj Saplom, who is also the president of the Mass Rapid Transport, or the MRT Company, has announced commercial development plans for the Purple Line: Bang Yai-Bang Sue, pointing out that initially the company was planning to grant commercial rights for all of the stations on the line to a single concessionaire.

However, Supoj said it is more appropriate for concessions to be awarded as a single contrac since the number of passengers varies from station to station.


All of the revenue generated from the Purple Line's commercial contracts will be collected by the MRT since the line will be managed under a public private partnership, in which the state will be responsible for rail construction costs, while procurement and maintenance of the trains will be handled by the private sector.

The revenue will be collected by the state and then reimbursed to the private contractor in form of salaries and fees.

It is expected that the selection of the concessionaire will be done within the next 3 to 4 months and that trains will be procured and installed within the next two years.

It has been reported that construction of the MRT Purple Line: Bang Yai-Bang Sue is about 20 percent complete and 1 to 2 percent ahead of schedule.

The transport ministry has also confirmed that construction will be finished and the line will be open for service by 2014.

http://www.tannetwork.tv/tan/ViewData.aspx?DataID=1040353

Land Hitch Delays New Skytrain Line

UPDATE : 3 February 2011

The Transport Ministry permanent secretary says the launch of the Red Line BTS train service from Bang Sue to Taling Chan is likely to be postponed after problems concerning land expropriation caused a significant delay in construction.

Transport Ministry Permanent Secretary Supoj Sublom disclosed that progress in the construction of the Red Line Skytrain, connecting Bang Sue with Taling Chan, is around 50 percent completed, which is about 20 percent less than scheduled.


He noted the delay was a result of problems concerning the expropriation of land at Rama VI, Wat Sao Hin and Si Nam-ngoen communities.

Supoj added he has ordered the State Railway of Thailand to assign Unique Engineering and Construction, which is contracted for the construction, to negotiate with the residents and ask them to move out by the end of this month.

The permanent secretary also discussed progress in the construction of the Purple Line underground train system, saying the construction is around 19 percent completed, which is about one percent more than expected.

As a result, he believes that the Purple Line will be operational in December 2014 instead of early 2015.

As for the road link between the Bang Pli-Suksawat Expressway and the Industrial Ring Road which is being constructed, Supoj said the project is expected to be completed in June.

This road link is expected to help facilitate traffic in southern Bangkok and ease congestion in nearby areas.

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Originally Posted by who

What does DM stand for?

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I assume they meant Don Muang i.e the old international airport.