HM the King ready to open city's new subway on July 3
Expected to serve at least 250,000 a day
Amornrat Mahitthirook
His Majesty the King will open Bangkok's new 20km-long subway on July 3 at the Hua Lampong station when the system begins operating with fares of 12 to 34 baht and service hours of 5am to midnight.
Subway trains will reach stations every 2-4 minutes during peak hours and every 4-6 minutes at other times.
Each train will have three cars and a capacity of 320 passengers. The system can carry 40,000 passengers an hour.
Sompho Sriphum, operations director of Bangkok Metro Co Ltd (BMCL), the subway concessionaire, said a team of independent engineers had approved the safety of the system after test runs in March and this month.
The subway is now 100% ready for service, he said.
The company is awaiting official approval from the Mass Rapid Transit Authority (MRTA).
He expected the Hua Lampong-Bang Sue subway to serve at least 250,000 passengers a day.
BMCL has 19 three-carriage trains. If daily traffic reaches 300,000 passengers, it will order at least five more trains.
MRTA governor Prapat Chongsanguan said that there would also be bus services between seven subway stations and suburban areas.
The 12-34 baht fares depend on the distance travelled and increase incrementally from 12 baht by two baht per station travelled to.
The fares are at a 15% discount to the subway's actual fare rates of 14-36 baht.
These rates will come into effect in the second year of the service.
This will make it even easier for me to get around tht city when I return in January 2005. The Skytrain is great and this is a wonderful addition to the ever growing mass transit system in Bangkok.
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