Bangkok Yellow Line: 5 key facts
As Bangkok’s elevated MRT Yellow Line monorail opens for a month of free trial rides from Saturday, an expert familiar with the project has unveiled five interesting facts about the line.
In a Facebook post on Friday, former Bangkok deputy governor Samart Ratchapolsitte listed the following five facts about the 30.4-kilometre monorail line that runs from Lat Phrao to Samrong:
1. Why monorail?
“Using a monorail instead of a heavy electric train is about 40% cheaper and helps the country save funds,” Samart said.
In the post, he explained that a “monorail” is an electric train system that uses only one rail or track with the train either supported or suspended from it. The first method is more popular.
A monorail carries fewer passengers than heavy electric trains used in the BTS and MRT routes, and has been chosen to cover the Lat Phrao-Samrong distance because the areas are not as densely populated, Samart said.
2. How many types of electric trains are being used in Bangkok?
There are three types of electric trains operating in the Thai capital, namely:
• Heavy electric trains run in five routes: The BTS Light and Dark Green Lines, the MRT Blue and Purple Lines, the SRT Light and Dark Red Lines and the Airport Link.
• APM (Automated People Mover): Available only in the Gold Line, the APM is an unmanned train with rubber wheels running on a concrete floor with a steel rain in the middle guiding the train.
• Monorail trains: Available in the Yellow Line and the yet-to-open Pink Line. Like the APM, monorail trains also do not require a driver and have rubber wheels running on a single track. It is ideal for narrow or sloped routes and requires a smaller structure to support. Since it carries fewer passengers, monorails are often used as a feeder transport to carry passengers to main lines.
3. Who operates the Yellow Line?
The Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTSC) and its partners won the concession to run the Yellow Line at a bidding price of 22.08 billion baht. It beat the only other bidder, Bangkok Expressway and Metro (BEM), by a huge amount. BEM had proposed 157.72 billion baht.
BTSC will operate the Yellow Line for 30 years.
Samart explained that the proposed price is calculated from the budget the operator asks from the Mass Rapid Transport Authority (MRTA) minus the revenue it will contribute to the authority.
4. What happens if the monorail train breaks down?
In case of an emergency, passengers must get off the train and walk on the galvanised steel walkway located between the tracks to the nearest station. Since the train is about 2 metres above the walkway, a stairway will be provided in case of emergencies.
Wheelchair users, however, will have to be carried down the stairs, Samart said.
5. Additional information
Samart said another benefit of the monorail apart from being cheaper to build is a lower chance of malfunction as it is an unmanned system. The train is also quiet thanks to its rubber wheels and will not contribute to the city’s noise pollution.
Samart reckons the MRTA should consider running an extension from Lat Phrao along Ratchadaphisek Road to join the BTS Green Line at Ratchayothin Station so the two transit systems can be seamlessly connected.
