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Suvarnabhumi Airport Express Train (Siemens Desiro Class 360/2)
City Line Train (Siemens Desiro Class 360/2)
The
Suvarnabhumi Airport Rail Link (
Thai:
รถไฟฟ้าเชื่อมท่าอากาศยานสุวรรณภูมิ, แอร์พอร์ตลิงก์ Airport Link) or
SARL, is a
rapid transit line in
Bangkok,
Thailand. The line provides as an
airport rail link from
Suvarnabhumi Airport, via
Makkasan city air terminal, to
Phaya Thai station in central Bangkok. Most of the line is on a
viaduct over the main eastern railway. It is owned by
State Railway of Thailand (SRT) and operated by SRT subsidiary
SRT Electrified Train (SRTET). Opened on August 23, 2010
[1], the 28.6-
kmroute is the fourth rapid transit line in Bangkok, after 2
BTS and 1
MRT line. Services consists of the Express Line, a 15-minute non-stop service between the Makkasan city air terminal and the airport, and the City Line, a
commuter rail service with 8 stations.
Inside City Line Train (Siemens Desiro Class 360/2)
[edit]History
The key airport link contract was signed in January 2005, and construction began in July 2005.
[2] The line is built by a consortium of
B Grimm,
STECONand
Siemens, and is owned and operated by
State Railway of Thailand (SRT). The estimated cost of the project is 25.9 billion
baht.
[3]The line is built largely along the same alignment as the failed
Bangkok Elevated Road and Train System (BERTS) project, 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.
[4]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 repeatedly delayed the project. Initial test runs were conducted in October 2009, with a free limited trial service open to the public running from April 2010 and full commercial service launched on 23 August 2010.
Passive provision is being made for an extension of the rail link to a future second terminal at Suvarnabhumi airport
[citation needed].
[edit]Operations
The ARL operates daily from 6:00 a.m. to 12 midnight, and both the City Line and Express Line trains depart every 15 minutes. Between 23 August 2010 and 3 January 2011, passengers were charged a promotional fare of 15 Baht or 100 Baht on the City Line and Express Line service, respectively. On 4 January 2010, a standard fare of 15 to 45 Baht or 150 Baht was introduced for the City Line and Express Line service, respectively.
Since 4 January 2011, baggage check-in service is offered to passengers travelling on flights operated by
Thai Airways International and
Bangkok Airways from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., daily. Passengers checking in at Makkasan station (the city air terminal) are required to purchase an Express Line ticket and check in at least 3 hours prior to flight departure, or up to 12 hours in advance.
[edit]Specifications
The
standard gauge line is 28.6 km long and is elevated, running above the existing eastern railway, with an underground terminal at the airport. Both non-stop
Suvarnabhumi Airport Express services and "stopping"
Suvarnabhumi Airport City Line commuter services are operated, with Express journeys taking 15 minutes and Commuter trips 27 minutes
[3]. East section of
SRT Light Red Line commuter rapid transit is also planned and will goes along eastern railway parallel to SARL with interchange connecting SARL at Phayathai, Makkasan and Hua Mak station.
Siemens supplied nine
Desiro Class 360/2 trainsets. The only significant difference from the UK units is a much larger air-conditioning pod on the roof, providing extra power to cope with the Thai climate. City services will be operated by five three-car trains, and the Express services by four trainsets with a fourth car for check-in baggage. The first trains left Germany in September 2007, and testing in Bangkok began in March 2008.
[6]The line is electrified at 25
kV AC. All stations were built to accommodate 10-car trains, and the express train platform of
Makkasan station and all platforms at
Suvarnabhumiare fitted with
platform automatic screen doors. The top speed is 160 km/h, but the short distances between the stations imply that commuter services don't reach that speed.
[2]At Makkasan and Suvarnabhumi, both lines have their own tracks and platforms. At Hua Mak the express line can bypass the city line.
[edit]Stations
[edit]See also
