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The Bangkok Metro, officially called the Mass Rapid Transit ('''MRT'''), is Bangkok 's underground Metro system. It was constructed by the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) and operated by Bangkok Metro Public Company Limited (BMCL) under a 25-year concession. The MRT is officially known in Thai as ''rotfaifah mahanakhon'' (รถไฟฟ้ามหานคร) or "metropolitan electric train", but it is more commonly called ''rotfai taidin'' (รถไฟใต้ดิน), literally, "underground train". Besides the MRT, Bangkok also has an elevated rail system called BTS or less officially the Skytrain . HISTORY The construction of the first Bangkok Metro line, officially known as Chaloem Ratchamongkhon (Thai สายเฉลิมรัชมงคล) – "Celebration of Royal Auspice" – or informally as the "Blue Line", began on 19 November , 1996 . The project suffered multiple delays not only because of the 1997 economic crisis, but also due to challenging civil engineering works of constructing massive underground structures deep in the water-logged soil on which the city is built upon. The Blue Line was opened for a limited public trial over several weeks starting and Queen Sirikit , who were accompanied by other members of the royal family. Within 30 minutes of its opening, sightseers filled the system to its maximum capacity, but after the initial rush ridership has settled down to around 200,000 riders daily — considerably lower than projections of over 400,000, despite fares being slashed in half from 12-38 baht to 10-15 baht per trip. As of 2006, fares range between 14-36 baht per trip. OPERATION The 21-kilometer, 18-station Blue line presently runs from Bang Sue to Hua Lamphong via Phra Ram 9 and has a carrying capacity of 40,000 people in each direction per hour. Similar to the Skytrain , the Metro uses trains supplied by Siemens which travel up to 80km/h. Passengers can conveniently connect to the Skytrain at Si Lom , Sukhumvit and Chatuchak Park stations. The metro has a large depot in Huai Khwang district, which is located between Phra Ram 9 and Thailand Cultural Centre stations. Considering that Bangkok is a low-lying plain which is prone to flooding, all of the Metro's station entrances are raised several metres above the ground level and are equipped with built-in floodgates in order to avoid water inundating the system. Lifts and ramps are found at all stations, providing easy access for passengers in wheelchair. Due to safety considerations, Platform Screen Doors are installed and uniformed security personnels are employed at each and every platform. The ticketing system uses the RFID contactless technology with round tokens issued for single trips and contactless stored value cards for frequent travellers. In the near future, a joint ticketing system will be set up so that passengers can use a single ticket on the Metro as well as on the Skytrain . Multi-storey park & ride facilities are provided at Lat Phrao and Thailand Cultural Centre . Motorists who park their cars at these premises will be issued with additional contactless smartcards and they need to have them electronically stamped at their destination station. CRASH On station. There were 262 people hurt, most of which sustained only minor injuries, and the entire Metro network was shut down for two weeks. After initial investigations, it was found that the empty train had run into problems before the accident, grinding to a halt on a curve leading to the depot. The driver applied its brake and was waiting to be towed to the maintenance centre close to Thailand Cultural Centre Station . A rescue train was attempting to connect to the stricken when the driver was told to release the brake. It was then the empty train began to roll backwards at a speed of 10 metres per second before smashing into the other train that was loaded with passengers. Therefore, it was believed that the incident was caused by negligence. {Link without Title} The Metro resumed full operation on February 1 , 2005 , and ridership soon rose back to pre-crash levels. LIST OF STATIONS
EXPANSION PLANS As indicated by the Thai Government, the Metro network will be continually expanded over the next 5 years in order to serve more commuters that reside in the suburbs. It is planned that, eventually, the combined route distance of the Metro alone will total 91km with 3 Metro lines covering all of the major areas of Bangkok. The Blue line, once completely extended, will form a lariat-shape loop that circles the city. The initial expansion plan can be summarised as follow:
# Bang Sue – Bang Phlat – Tha Phra (13km) # Hua Lamphong – Tha Phra – Bang Khae (14km)
Other expansion plan for the metro include:
Note that these plans do not include the extension proposed for the Skytrain . Maps of the proposed extension plans
EXTERNAL LINKS
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