New BTS cars arrive
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The first batch of additional carriages for the Skytrain system reached Thailand yesterday, raising rush-hour commuters' hopes that they will be able to board the first train that reaches their station and not have to wait due to overcrowding.
During the rush hour, the Skytrain is sometimes so crowded that passengers face long queues and must wait for several trains to come and go before finally squeezing on.
“Now, each train has three cars. But we are going to increase that to four. This means each train will be able to accommodate up to 1,490 people, instead of just 1,106,” Surapong Laoha-unya said yesterday as the executive director of the BTSC, which operates the Skytrain system.
Four cars, manufactured by Siemens, reached Thailand’s Laem Chabang port yesterday. A total of 31 more Skytrain cars will be sent to BTSC by early 2013 under a Bt2.1-billion purchase contract.
“We will have to prepare a trial run for about two months. The additional cars will be put in service from late October or early November,” he said. Surapong disclosed that another contract inked with Changchun Railway Vehicles Company would see 20 cars sent to BTSC by the end of 2013.
Service on another Skytrain extension route will start in December 5 this year. This new route will run from Wongwian Yai to Bang Wa.
