PM uses to Article 44 to resolve ‘missing link’

The order aims to make the MRT Blue Line and Blue Line Extension a ‘through operation’, running trains as in the same network, in a bid to benefit passengers. 

The Bangkok Expressway and Metro Plc (BEM), operator of the MRT Blue Line, is likely to get into the fast lane for participation in the operation of the Blue Line extension. 

The move follows a Cabinet resolution on May 3, which approved the missing link as part of the Blue Line extension. 

The Blue Line extension on the Bang Sue-Tha Phra and Hua Lamphong-Bang Khae routes, a total length of 20 km, is under construction. While the MRT Blue Line is now running on the Bang Sue-Hua Lamphong route.

The overlapping timeframe in the construction of the Purple Line and the Blue Line Extension, including the missing link, will further create problems for their operations.

The Purple Line, which is currently undergoing trial runs and is scheduled to begin operations in August, is supposed to be a feeder for the northern areas of Bangkok and to link with the Blue Line at MRT Bang Sue Station. 

But the 23km line ends at Tao Poon Station, a kilometre away from the MRT Bang Sue Station, resulting in the “missing link” or the so-called “tooth gap”.

According to the NCPO order 42/2016, the Blue Line Extension selection committee will end its duty in what it’s doing related to the Private Investments in State Undertaking Act BE 2556 (2013) or PPP law. 

The board of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority (MRTA) of Thailand was ordered to issue regulations on revenue sharing derived from ticket fares and other related benefits of the network’s connection for the MRT Blue Line and Blue Line extension. 

The new rules and regulations will be framed in consultation with the Transport Ministry, the Officer of National Economic and Social Development Board, State Enterprise Policy Committee, and the Anti-Corruption Cooperation Committee. 

“The MRTA is ordered to complete the new rules and regulations within 30 days of the order taking effect and submit them, including remarks by participating agencies, for approval to the Transport Ministry,” according to NCPO’s order.

The Transport Ministry was given 15 days to consider the process.

Thereafter, the Selection Committee and the Regulatory Committee will be given 30 days to complete their talks about the electrical system for the MRT Blue Line and Blue Line Extensionso that both have similar or well-matched ends of operation licensing. 

Following the order, the committees will then have to open talks with the MRT Blue Line’s operator to continue operating through the line’s extension. The timeframe for negotiating and fixing the contract with the operator is set at 30 days. 

In case the negotiations fail to conclude, the prime minister can extend the time. 

If the committees cannot reach a conclusion, the Transport Ministry will report to the Cabinet so that the Cabinet can set up a committee, comprising representatives from participating agencies, chaired by the Finance Ministry’s permanent secretary, to find a solution. 

When the negotiation and a draft of contract signing with private company come out, the selection process of a private company to participate in the Blue Line extension will be considered as it has already done under the PPP law. 

The Office of the Attorney-General will be given 30 days to scrutinise the draft.