dsquared37

Had the express today in the opposite direction. And there is a down escalator at Phaya Thai from the platform but not from the ticket level. It's on the eastern end of the platform.

There is also a bunch of work being set up for the area between BTS and SARL though I don't know what the plans are. I wonder if it's just walkway coverage/protection for when the SARL extension commences.

And man can it get stifling at the top of the escalators.

transpac

I took the SARL from Phaya Thai to SBIA/BKK, and back to Makassan yesterday.

We had City Line train to the airport, and an Express train set back. The trains take the curve between the airport and Lat Krabang very, very, very slowly. My guess for intervals is ~ 20 - 25 minutes, perhaps based on much slower speeds, increased dwell times and passengers self-load/unload quite slowly.

We left many passengers standing on the platform in-bound from Hua Mark onwards, as there is limited room on the Express set, and so many people with massive amounts of luggage.

dsquared37

Indeed!

Yappofloyd

Cabinet approved the ARL extension to DMK in early Dec.

The tender might go out in the first half of 2015 with work starting by the end of 2015. A 4 year construction period is realistic.

Bidding for the much delayed 7 sets of rolling stock (5 cars) will go out in Jan.

estnet

The express line was totally shut and regular line was PACKED on Dec 31 mid day.

dsquared37

The express line hasn't been running since April.

transpac

Neighbors got stuck on the SARL on Sunday, 28 December. I guess the outtage lasted ~ 2 hours, two back-up supplies failed, but there was enough juice to limp each train to the nearest station.

Power break halts airport rail link

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/tran...port-rail-link

Tchiowa

ARL has been plagued with maintenance problems. I don't think the original marketing model worked for them, so their not getting the airport traffic they were hoping for. Thus not enough revenue. As with other short-sighted ventures around the world, they solve the revenue problem by not doing maintenance and making the problem worse.

Just my opinion.

estnet

actually there is a major problem with parts wearing out too fast and not enough replacements available (?brush bearings), problem surfaced long ago but apparently no solution yet so fewer trains in service

Ahhhhhh, I had forgotten

Tchiowa

Part of a proper maintenance system is RCA, Root Cause Analysis. Failing thrust bearings usually result from improper lubrication, misalignment or cheap parts. Had they done their maintenance and analysis properly they could have figured it out and resolved it a long time ago.

Unfortunately that type of maintenance is always on the cost side of the books, not the revenue side. Government officials tend to ignore maintenance.

whackyjacky

"Unfortunately that type of maintenance is always on the cost side of the books, not the revenue side. Government officials tend to ignore maintenance." ----Thais tend to avoid maintenance anyway. At condo meetings they usually reject paying for it. That's why many buildings seem to age so dramatically.

aBroadAbroad

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Why maintain it when you can just tear it down a build a new one?

Tchiowa

Unfortunately both right.

This is one of the areas where I consult in Thailand. Never worked in a country where it was so difficult to get people to understand the value of keeping your equipment in good running shape.

transpac

This is the last news I recall seeing re: required maintenance on rolling stock due to accumulated mileage (Km). One assumes that all sets are now well over their usage, and that the SRTET has started to scavenge parts, and run the trains a bit more slowly. (There may be other issues re: tracks, turnouts, etc.)

Airport Rail Link repair pushed back until late next year

BANGKOK, 14 August 2014 (NNT) - SRT Electric Train Co. operator has announced that the planned maintenance of Airport Rail Link trains has been postponed until October next year.

The announcement came after former deputy Bangkok governor Samart Ratchapolsitte had urged prompt overhaul of the trains for fear of possible accidents, as the fleet has passed the due date for checking.

Generally, trains are required to undergo major maintenance after running 1.32 million kilometers. The SRTET said all of the 9 trains on the rail link have been in service for 1 million kilometers.

The company is set to hold an auction for repair contracts for the trains on August 19. Maintenance work, which was due to begin in April this year, has been pushed back to late next year.

The maintenance programme is expected to cost around 380 million baht. In the meantime, the company will carry out repairs on the tracks first during midnight to 4AM.

The Ministry of Transport said all related agencies would meet later on today to discuss the details of the maintenance projects.

http://thainews.prd.go.th/centerweb/...C5708140010009



I guess there are plans to link Phaya Thai to Don Meuang Airport, and another link out to U-Tapao airport (from Makassan, Lat Krabang or Suvarnabhumi), but these are obviously years/decades away from operation.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/gene...-railway-links

nkedel

What's the current status of City Line service? Still running on the old schedule?