BEM may run express link for two years

BEM may run express link for two years

A Purple Line train at the maintenance centre in Bang Bua Thong district, Nonthaburi, on Dec 14, 2015. (Photo by Chanat Katanyu)
A Purple Line train at the maintenance centre in Bang Bua Thong district, Nonthaburi, on Dec 14, 2015. (Photo by Chanat Katanyu)

Authorities will propose to the cabinet that Bangkok Expressway and Metro Plc (BEM) run the Tao Pun-Bang Sue electric rail link for two years, instead of one.

The two stations are on different routes — Tao Pun station on the newly completed Purple Line and Bang Sue station on the in-service Blue Line — so the Transport Ministry is finding a way to ensure smooth travel between the two stations.

At a meeting between officials and BEM representatives, they agreed to allow BEM to run the service for two years, said Peerayudh Singpatanakul, governor of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority (MRTA), which oversees Bangkok’s electric railway transport.

He said the longer period will be more suitable to the MRTA’s plan to launch the two extensions of the Blue Line (Bang Sue-Tha Phra and Hua Lamphong-Bang Khae) between 2018 and 2019, when it expects many people using city rail systems.

In August this year, the 26-km Purple Line, linking Nonthaburi and Bangkok, is due to officially open.

However, the route with Tao Pun as its last station is not connected with the 20-km Blue Line which runs from Hua Lamphong to Bang Sue stations, so authorities wants to hire BEM to provide the link between the two stations.

BEM was formed recently by the merger of Bangkok Expressway Plc and Bangkok Metro Plc (BMCL), and it has been listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand since Jan 4 this year.

BMCL, the current Blue Line subway operator, was earlier awarded a 30-year concession by the MRTA to run the Purple Line.

Mr Peerayudh said officials have agreed to allocate two portions of budget for a new deal with BEM. A total of 693 million baht will go on the firm’s spending on signal, communication and ticket systems; and 104 million baht will be paid for its service and maintenance operations for two years.

A MRTA source said the company supports the plan. However, it wants the government to base its calculation of half of 104-million-baht payment, which will be paid in the second year, on the actual consumer price index.

Meanwhile, the MRTA insists on the need for a 94-billion-baht budget for the planned construction of the Orange Line (Thailand Cultural Centre-Min Buri), though the Transport Ministry wants it to trim the cost.

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