The board of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) will be asked today to allow the agency to directly negotiate with the operator of the Blue Line to run two extensions to maintain operational consistency and fix the so-called missing link problem.
Board chairman Yodyuth Boonyathikarn said the proposal to hold talks with Bangkok Expressway and Metro Plc (BEM) came from a panel studying the Joint Public-Private Partnership Act, known as the PPP law.
The panel is chaired by MRTA deputy governor Pakapong Sirikantaramas.
If approved by the board, the proposal will be forwarded to the Public-Private Partnership Committee for approval this month, he said, adding that talks with BEM can begin after that.
Gen Yodyuth said the MRTA, which oversees Bangkok's electric railway transport system, wants to find an operator for the extended routes -- Bang Sue-Tha Phra and Hua Lamphong-Bang Khae -- as soon as possible. He said this would help solve the problem of the so-called Tao Pun-Bang Sue missing link when the 26-km Purple Line, linking Nonthaburi and Bangkok, opens.
If BEM is awarded a contract the Tao Pun-Bang Sue service can start running later this year, he said.
The MRTA has come under fire from Bangkok commuters due to the 1-km gap between Tao Pun station of the Purple Line and Bang Sue station of the Blue Line.
Under the plan, the Purple Line and the Blue Line will be linked at Tao Pun station when the Blue Line extensions open, tentatively in 2019.
MRTA governor Peerayudh Singpatanakul said free shuttle buses will be provided between Tao Pun and Bang Sue stations every five minutes.
Three buses with a carrying capacity of 240 passengers will be used per trip.
He added a free train service between the two stations also will be available every 15 minutes with three carriages provided for each trip.