'Missing link' service promised by August

'Missing link' service promised by August

Commuters queue for the free shuttle between train stations, with a
Commuters queue for the free shuttle between train stations, with a "missing link" line planned as early as next August. (Bangkok Post file photo)

The board of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) has approved a proposal to hire Bangkok Expressway and Metro Public Co (BEM) to operate a train service between Tao Poon station and Bang Sue station, a route known as the "missing link".

MRTA governor Peerayudh Singpatanakul said the board on Wednesday agreed to forward the proposal to the cabinet later this month. Once it is approved there, the MRTA board is expected to endorse the proposal and will begin the process of hiring the BEM in January, he said.

BEM is expected to take about six months to install the train operating system on this one-station section and another two months for the test run, before the service starts by August.

Previously, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha invoked his power under Section 44 of the interim charter to tackle the issue of the missing link between the Purple Line and Blue Line extension. The Purple Line is operated by the MRTA and the Blue Line by the BEM.

The 26km Purple Line which has been operating since August is supposed to run from Nonthaburi's Bang Yai to Bang Sue of Bangkok but it currently ends at Tao Poon station, 1km away from Bang Sue station, resulting in the missing link due to problems in the operating contract.

The order was to speed up and ensure "thorough operations" of the current Blue Line running on the Bang Sue-Hua Lamphong route and Blue Line extension on the Bang Sue-Tha Phra and Hua Lamphong-Bang Khae routes. The MRTA governor said 693 million baht had been set aside to hire BEM to install the one-station train connecting service and 52 million baht more for each year of the two-year contract to hire BEM to operate this missing link.

The rest of the MRTA-BEM negotiations regarding the operation of train services on the Blue Line extensions are expected to be concluded by next Friday, he said.

As for attempts to end the uncertainty surrounding the operation of train services on the Green Line's southern extended route (Bearing-Samut Prakan) and northern extension (Mor Chit-Saphan Mai-Khu Khot), Mr Peerayudh said it is likely the MRTA will lease the rail routes for a short time to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA).

But in the worst-case scenario -- if negotiations between the MRTA and the BMA end in a stalemate -- the MRTA could run the train service on the Green Line extended routes on its own, he said. "Of course, the BMA can hire BTS [the operator of Bangkok's skytrain] to run the Green Line extensions and I understand that. But the MRTA, too, can hire BTS directly," he said.

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