The Tao Pun and Bang Sue stations are finally ready to be connected on Aug 11 as authorities are certain the development will end the year-long unpopularity of the Purple Line.
Known as the "missing link", the 1.2km distance between the Purple Line's Tao Pun and the Blue Line's Bang Sue stations has been blamed for turning commuters away as they are forced to take a shuttle bus or a diesel-powered train to go from one staion to the other.
But once the new service opens, commuters of the two lines would be able to save at least 30 to 40 minutes in time spent changing modes of transport, while ticket prices would remain the same, Phakkhaphong Sirikantharamat, deputy governor of Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand, said after an MRTA board meeting Wednesday.
Passengers with MRT Plus cards will be charged from 14 baht to 29 baht while non-card holders are required to pay more, up to 42 baht depending on travel distance. A special flat rate of 15 baht will be continued for all commuters on weekends and holidays.
Mr Phakhaphong believes the new link will draw more commuters after the MRTA, which opened its Purple Line on Aug 6 last year, saw the number of commuters fall short of its target of 100,000 passengers a day. At present, the number stands only at 30,000, only a slight increase from 20,000 after the MRTA launched a discount campaign.
The diesel-powered train and shuttle bus services between the stations will be scrapped on Aug 4 and Aug 10 respectively. The missing link is viewed by the deputy governor as a "mistake" on the part of state agencies concerned with land appropriation.
The problem was later fixed when Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha exercised his power under Section 44 of the charter to speed up negotiations between the MRTA and Bangkok Expressway and Metro Plc (BEM), which operates the Hua Lamphong-Bang Sue Blue Line subway.
On Mar 28 this year, the cabinet resolved to hire BEM to install rail systems and run the 1.2km one-station service to connect the two stations, as well as the two Blue Line extensions: the Bang Sue-Tha Phra route and Hua Lamphong-Bang Khae route. The move makes BEM the sole operator of the original Blue Line, which links Hua Lamphong and Bang Sue, its two extensions and the linkage. The company has also been granted a concession period until 2092.
Having only a single operator will give the "most benefits" to people as they will not face inconvenience or get confused due to a need to possibly go through different ticketing systems offered by different companies, Mr Phakkhaphong said.
Better safety management for passengers is also expected as it is overseen by one operator, he said.
Mr Phakkhaphong added, his agency expects to draw a total of 800,000 commuters to the complete Blue Line due for 2020.