Nine years after construction started, the dates for the first test runs of two extensions to the MRT Dark Blue Line have finally been set.
The opening of the extensions will make the Dark Blue Line the first circular line in Bangkok. This will make Bangkok a more connected city, opening new opportunities for development.
At present, the MRT Dark Blue Line is the second most popular mass transit line in Bangkok, with 19 trains carrying 350,000 passengers each weekday.
CBRE believes the number of its passengers will continue to grow as the line extends and more trains are introduced into the system.
Last year, Bangkok Expressway and Metro Plc (BEM) signed a contract to buy 35 more trains. They will be gradually added to the service, bringing the number of trains to 54 from 19.
By the end of 2019, four new trains will be added when the first extension from Hua Lamphong to Lak Song is opened, increasing the capacity to more than 400,000 passengers per weekday. Once the second extension from Tao Poon to Tha Phra is operational in 2020, eight more trains are scheduled to be added, increasing the capacity to 600,000 passengers per weekday.
Within the next five years, five lines under construction connecting midtown and suburban areas of Bangkok to the MRT Dark Blue Line, will be completed. They include the BTS Light Green Line (Mo Chit-Khu Khot), the Yellow Line (Lat Phrao-Samrong), the Light Red Line (Taling Chan-Bang Sue), the Dark Red line (Bang Sue-Rangsit) and the Orange line (Thailand Cultural Centre-Minburi). The first four lines are expected to be completed in 2021 and the Orange line is expected to be completed in 2024.
The completion of these five future mass transit lines will feed more passengers to the MRT Dark Blue Line while creating new nodes at interchange stations - Bang Sue, Lat Phrao, and Thailand Cultural Centre stations - where some developers have already planned to develop large-scale developments.
When all the five future lines are operational and planned large-scale developments are completed, all 35 new trains will need to be added into the system to match the increasing demand. With a total of 54 trains, the MRT Dark Blue Line will be able to handle nearly 1 million passengers per weekday, nearly tripling the current capacity.
Demand from this 1 million people will create new central business districts (CBDs) and key areas, especially at interchange stations, which will give valuable opportunities for property developments in the near future.
CBRE believes the expansion of the mass transit network will change how Bangkokians live, work and play and Bangkok will become a more defined city, with each corner connected to another by at least one mass transit line.
Pakapon Utaobin is an analyst at Research and Consulting, CBRE Thailand. She can be reached at bangkok@cbre.co.th Facebook: CBREThailand LinkedIn: CBRE Thailand LIine@: CBRE Thailand Twitter: @CBREThailand and website: www.cbre.co.th
