MRT to Tha Phra opens on Mother's Day

Sanam Chai is one of the new MRT stations on the Blue Line extension from Hua Lamphong to Lak Song. (Photo by Pawat Laopaisarntaksin)
Sanam Chai is one of the new MRT stations on the Blue Line extension from Hua Lamphong to Lak Song. (Photo by Pawat Laopaisarntaksin)

Mother's Day has been picked for the official launch of the MRT extension service from Hua Lamphong to Tha Phra before expanding to the last station a month later.

The Deputy Transport Minister confirmed that the official launch date of the Blue Line extension from Hua Lamphong to Tha Phra has been set for Aug 12.

Trial runs will start in July, according to the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA).

The MRTA governor said the Tha Phra-Lak Song section is scheduled to open in September this year. The Hua Lamphong-Tha Phra section is part of the extension to Lak Song.

Another extension, from Tao Pun to Tha Phra, will be operated by Bangkok Expressway and Metro Plc under the concession of the MRTA. It is expected to open in March next year after a test run starting December this year.

The MRT Blue Line, now running from Hua Lamphong to Tao Pun over a distance of 21km, transports 350,000 passengers a day. When all extensions are completed, user numbers should more than double to 800,000 a day.

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Vocabulary

  • concession: a right that is given to a person or group to do a particular activity - สัมปทาน
  • extension: something that is added to make something longer, bigger, etc. - การยืดออก, การยืดขยาย, การเพิ่ม
  • launch: an event held to announce or start selling a new product or service to the public - การเริ่มปฏิบัติการ, การออกตัวของสินค้า, การเริ่มวางขาย
  • scheduled: planned to happen at a particular time or day - ตามตารางเวลา
  • test run: one set or series of tests given at one time -
  • trial: a test, usually over a limited period of time, to discover how effective or suitable something or someone is - การทดลอง, การทดสอบ

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