Monorail lines near completion, booked for tests

Test runs for the Yellow Line monorail train in the Lat Phrao–Samrong section and the Pink Line monorail in the Min Buri-Khae Rai section will start in September.

Sorapong Paitoonphong, deputy permanent secretary of the Transport Ministry and acting director-general of the Department of Rail Transport, said the trial runs will be free of charge to the public for three months before commercial operations begin in December.

Both monorail services are under the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA). The Yellow Line is now 91.7% complete while the Pink line is 86.51% finished.

Mr Sorapong said the projects have been delayed due to the impact of Covid-19.

The two lines are expected to be ready in mid-2023, he said.

In the meantime, the Yellow Line service will partly open from Phatthanakan to Samrong stations while the Pink Line will be open from Min Buri to Laksi stations.

He said CRRC Puzhen Bombardier Transportation Systems Co shipped 50 trains for the two lines.

Mr Soraphong said the ticket fees for both monorail services will start at 14 baht and will not exceed 42 baht. The services can be linked to other MRTA services -- the Blue, Purple and Orange lines. Passengers will not need to pay any additional fees when connecting to these services.

For other mass rapid transit services, there will be negotiations to waive the connection fee of the Red Line of the State Railway of Thailand and the Green Line of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.