Skytrain Airport Link ...

[joekicker 53]

I can't tell you it's a hike though, because I saw where the platform was being built when using the Petchaburi access to the MRT.

 

You're going to get a lot of pin-exercise for the alleged convenience of this Airport Link. And Suvarnabhumi is already very hiking-friendly just to and from the blasted gates. I advise you check the Bangkok city map very carefully before you commit to this airport train. MOST people are going to be taking a taxi at the end of the train-riding anyhow. Virtually all others will be taking at least two trains -- the airport one plus either a BTS or subway. It will be rare to get on at the airport and get off anywhere near your hotel. It will be rare to save as much as 100 baht on the taxi fare direct from the airport to hotel. Check how well placed your hotel is to the trains before you start the long walk to the train, dragging your bags behind you.

 

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[teelack 9,278]

Brilliant. Dump your case for 100 baht at the airport and then a 100 baht for a return day trip to Bangers. What a bargain on your final day in town.

[joekicker 53]

Brilliant. Dump your case for 100 baht at the airport and then a 100 baht for a return day trip to Bangers. What a bargain on your final day in town.

 

teelack, 100 baht gets you one way to a place called Makkasan. It's in Bangkok all right, but it's a rail yard. You'll need to take the local train (which can actually be less than 100 baht one way) or the 100-baht train and a taxi, or the train and a Skytrain, or the train and one hell of a walk to get to anywhere worth being.

 

But it's only one way.

 

 

Here is some current info from today's Bangkok Post.

 

 

 

 

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Edited August 22, 2010 by joekicker

[papillon 695]

Just because there is now a train available?

Taxis didn't take too long before.

 

As to the last sentence......yes, good one!

No, not 'just' because there is now a train. Don't be such a Nobhead.

 

It's been a long time since I last went to Bangers. I fancy checking out more of the non P4P stuff and I'd like to try out this new train service while I'm at it. Haven't been on the tube yet either.

 

Could be a good opportunity to get some 'Up skirt' shots

[jacko 8,761]

Could be a good opportunity to get some 'Up skirt' shots

Don't be such a deviant.

[CheshireTom 1,377]

You're going to get a lot of pin-exercise for the alleged convenience of this Airport Link. And Suvarnabhumi is already very hiking-friendly just to and from the blasted gates. I advise you check the Bangkok city map very carefully before you commit to this airport train. MOST people are going to be taking a taxi at the end of the train-riding anyhow. Virtually all others will be taking at least two trains -- the airport one plus either a BTS or subway. It will be rare to get on at the airport and get off anywhere near your hotel. It will be rare to save as much as 100 baht on the taxi fare direct from the airport to hotel. Check how well placed your hotel is to the trains before you start the long walk to the train, dragging your bags behind you.

 

I'll give it a shot in a couple of weeks. There are a couple of good deals on the Millenium and Jasmine to be had and I'm happy enough to take the "slow train"at 35 Baht to Makkasan before jumping on the back of a moto-sai for the trip down Asoke. At 6 pm on a Friday afternoon, I'm inclined to think that the train could be a decent option.

[joekicker 53]

I'll give it a shot in a couple of weeks. There are a couple of good deals on the Millenium and Jasmine to be had and I'm happy enough to take the "slow train"at 35 Baht to Makkasan before jumping on the back of a moto-sai for the trip down Asoke. At 6 pm on a Friday afternoon, I'm inclined to think that the train could be a decent option.

 

We'll see. I'm thinking of it much like the Skytrain, which is totally useless to me 99.5 per cent of the time. But it does whisk me down Sukhumvit the twice a year I'm there AND there's a traffic problem AND I want to get where the ST goes. I have a feeling the Link could be better for out-of-towners, just like the Skytrain.

 

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[CheshireTom 1,377]

We'll see. I'm thinking of it much like the Skytrain, which is totally useless to me 99.5 per cent of the time. But it does whisk me down Sukhumvit the twice a year I'm there AND there's a traffic problem AND I want to get where the ST goes. I have a feeling the Link could be better for out-of-towners, just like the Skytrain.

 

I would be inclined to agree. The killer (for mongers) appears to be the need to change at Sukhumvit/Asoke and Makkasan/Petchaburi when you could otherwise be sat in the back of a cab.

[wacmedia 277]

I would be inclined to agree. The killer (for mongers) appears to be the need to change at Sukhumvit/Asoke and Makkasan/Petchaburi when you could otherwise be sat in the back of a cab.

 

Hi,

 

Where it would come into its own is when there is gridlock on the roads.

[teelack 9,278]

Hi there Joekicker. As I read the original story it said the foillowing.

 

Passengers returning the same day will not need to purchase another ticket.

 

I also thought that you could get easily from Makkasan to Petchaburi and I have used that station before and it has easy access to both types of rail. I do however bow to your local knowledge.

[joekicker 53]

Passengers returning the same day will not need to purchase another ticket.

 

I believe you're right and I'm wrong. I read right past that. Let's see how it works in practice, because the purpose of this rule is for families to take their families TO the airport and go back home which is goofy, but anyway that's the idea. So you are right. Let's see how it actually works when you flash that "return" portion at the gate.

 

I also thought that you could get easily from Makkasan to Petchaburi and I have used that station before and it has easy access to both types of rail. I do however bow to your local knowledge.

 

You can change trains at Makkasan, (with the obligatory walk). But you pay for that. If you take the Express to Makkasan and go outside you are nowhere at all, and within realistic walking distance of nothing.

 

I think without baggage as you say, that this train will possibly be helpful. I doubt it will be AS helpful as painted but on your own, without bags -- that segment you described, it might help depending where they're going. I'm admittedly biased because the train is near NOTHING that helps me personally.

 

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[Chris100UK 519]

teelack, 100 baht gets you one way to a place called Makkasan. It's in Bangkok all right, but it's a rail yard. You'll need to take the local train (which can actually be less than 100 baht one way) or the 100-baht train and a taxi, or the train and a Skytrain, or the train and one hell of a walk to get to anywhere worth being.

 

I'll be opting for the slower train to Phaya Thai and then changing on to the BTS to get the Skytrain to nana.

 

I often get to Heathrow via the London underground so i'm hoping this journey will be a little easier.

[jimmac 66]

I'm interested in a report from some-one who has actually used the new service.

 

The Hong Kong train is excellent. You can wheel your luggage right to the train from the baggage carousel using a buggy. And at the other end they have buggies waiting on the platform so you can wheel your luggage from the train to the taxi stand. And at the intown stations you can check-in your bags and get boarding passes right their so you board the train and get to you gate,etc with only your carry on.

 

If BKK can do the same at Makkasan it will be a good service. I'd use it if I could wheel my luggage to the train and then wheel it to a taxi for a short taxi ride anywhere in the Sukhumvit area. But can I do that? I'd like have a report from some-one who's used the new train.

[Fireman Sam 336]

I'm interested in a report from some-one who has actually used the new service.

 

I used it a few months ago when it first opened for the free trials. Here is the link to what I posted below.

 

http://www.pattayatalk.com/forums/index.ph...l=airport+train

 

Note that the express service will run to Makkasan instead of Phaya Thai. I believe that the bridge between the Airport train and the Skytrain station at Phaya Thai is now under construction.

 

I will be using it again in a few weeks, I always travel light so it is ideal for myself, I have to stay in the Don Maung area, so i will take the train to Phaya Thai and then transfer to the Skytrain.

 

 

Best Regards

Fireman Sam

Edited August 24, 2010 by Fireman Sam

[gunzel3808 113]

The Airport Skytrain is going to be far more useful than any of the readers here can guess. I would suggest everybody when next in town make use of it and see the real value of it.

 

Don't knock until you have tried it. If everything new was so rubbished the world & society would never progress.

 

How about some good, positive aspects of Bangkok and Thailand. Remember, its not all about bars and the next barfine!

[short 215]

Some escalators or an elevator would be nice with the trains

[Owl_ 0]

I'm interested in a report from some-one who has actually used the new service.

 

The Hong Kong train is excellent. You can wheel your luggage right to the train from the baggage carousel using a buggy. And at the other end they have buggies waiting on the platform so you can wheel your luggage from the train to the taxi stand. And at the intown stations you can check-in your bags and get boarding passes right their so you board the train and get to you gate,etc with only your carry on.

 

If BKK can do the same at Makkasan it will be a good service. I'd use it if I could wheel my luggage to the train and then wheel it to a taxi for a short taxi ride anywhere in the Sukhumvit area. But can I do that? I'd like have a report from some-one who's used the new train.

 

 

I'd have to agree with you that the Hong Kong train into town is excellent. It's the easiest one I have used so far.

 

Hopefully, the people in Bangkok will take a lesson from the way the Hong Kong trains were set up and get their train into town working as well.

[FatherMojo 2]

The train system in HK rocks! But this one....

 

Based on the article below, it looks like the Airport Rail Link was not completely thought through. Hopefully, someone from the board will have a chance to try it and post a review.

 

 

 

Oh, Poor Airport Link

 

BANGKOK: -- Finally, the Airport Rail Link is officially opened for commercial services on Monday (Aug 23), after seven years of construction. The high-speed trains, though, do not look as new as they should. In fact, they look as if they had been bought at a clearance sale. Even Chinese trains look far more dashing.

 

The 28-kilometer rail route costs more than 30 billion baht in investment and has been subject to a vast amount of criticisms and negative press. Much of the grilling has been directed towards the project contractor, Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction.

 

Despite its name, the Airport Rail Link isn't actually connected to any airport. According to the original plan, the route should have linked Don Muang Airport with Suvarnabhumi Airport, but ended up with the last stop only at Phaya Thai Station in Bangkok’s downtown area.

 

What’s worse, the station does not even connect with a BTS station which is just a short distance away.

 

The first day of commercial run was nothing but a mess. Commuters paid full fares, but could not check in their luggages because the Thai Airways counters were closed and no one knows when they will open.

 

Hundreds of current Airport Rail Link staff are not full-time employees of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT). The railway authority hired Sasin Institute of Chulalongkorn University to recruit people and oversee salary payments on its behalf.

 

It remains unknown which organization these employees are working for. Who will be held responsible when problems arise? How desperate it is to see how the SRT and Thai politicians wasted precious tax payers' money.

 

Anyone who has been to Makkasan Station must have been upset about its poor condition that does not reflect the enormous investment put in. I cannot explain exactly how it looks. You’ve got to see it with your own eyes. Compared with Hong Kong’s Airport Rail Link, the difference are like heaven and hell.

 

The road system around the Makkasan Station has not been expanded to accommodate more future traffic. Those who regularly pass through the area, especially during rush hours and on rainy days, would know well how terrible the traffic can be.

 

Whoever is thinking about boarding the Airport Link train at the Makasan Station to Suvarnabhumi Airport should give it a second thought, because they could miss their flights. If anything, using the motorway could be a better choice.

 

Moreover, travelers are not safe from hassles when they travel via the rail link to the international airport. They have to heave their luggages upstairs from the train station in order to check in at the airline counters on the forth floors.

 

The Ministry of Transport has anticipated an operating loss in the first three years. But I doubt whether the SRT could really break even after the 3-yr period. Or the Airport Rail Link is destined to be in the sea of red ink forever just like our clunky rail services.

 

‘Mai Het Prathet Thai’ column, Thairath newspaper, August 25th, 2010

Written by Lom Plian Thit

Translated and rewritten by Wacharapol Isaranont

Please note that the views expressed in our "Analysis" segment are translated from local newspaper articles and do not reflect the views of the Thai-ASEAN News Network.

 

http://www.thailandoutlook.tv/tan/

 

 

 

FatherMojo

[CheshireTom 1,377]

Hopefully, the people in Bangkok will take a lesson from the way the Hong Kong trains were set up and get their train into town working as well.

 

Unfortunately, the last time the folk from Hong Kong decided to give the folk in BKK a lesson or two in building airport rail links it was a bit of a disaster.

[Grimes 0]

It would great for getting some good pictures of the city, but you could always do that from the Skytrain too.

 

Edited August 26, 2010 by Grimes

[teelack 9,278]

Cummon guys lighten up here.

 

The bottom line here is this. If you have some time to spare you can pop into Bangers for 15 baht and you might not even have to pay 15 baht to return. You get to see a fair dollop of Bangers as it seems that it is mainly overhead. The train drops you in the City and is just adjascent to the Airport so there is bugger all walking there as well. And, as I have already said you can dump your cases at Swampy for 100 baht per bag per day. This IMHO is the bargain of the year.

[Fireman Sam 336]

Used the train for the second time about ten days ago, I had to get to the Mo-chit area of Bangkok.

 

Got on the so-called slow train from Swampy to Phaya Thai for 15 baht, then walked across the now completed bridge to the Skytrain, then 30 baht on there to Mo-chit. So all in 45 baht from Swampy to Mo-chit, not too bad price wise I think. The 15 baht fare is running until the end of this year I think.

 

I was travelling with hand luggage and one small suitcase, no problem at all for myself. Great service!!

 

 

Best Regards

Fireman Sam

Edited September 23, 2010 by Fireman Sam