This City has FOUR Rail Systems! | Bangkok's Transit Systems
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 พ.ค. 2024
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Bangkok is a city you might not immediately associate with rapid transit - but it's building more than many other world cities, and all on top of an already surprisingly big system! Today's explainer hopes to demystify the city's four independent rail systems - and their future expansion plans!
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Ever wondered why your city's transit just doesn't seem quite up to snuff? RMTransit is here to answer that, and help you open your eyes to all of the different public transportation systems around the world!
Reece (the RM in RMTransit) is an urbanist and public transport critic residing in Toronto, Canada, with the goal of helping the world become more connected through metros, trams, buses, high-speed trains, and all other transport modes.
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Please make videos about Jakarta rail system. It's not perfect, but the government is building lots new railway to support the old commuter line system.
As a local there I do want to say a few points.
- The card system obviously is a heavy burden on commuters and there is still no sign of the planned Mangmoom card that integrates all the systems to be put in use.
- Poor planning and the contract system, as well as issues with land reclaim makes line construction very slow. We therefore end up with lines that are incomplete, e.g. only the northern part of the purple line is open, while southern part (that goes through the central of the city) has just begun construction yet, while the SRT Light Red Line has low passenger count as it doesn’t go very far. Had they constructed until Salaya in the first place, ridership would most likely have increased.
- In the past, low priority was put on rail construction, and so the new lines were left to build on existing available space. Thus we have the weird parallel SRT Red Line and BTS Sukhumvit line.
- We need 6-car trains now!
I like trains and do want to see it develop well in my country, but many factors prevent that from happening or make progress extremely slow.
One of the biggest issues in Bangkok is that there isn't a single card, like Octopus in Hong Kong or Oyster in London - that works everywhere.
Closest is the Rabbit card which works on the Skytrain and the new monorails, and even some buses and boats. But it doesn't work on the airport link, or the MRT, or the SRT. - and the MRT and SRT don't take the same cards as each other either...
Although apparently the BTS is going to start accepting contactless Visa and Mastercard, if only because the new monorail lines take Rabbit and contactless cards, and some of the interchanges between the BTS and monorail are designed with no ticket barrier.
I wouldn't call it slow. Look on the bright side: Bangkok spent just 20 years building this whole system, which is 270km in length. Compare that to NYC, London or Paris. It's been over 100 years for them to achieve what they have, and when they reached the same GDP per capita as Bangkok, they didn't have 270km. There aren't many country in Asia that can do better, except for China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore, which can do so quickly and efficiently. It wouldn't be surprising; these are the Economic tigers that Thailand is trying to follow in the footsteps of. For me, we are on the right track already. It's really beyond my expectations that we've come this far since Hopewell/Lavalin. If this government can work at the same speed or faster on subway projects like the previous one, in 10 years, the length will be among the longest in the world. Joining cards isn't the hardest thing to work on
My professor for my urban transportation class at concordia university in Montreal was one of the key individuals responsible for planning and designing some of the first major metro lines! He would show us awesome behind the scenes footage from his time on the project
Sounds great, I am sure he would have a lot of interesting stories to tell!
That’s super fascinating to hear! I’m jealous
Lavalin from Canada was supposed to be the first metro system in BKK but they were flopped, if you mean that. What I perceived and have known of the master plan of BKK metro system were studied and funded by JICA.
BTS,MRT: Thailand is a developing country that dared to implement an electric metro system decades ago, not by government initially but by a private enterprise under build-operate-transfer concession basis. When a housing developer Tanayong group proposed to Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BKK city government) to build an electric skytrain linking the major nothern/eastern provincial bus terminal (Mor Chit) into the city center (CBD) itself about 30 years ago, local Thais and expatriates were skeptical because previously HK Hopewell and Canadian Lavalin had proposed such project in Bangkok to the national government but failed hopelessly to complete the project. In the case of Lavalin, only about 1% was completed while Hopewell did a little better upto 5% before both concessionaires abandoned the project due to financial difficulties. However, elected Bangkok governor at the time Gen Chamlong Srimuang did not listen to experts' advices and granted Tanayong concession to carry out the project. Tanayong managed to borrow enough funds from local and overseas banks to build the civil structure running above the main roads, thus did not have to pay any land expropriation fee. When the civil structure was completed, Tanayong bought train and signal system from German Siemens as well as contracting Siemens to help run the system for 10 years. The first year official opening was about 23 years ago in 1999. Even then, some Thai and expatriates still voiced doubts whether the skytrain could earn enough revenue to cover the running costs as well as earning enough profits to pay off principals and interests as the first year's ridership was not great barely covering the operating costs. However, within 5 years the skytrain (Bangkok Transit System or BTS) turned profitable and after 23 years, the BTS is earning huge profit and has long paid off all debts. When the national government saw BTS success, it planned its own MRT (Metro Rapid Transit) systems, covering more lines (about 10 now). However, since some lines are run underground and some above ground, no private companies dared to do the same as Tanayong (now renamed BTS Group) as the civil construction is very expensive. So the national government established MRT state enterprise to design the lines and tender civil constructions using government budget. Once civil construction is completed, MRT tenders bids for private operators to secure the train system as well as running them under concessions. Bangkok is now covered by BTS/MRT/SRT (State Railway of Thailand which runs the Red Line and Airport Link) systems more than 200 kilometers altogether.
Growing up in Bangkok I know 2 specific stories of the first two lines when they launched, the BTS sky train had to postpone the launch as they forgot to build access points like stairs and escalators from the street level to the trains stations.
And when they complete the underground MRT, they did not make a place for the trains to come into the tunnels so had to have all the trains dismantled and brought down piece by piece and rebuilt in the tunnels, they even have photos up on one of the main stations of them doing it
As a Thai fan of your channel for a long time, Thanks for covering my city. There are some mistakes in the detail of course, but you did a great job especially with the pronunciation. Thank you very much.
มีคนไทยชอบดูช่องนี้เหมือนกันด้วย 555
Thanks for watching!
@@boss.k1504 มารวมตัวกันหน่อยจ้าาาา 555
แวะมาทักทายอีก1 55
I am one of RMtransit fan !
Is it weird that I think of the bangkok rail system first when I hear the word bts
no, you're blessed
no i never knew BTS band even existed when i made my username lol
No, Femboy Expert. You are based and has good taste.
Nice display name
@@soravisable LOL!!
Just came back from Bangkok, had a tourist card to use the systems, what an eye opener. Very efficient, super clean, and user friendly. Back in Canada, and wonder why North America is so far behind.
Name of that tourist card? May i ask?
@@RoodeMenon Bangkok Sky Train = Bangkok Mass Transit System / BTS , they have One-Day Pass card / price 150 Baht / 4.30 USD per day
Bangkok under ground train = Mass Rapid Transit / MRT , they do not have one day pass card .
@@mrraiarj thanks 👍 will look it up.
@@RoodeMenon Just bought a tourist pass at the info counter, and loaded 200 baht on BTS, and MTR card. You need to show your passport. Very helpful and friendly if it isn't to busy
It's freakin expensive for Thai people that have minimum wage of 10$/Day
Finally, you did my city
There's some mistakes and what I would add on it however
2:55 - We usually call it "Hua Lampong Station" but it's official name could do
10:00 - Dark Red Line will in the future expand both north and south, connecting major suburbs and even as far as major regional cities like Ayutthaya and Samut Sakhon.
10:17 - Light Red Line will also expand east and west in the future, connecting regional cities of Nakhon Pathom and Chachoengsao
I should also note that terminal stations of planned Dark Red and Light Red line will be connected to SRT' important stations and junctions for regional trains
- Baan Pa-Chi on Northern Dark Red Line, junction of Northern Lines and Northeastern Lines
- Mahachai on Southern Dark Red Line, the halfway of Maeklong Line where passengers have to cross the river with ferries
- Chachoengsao on Eastern Light Red Line, junction of Laem Chabang Line (to Eastern region) and Aranyaprathet Line (to Cambodia)
- Nakhon Pathom on Western Light Red Line, major city in the Central Region
14:22 - The Pink Line you show is the "longest possible extends" of the line, but so far the Eastern terminus will be at Min Buri Station (Interchange with the near end of Orange Line). You also forgot to include a branch line called "Mueang Thong Thani"
14:30 - The Yellow line you show is also the "longest possible extends" of the line when planned. Currently the line's terminus are interchanges to BTS Light Green Line' Samrong Station (which can't be expanded further due to structural limitation) and MRT Blue Line' Lat Phrao station, negotiations are still on table about extending it further so that the Northern terminus will be over an interchange with BTS Green Line
There's also more lines proposed and planned to be built and operate within this decade, such as the Silver Line to Suvarnabhumi Southern Terminal and Grey Line expanding along the BRT route.
Still, great video, easy for others who doesn't know, and I hope soon enough that we will have a system as big as that of London and New York.
I also found additional "small" mistakes
8:20 - Unlike the BTS Silom Line, the MRT Blue Line actually connects to the BTS Sukhumvit Line 3 times. (Ha Yaek Lat Phrao-Phahon Yothin / Mo Chit- Chatuchak Park / Asok-Sukhumvit)
13:31 - The MRT Purple Line extension supposes to go further south, terminating at Kru Nai.
Also forgot to mention that most trains changed from Hua Lamphong to Bang Sue Grand a few weeks ago. But altogether a good video (I live in Phuket but lived in Bangkok for 6 years and I still visit sometimes. 2 days ago was my first time on the Dark Red line when going to Don Mueang. It was very nice, and Don Mueang has much more food options in domestic than Suvarnabhumi.
Well, the expansion of the red lines is certainly natural! But if I recall correctly, it’s not under construction, which is why I don’t mention it rather than a mistake!
@@RMTransit That's understandable since they will continue the construction on 2024 (IF Ministry of Transport' budget regarding Dark Red Line expansion and Light Red Line branch pass the new government in an upcoming election)
Still, how you manage to compress the mess that is Bangkok metro to 16 minutes is impressive
Thank you for explaining this all. At my Krung Thep times it was only three Skytrain lines and one Metro round line. They ripped many houses how stay in way and the food court close the balcony (at this time it was possible to smoke outside too) later. The aircon systems are nice but I have start to hated it in the place around - I start to sweat outside more as with thai aircon (fan 😉). I loved to seat outside of the car in back till they forbidden it on the fast highway tracks over the city. But stuck in traffic it was not a nice smell specially over the water channels.
I was often on the old train main station and greetings thai friends direct of the train platform. Do you need platform tickets normally but they checked only thai folks, not farangs. For take shower there just 50฿ in this clean toilet room. Was a nice time and a wonderful time.
I have loved the Don Muang Airport, it was small and the direct link footpath from international to domestic was nice. The golf course in middle was the highlight at every arrival and departure. I see the new airport only naked without many signs and things. Long ways to walk and no orientation but every time with thai staffs "I not know it exactly but this direction is right." what give us a 50% change. The drive to city was in car after the train ride was too complicated at this time but with a thai person how know the streets (and cheap ways around the toll highways) do you see many from this big city.
It's been a joy to have seen Bangkok develop since my first visit in 2000. Both the mass transit and parks developments make this crazy busy city livable and even enjoyable. What a great example for any congested metropolis.
An example for the rest of the world's cities. But should be a single account payment system
Bangkok also utilizes its waterways heavily for public transit. Both the Chao Praya boats that you touched on, and smaller boats on the tiny canals.
I stayed in tourist-favourite Khao San Road when I visited Bangkok, which is infamously lacking any rail connection. I relied heavily on the canal boats to connect to the rail transit system.
Khaosan road area will be served by purple line extension which is currently under construction. Should be at least 5 years from now.
Yep, heavily water-based transport systems are always fascinating
@@cloudzero1547 Bang Khun Prom MRT and take bus little bit to Khaosan Road. Wait for the station construction for 5 years.
@@RMTransit Should try Bangkok Boat !
Water transport was exciting at first but I later didn't like the spray and splash from the dirty water.
As someone who has been stuck driving in Bangkok for hours.. it seems in the last 3 years things have improved a lot ..so happy
The problem with different companies running different lines is that the ticket price can add-up to be very expensive if you need to make transfers to a service from differernt companies. This is because the way ticket pricing work for all of them is entrance fare + distance fare. E.g. from my house to Siam, I need to transfer from SRT dark red line to MRT Blue line and then after only 1 station on blue line, I then need to transfer to BTS Sukhumvit line. So I need to pay the entrance fare 3 times + distance fare. So, for the same distance, it can be much more expensive if you need to use train lines which are not run by the same company.
The lack of a common ticketing system has been a huge problem, primarily due to the private concessionaire system that is used in BKK where private companies (BTSC & BEM) have opposed it. They don't want to share revenue and don't realise the benefit of efficient network intergration. The MRTA and BMA are also to blame for not demanding it in the concession contracts. The MOT tried to introduce the Mangmoon (Spider) common card for all metro trains, buses and ferries but it failed. There's too much fighting between different govt depts also who want to protect their turf. Min of Interior & BMA on the BTS side, Min of Transport, MRTA, OTP on the other & the SRT on their own. Then the new Dept of Railways trying for intergration. It should be one public agency running all lines and with one ticketing platform.
This is the big problem of Bangkok Mass Transit Ticketing !
@@yappofloyd1905 Own Benefit Interest is the main thing.
Welcome to capitalism kaaa. It aint a technical problem but it's all about the money. In other cities this kind of system have been operating long before BKK the debt had been paid so if Bangkok subways like to be cheaper then Mr. Chatchart gotta pay back the debt to BTS simple as that! It aint fair for the BTS too cause they are the pioneer they build and invest in everything from the beginning, without them Bangkok not gonna have the first subway line. It was BTS that make it popular before that they had been balanced over 10 years it didnt make profit from day 1. The government paid = 0 baht. Now that it works the government gonna try to invest by themself isn't it obvious?. More than that In all cit of develope country high percentage of people actually pay taxes not just a little but a lot, their salaries are high each of them paid at least 30k baht/mont. The public transportation is not cheap cause it is prepaid already by the tax they paid I mean tax, not VAT... VAT is what people pay in on top. In most of develope countries they charge even higher than Thailand.
And how to get people to pay taxes? First people must have a higher income ..... I don't think being a cheap factory country like what we are now gonna make us have a better balance between income and cost of living.
Develope country will and always got better balance between income and cost of living unless one work as a specialist, not just an ordinary low-skill job you may get a good salary as good as in a develope country then it is another story. Apart from that Thailand gotta have other resources of income the quality ones. Malaysia for example got more than double of power resources (gas/oil) with half of population compared to Thailand. Singapore is the port and financial hub. Australia sells expensive mineralsal. Japan/Korea/Taiwan are tech hubs..... What are we?
That's why the locals use taxis. Faster and cheaper. Unless it's rush hour.
Great video. I live in Taipei where the MRT is so well integrated, so travelling to Bangkok was a strange experience having to move between MRT lines and the Skytrain
Well to be fair, Taipei also has 3 systems. Taipei MRT would be MRT+BTS, Taoyuan MRT would be ARL, and Taiwan Railways would be SRT
@@Ianchia860 True! But navigating Taipei city only requires MRT though, TRA and Taoyuan MRT are only needed for far out suburbs in New Taipei.
@@SeanGlennonB yes, what worse is that in Bangkok you need 2 different fare cards as they are not compatible
@@Ianchia860 ain't there a smartcard system (like Octopus, Oyster, Ez-Link) I think that's integrated, just for us tourist we still have to use tokens...
The integration certainly leaves something to be desired!
Amazing video mate, very well explained and some great clips in there 😊🇹🇭
Actually, Bangkok also has BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) system that has been operating since 2010 with 12 stations of 16.5 km length. This line is planned to upgrade into a rapid train system (Grey line) in the future too. Moreover, Bangkok now has the longest mass transit distance in ASEAN overtaking Singapore and Kuala Lumpur :)
Bangkok has a great transit infrastructure. In only one day this week I took two trains lines, the subway, a canal ferry, and a baht bus. And used the skywalks quite a bit. It’s ridiculously easy to get around most parts of the city on public transit and the cost is very reasonable.
I missed the opening of the BTS by a few years but have lived in BKK since. When I first rode the BTS it seemed like a toy trainset of a system. You can see the next station from the last. The MRT opened and each station was a vast underground cathedral of emptiness. Then oil hit $200 a barrel and suddenly trains were in vouge (you would not have been seen dead taking one before, letalone a bus!) and since then they have been rammed. In rush hour I have to wait for one, maybe two subway trains to go before the queue moves enough so I can board. And now they reach far into the suburbs. Bangkok has famously bad traffic, to the extent that I will not take four-wheeled transport during daylight hours, so train lines have pretty much become my Bangkok universe.
For those wishing to know the scheduled opening dates (openings are always delayed in BKK and there have been 4 different opening dates in the last 18 months for the MRT Yellow & Pink lines);
1) June 2023 - MRT Yellow line
2) August 2023 - MRT Pink line 1st stage , Minburi to Govt complex (possibly Tiwanon?)
2a) Early 2024 - MRT Pink line 2nd stage remainder of the line to Nonthaburi Govt complex
2b) Early 2025 - MRT Pink line spur, 2.8km, 2 stations
3) Sept/late 2025 - MRT Orange line eastern section, 22.6 km, 17 stations
4) Late 2027 - MRT Purple line southern ext, 23.5km, 17 stations
5) Late 2028 - MRT Orange line western ext, 13.4km, 12 stations (assuming construction starts mid 2023)
If anyone wishes, I can list the tenders for new lines/exts that are planned for the this year & 2024.
hey! was intrigued on this as I live near the supposed orange line and the station seems like it could be fully operational from the outside for months now. Although you say its opening in 2025? What are your sources? When I looked it said late 2022/early 2023.
As someone who lives in the U.S. and visited Bangkok for a month in December of 22' I was very impressed by the amount of transit available and how clean/safe it felt using. I purposely booked my lodging close to the MRT so that I could easily move around the city and I never needed to book or use local Taxi services. The only comparable cities in the U.S. that I enjoyed using was Portland and Seattle. Compared to most U.S. cities Bangkok is growing their transit rapidly and I'm sure once they complete all future projects it will make navigating the city even easier and opening up more possibilities for lodging and food options.
Wow good city to focus on. I use to visit Bangkok regularly in the past and it was a road nightmare it is nice to see its public transport expanding well with some great services Cheers Reece!
Thanks for watching! It's an impressive expansion for sure!
Visit Bangkok, board train !
Love Bangkok but an expanded metro system is really needed for this city. Taking the bts and metro was easy, clean and safe but the coverage had us depending on taxi services more than we wanted for certain areas of the city. This should also help alleviate the nightmare traffic in the city as well.
A Metro System is a must for all crowded cities.
There will be more metro lines in the near future. Two new lines will open this year (2023).
i’m actually shocked that bangkok has done so well with this. i visited 6 years ago and then it was just the blue line (not looped) and the purple line had just opened. and only the 2 bts lines but not as long as they are now. the amount of progress is amazing.
You should watch this video might be helpful to you it’s Bangkok’s transit 1999-2040
The Yellow Line will be a godsend when it opens, the whole route consists of notoriously high traffic roads (all day long) and it's gonna be amazing to just zoom past all of it! :)
I am definitely checking Bangkoks Metrosystem out. Either this or the coming year, looks very interesting.
Hope you enjoy it!
8:43 Central west gate is on the curve of the talad bang yai station which is not the end of line.
13:27 The purple line extension is construsted to futher to Kru Nai station
14:25 The Pink line hasn't plan to extend to SVB Airport ,it only extended to Min Buri from it plan
Unbelievable! The army stationed me in Thailand in 1968 and I rode baht buses into town from our rural location and mostly walked downtown. All I recognize is the river.
Please visit Bangkok again.
Welcome
That was too long ago.
was that during Vietnam war?
Bangkokian over here (we never call ourselves that though) and I wouldn't call our system good or efficient or anything in that regard. The reasons are;
- Bangkok is by no means a big city, but it took almost 20 years to get where we are today due to politics. But still, there are many areas of the city where the new train line haven't reached yet and possibly never will due to our poor city plan.
- Each system, the sky train (BTS), the subway (MRT), the airport rail link (ARL), and the local train all use different ticketing and pricing system. There are even different ticketing systems within the BTS itself as different lines are operated by different companies. The plan to integrate every system was talked about for so long but nothing has come to fruition. Oh and the other thing that sucks is there's no discount or any transfer rate when you transfer from one system to another. You have to pay for it all over again.
- The entire line of the airport rail link (ARL) is overlapped with the local train line. They just built the rail of the ARL above the local train track. The only difference is that the ARL is connected to the airport.
- The local train system was abandoned and is not developed or improved for so long. My mom said that my grandpa who has long passed once said that the system still looks and operates the same as when he was young. My mom is 68 now. It was old, dirty, falling apart, and riddled with criminals.
- The overall pricing is INSANE compared to our minimum wage. The highest fee can exceed 100 bahts (about 3.5 USD) easily while the minimum wage per day is about 360 bahts which are around 10 USD. That's why people still take the bus (another system of mess) and other cheaper alternatives.
- The only plus side, I would say that the system is pretty clean, especially the MRT. I've been to New York and I would say that I was very horrified lol.
Bangkok Pat has a lot of excellent videos on his channel about the history of Bangkok railways, so it makes a great companion to this excellent video.
the MRT system in bangkok reminded me of the MRT systems in Singapore, the stations felt similar as far as appearance and layout , and cleanliness !!
Yes, Bangkok's rail system is spotless!
Hey Reese, love your channel!! I am in Bangkok now and will actually take the new Pink Line when it opens on a trial basis for free tomorrow! I have already taken the Yellow Line monorail which just opened in July and is awesome, thanks in part to Bombardier which built the carriages. The Orange Line will open next year - suddenly Bangkok's system will be well over 300km!! More lines are also being built. Like Toronto, Bangkok has had to endure terrible traffic which all of this metro construction at once really made worse, but now the payoff is going to begin - these new lines are excellent and now you can do loops of Bangkok. When I first came here in 2009 there was only the skytrain and one metro line. One thing that is really BAD with this system though is there is no unified fare although you can buy a Rabbit card but you can still end up getting charged three different fares on a single journey which is nuts - although it is still pretty cheap by North American standards. Supposedly there will be a unified fare for BTS and MRT in the future but nada now. For example I am staying one stop from the terminus of the Yellow line where I then transfer to the Blue MRT and then the Green BTS to get to Siam station. I pay 19 baht for one stop on the Yellow line, then buy another ticket for 31 baht on the Blue Line and then after two stops another 37 baht to get to Siam. That works out to about $2.50 usd for the whole trip and I have to buy 3 separate tickets!! Or I can use a Rabbit Card but I still get charged for three trips. It's even wackier if you are a tourist because you get a smart card that you need to return to the machine on the monorail, a rfid token that you need to return to the machine for the MRT and an RFID token on the BTS. Also when you are seraching for your final destination on the ticket machine, it will only show you the current line so if you don't know your transfer stations - headache! I know the system now, having been to Bangkok many times in the past 15 years, but it's a nightmare for first-timers. Hopefully that all gets cleaned up in the future - but it probably won't because Bangkok likes chaos, haha!
I'm so happy South East Asia in general constantly progressing in building great mass transit system. Your videos always highlight all the important things for good public transport. Awesome! I love Bangkok. You should look up the mass transit plan for Jakarta, Indonesia too. It consists of MRT, LRT, BRT (which includes "mini BRT" a conversion from "angkot cars", and Commuterline train.
I find South East Asia more fun compared to Canada.
Thanks for the overview. I have lived in Bangkok over 17 years and have really enjoyed watching the rail network evolve. If only we could integrate it around a single ticketing system and rationalize the bus lines, then we would really make some progress.
Skip the ticketing system and just add pay wave to the BTS like on the MRT honestly
@@StephenHogan the BTS is too spiteful to do anything like that. They're having some sort of spat with the MRTA over the Orange Line - Western section bidding process right now, the BTS is still throwing tantrum in court and out of spite they crushed the 'Mangmoom card' by pulling out at the last minute, the Mangmoom card was the MRTA's attempt at unifying everything be it the MRT, BTS, ARL, SRT, Busses, the river boats. After the BTS crushed that they tried to circumvent it by making the system compatible with credit cards, but the BTS still ain't follow suit, which i suspect they do that out of spite also. They are EXTREMELY salty.
@@StephenHogan That's fine if you're using local cards that don't charge a foreign transaction fee, or the even more insidious per transaction fixed foreign purchase fee - for each use. (think 3% + 50c charge every time you use your card abroad - is not unheard of). The 3% is bad enough, but that 50c on each use adds up quickly on a 41 baht MRT fare.
There's a reason why tourists in London are better off getting an Oyster card and topping it up, than paying those fees every day.
Thank you for doing a video on Bangkok! I'm so happy to see the system being rapidly expanded, making Bangkok more livable once again. Hopefully we can get the government to invest in other cities as well. Most other provinces don't even have a functioning bus system to speak of.
I totally agree! Spread the transit love
There're a planned Tram for Khon Kaen, Chiang Mai, and Monorails for Pattaya. Khon Kaen's especially exciting for us Thai people as it'll most likely feature our very first homemade rolling stock. Although, got to admit that the prototype that were posted on social media looked quite... unconventional to say the least.
@@SickOfDemocracy i was excited about the Chiang Mai system until they downgraded it into a rubber wheel tram in mixed traffic. Phuket is also in desperate need of rail between the airport and town. The traffic is so so bad.
@@mono2go yeah. I blame Saksiam Chitchop for that. He's the worst transport minister we ever has. Hope the next government after the election will reinstate the planned rail.
จริง
As a Thai I'm waiting for the day you make a video about Bangkok Transit, and here we are
I hope it was worth the wait
Hey, the old train system line maybe old and not in the best condition but I've gave them a try recently and got to say that they are way more impressive than what most people give them credit for.
The ticket fee is extremely cheap it might as well be free in theory - and actually free in practice (not two words I often spoke together.) The official fee is 2 THB (less than a couple of cent?) for a about a couple of stations distance and the ticket guy doesn't even bother to collet yours most of the time. It's also not very crowded, I actually got to sit nearly every day, and also rock-solid stable. The train may only come every hour or so but it never miss, never late, and never break down. In contrast, the ARL line (which I typically use for commute) got to have some issues or two every damn week.
Might not be a good travel option for tourist but if you live here long term, it's almost a game changer for commuter.
Wow, pretty impressive system. Definitely underrated. I basically knew nothing about it before watching this!
Yeah, this is literally the stuff I enjoy doing the most. It’s a system you just don’t really hear much about!
Please, do Jakarta.. Here we have an extensive commuter rail network witch is one of the first electrifed railway in Asia, and also the largest BRT System in the world
Thanks for this video. Was just in Bangkok, didn’t get to use the metro sadly as I stayed in the old town but glad to see all the construction I saw was for a metro
Great video covering the city! Although some detail regarding the expansions were incorrect. Metro Liner has a great video covering the expansion.
Thanks for the info!
Awesome video! So glad you decided to do Bangkok. So many exciting things happening there. Brings back happy memories of taking the rail systems there when living in Southeast Asia.
Thailand building new elevated lines over existing right of way could be a model for the US (and probably Canada) for regional rail. That is a genius idea and looks like a very elegant implementation from the video.
Somehow its very expensive for them to do so.
@@RoodeMenon Of course, basically you're adding an additional cost of steel-reinforced path and concrete pillar into every kilometers (or miles) of rail line built. Because it has to be... you know... evevated...
On the plus side, it is ensured little to no delay from any cross-traffic or freight train whatsoever (Or at least up to a certain capacity anyways). Just make sure you don't repeat a mistake of building a single track up there. Like currently what BTS do to their Silom line at Saphan Taksin Station. I won't get into the politics of it, but in a nutshell there it bottleneck down to 1 track. and all the rush-hour chaos ensues from there.
@@Mar1s3z A while ago I saw a plan to extend this section into two tracks. No idea what happened to it.
Taipei is doing the same with its Orange metro line
Yes! Finally! been waiting for this video!
Perfect timing. I just arrived in bangkok today after 6 years and so much has changed. I took the mrt red line and it's clean and convenient love that it's connected to the airport.
A big fan of this video! Thanks for making it!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Another thing to add about the purple line; the rolling stock is exclusively J-TREC sustina, despite being run by the same company as blue line (which uses Siemens). Purple line also uses Cityflo 650 for signaling. Combined with the cars and platforms with cctv, I think it's built to be ready for full automation.
Another distinction with the Purple Line is that the rolling stock is actually owned by the MRTA and not BEM the operator of both MRT Blue line and MRT Purple line.
This is so fascinating Reece!! Superb video! Being able to geek out with this fantastic knowledge is spectacular! Thanks so much! Cheers!
Yes, finally! My dream came true
I hope you enjoy the video!
As of now, the city of Jakarta has 3 different railway systems, and will have 5 different rail systems from different operators and will be operational by 2023.
- The narrow gauge (1067 mm) lines operated by KAI / KAI Commuter (finished around 1800s)
- Underground / Elevated 1067 mm gauge Line operated by MRT Jakarta (Opened in 2019)
- Elevated Standard Gauge Line Operated by LRT Jakarta (Opened in 2019)
- Elevated Standard Gauge Line Operated by LRT Jabodebek (owned by KAI, Will be operational in July 2023)
- Standard Gauge High Speed Rail Jakarta-Bandung Line (Planned to be Operational in 2023)
All of them are 5 different disconnected railway systems with different gauges (mostly between narrow / standard gauge)
Really interesting video, I live here and make use of the blue line every day. It's cool to see that there will be much coming soon. I would also note that the Bangkok transport lines are incredibly safe and clean, having supervised security gates in all of the stations.
Great summary of the Bangkok system. I am waiting with interest for the monorail lines, especially the Yellow Line which my 18th floor apartment overlooks. Although I spend most of my time in London I can watch them building the station below on a webcam and look out for trains on test runs. I hope to be back there when it opens. Whether it will be sufficient capacity is doubtful though. Some pedestrian road overbridges are really close to the guideway beams and should make great viewpoints directly under the trains.
I’m literally waiting for the Bts train and saw this video
I haven't been to Bangkok in almost 20 years. At that time the only rail was the BTS. The MRT was under construction but wasn't open yet. There was no rail to the airport - you had to take a bus or taxi. It was the old airport, not the new one. The new one opened in 2006 so obviously I was there before then. It's a great city though, and the people are very friendly. When I was there I mostly rode in taxis or tuk tuks. The traffic was insane, although someone I met told me that it's worse in Manila.
It’s about time you do Bangkok’s metros! Been waiting for soooo long.
Loved this video. Visited about 7 years ago but only used the BTS sky train and the canal boats. The sky train runs pretty well, however parts of it have small single track sections.
Thank you for making a vdo about Bangkok mass transit. It’s expanding more and more in the next few years.
Not a moment too soon. We'll be in Bangkok in the next couple days. Was just in Singapore and loved riding the MRT
I've ridden the BTS and MTR in Bangkok, they recently opened 4 new lines commuter rails to the suburbs haven't been back to ride those yet.
Hey Reese! Great video, it's nice to see underrated transport cities get a spot. How about a video on Monterrey, Mexico and its current metro expansion plans? It's not such a big system but I think it has potential
Great video! When travelling, I usually want to try the local public transport wherever I go. So far, Bangkok BTS is one of the very best I ever went on! Happy to see the future expansion and really wish there was an integrated payment system for all lines.
also would like to mention that there’s a bit of a conflict between companies and authorities which makes fare prices kinda high
The 360's have only ever been semi limited usage-wise in the UK, with a handful on the old Heathrow Connect, and just 21 running commuter trains from North Essex/South Suffolk into London, however they've now been moved to the Corby - London commuter route
Still, UK, and Thailand so interesting!
@@RMTransit true, I only know so much about them as I used to ride them from North Essex to London
Thanks for all the work you do Reece had to stop in the middle middle of watching mayday when I saw the upload. Always looking forward to your content keep it up! :)
I hope you enjoy it!
@@RMTransit absolutely did! Had no idea there were so many different railway networks in Bangkok very educational as always!
9:37 those are some very high platforms.
Haha, we went back and forth on this!
Nice video, thank you for covering Bangkok!
As a train nerd from Thailand, you’ve covered this topic very very very well!
Very nice video, very interesting system.
It really is!
thanks for this video finally 🤩
This was super interesting, thank you!
bangkok has already added one more line and another one more within this year
A must visit country on my List
Been waiting for this video since I knew the channel. Thank you
Great Video! You should also make a video on Mumbai's existing rail infrastructure, the issues plaguing and the multitude of mass transit projects currently underway.
This is the best video about Thai public transportation system. I like that you gave an overview of iconic tourist spots 1st. Thank you
If visit Grand Palace, board MRT to Sanam Chai !
Excellent video, thanks.
love this video!! amazing!!!!!!!!!!
These are my favorites videos! Once you get through all the big systems, it would be an interesting contrast to look at the smaller services of let’s say Detroit, Cincinnati, Miami, etc.!
Would love to see a video on Jakarta. A lot to talk about at an earlier stage of network development than Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur, all happening in a bigger city/economy but with lower per capita gdp. Can they put together KRL, MRT, LRT x2, BRT, KAI intercity rail, and last mile services into a convincing transportation package? And oh yeah a Chinese built HSR that has to fit in somehow too.
i wonder how's the fare like for the HSR JKT? or it's still in testing...
@@PrograError the HSR is still in construction and is expected to open for commercial use in june, iirc
Last mile service has been getting a massive improvement in the last few years with the Mikrotrans. Within the city border, living without a private vehicle is definitely preferable for me because it's really that easy to navigate around with public transport. But for those who live far in the suburbs, there really is no other option than taking the car/motorbike (whether to the nearest KRL station or all the way to the city).
IMO what Jakarta needs the most right now (along more transit expansion of course) is to reverse its sprawl with transit-oriented development. Currently the city is filled by seas of single family homes and disparate clusters of office skyscrapers. The city center isn't dense enough. Central Jakarta only holds 60% of Manhattan's population, despite their roughly equivalent size and Jakarta having ~35 million people in the metropolitan area. This means that there are many more who live in the sprawling suburbs than in the city proper, which makes serving the whole population with any kind of public transit expensive and difficult.
the average people there can't afford the HSR.
Since I am from Thailand 🇹🇭 I will say this is cool?!!!!
Fun fact: Thailand class 360 departing and arriving engine sond not same as the UK class 360
I've been waiting for a video on my home city for so damn long. Thank you!!!
Looking at all of the freeways in Bangkok, it looks like they were about to build a bunch of freeways AND built a world-class metro system! It’s quite sad that much of North America can’t do the same and it has to be one or the other, usually freeways over metros.
The dark red line has 4 tracks because the middle tracks is for the long distance trains. There is no express service on the SRT red line. Also, the orange line runs from Bang Khun non to yaek Rom Klao
Nothing would prevent it in the future!
I wouldn't be surprised if the local long-distance train becomes the "express service", kinda like S-bahn / RB in Germany. The infra is there to do this with the red line and long-distance trains separated - that's why Don Mueang station has four platforms!
Having crossovers between the fast and slow tracks will be helpful in timetabling all the additional long distance rail services though.
They planned to do run express on red line too, when the whole red line fully developed. The current red line just a part of the whole full plan.
@@RMTransit yet
Awesome video, as always. Btw i'd love to see a video about Jakarta's transportation system. Future video, maybe?
You Now I was Born in Bangkok and now I live in Madrid and it is incredible how much the transit has expanded🙂
I have seen MetroLiners Video about Bangkok befores your Video.LOL😂
Thank you for the nice video. I have been in Bangkok several times, the first time being well before the greenish BTS skytrains were built. Even when the rail system is working nice, it's still hard to reach it, depending on where you live. There are tons of bus lines criss and cross through the city, but these buses are trapped in the notorious traffic jams.
I would love additional BRT lines along the main roads, like in the famous Brazilian city of Curitiba or like nowadays the kinda new and free to use BRT carousel bus system along the jammed "EDSA" avenue in Manila Philippines, with separate lanes, the light rail even being overhead.
Bangkok urgently needs an additional BRT network, because you cant build metros and light rails everywhere. And additionally BRT systems are much cheaper to build than elevated or even underground metros.
But generally Bangkok is on a good way.
Thanks for this very cool video. Have a nice day. 🖐👴
The only BRT line that Bangkok have right now will likely be replaced altogether by the Grey Line Monorail and that one's being built by Bangkok itself, the BMA, a completely seperated plan from the national Govt. We're going completely all in on rail. No BRT. None.
I am really looking forward to the Suburban Rail Loop in Melbourne when it fully completes.
damn, so jealous, my city only has one line :>
I never forget that we sit on the balcony of the big food restaurant outside, and around two years the balcony was close then the Skytrain goes next to this balcony. They ripped out the other house on the other side of the street too.
But the Skytrain and the Metro works fine after buses stuck in the incredible traffic between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. At my time they have had Metro and three Skytrain lines only. The trains was open without wall of doors in front - a lovely view over Krung Thep.
What a bullshit comments you are making. None of what you saying is true.
I think the entirety of Bangkok's transit system is interesting. This video just talks about the modern metro lines but no bangkok video would be complete without talking about the some informal transit modes like the polluting bus system, tuk-tuk mafia, motorcycle taxi network, and canal system. There really isn't a comparable analog to Bangkok's crazy methods of transit in North America.
well the audience is for the western world anyway... heck even Singapore's "LRT" nomenclature probably brings head scratching since it's a people mover... at least the actual upcoming LRT is given a different nomenclature, "RTS" (original plan was to take singapore's TEL's rolling stocks, but to malaysia it was too expensive and they wanted a cheaper of their own so... they get that and a depot.. at least it seems to be going nicely...)
I wonder if he's ever going to make a video about paratransit
While BMTA non-aircon red bus is very cheap at 8 baht, it is relatively hot in humid Bangkok all year round. For those Thais who live along Chao Phraya River, there is an alternative. You can patronize Chao Phraya Ferry Service at price less than 20 baht or more for the longest distance. Cash only for fare. The service started about 50 years ago, using diesel engine to propel the boat. However, starting in 2020 there is a new competition of modern aircon electric boat service at a flat fare of 20 baht for all destinations. MINE Smart Ferry accepts Visa/Master Card card or you can buy fill-in card. Cash is not accepted. There is also an aircon electric tourist boat for 30 baht fare. You need to purchase a ticket before boarding a tourist boat. There is also an open-air top deck on tourist boat if you choose to face the weather and have a better view of Chao Phraya River and its environs. For crossing Chao Phraya River to the other side pier, the fare is cheap about 5 baht. However, there is a free ferry service to cross Chao Phraya River to IconSiam and AsiaTique to shop/dine.
Thailand started bus service in Bangkok nearly 100 years ago, it was run by private bus operators at a reasonable price but still making a decent profit. However, about 45 years ago, a certain political party campaigned to make bus in Bangkok free and when this party came to power as a coalition govt, it nationalized bus services, buying the private operators and created Bangkok Mass Transport Authority (BMTA) to run a free bus service for a few years. When the govt could no longer afford the huge annual subsidy, it allowed the BMTA to charge a cheap ticket price for non-aircon buses and then introduced air-con buses at 2-3 times the price of non-aircon buses. The non-aircon buses have been running at a loss since then up to today while the air-con buses run at break-even. The BMTA then granted private bus operators to run non-aircon and air-con buses again about 30 years ago to reduce the BMTA's mounting debts as private operators seem to know how to run buses at a decent profit even though they charge the same ticket fares as BMTA's own buses. To this day, BMTA non-aircon red buses are still relatively cheap less than 10 baht, one of the cheapest fare in the world. Every year, the national govt allocates a supplementary budget to shore up BMTA's inefficient operation. It is apparent that the first populist policy of Thai govt does not work as is the case worldwide such as the bankrupted Venezuela and father of populist policy Argentina which seeks IMF help at least 6 times since WWII.
Yet another great video RM with good analysis. However, there are some significant mistakes with your routes for 3 of the 4 MRT lines currently U/C which do require correction.
1) MRT Purple line southern ext - on your map you have only marked the route to Sam Yot where it interchanges with the MRT Blue line. However, the extension proceeds further south for another 12km, 10 stations where it terminates on the west side of the river at Rat Burana.
2) MRT Pink Line monorail - for some reason you've marked the eastern of the line as proceeding a further 10km south when it terminates in Minburi. Idk where that came from, but it is completely wrong. Also, the 2.8km spur to Muang Thing Thani is not marked.
3) MRT Yellow line monorail - the line terminates in the south at Samrong where it interchanges with the BTS Sukhumvit line. It does not and physically cannot be extended further west to cross the river. The northern terminus is at Lat Phrao (interchnage with Blue Line_ and is not approved to be extended north along Ratchadapisek to Ratchayothin intersection as shown.
4) MRT Orange line - the correct route is shown. The eastern section is 98.80% complete. However, it will not open for 2.5yrs due to a delay in ordering rolling stock after the delayed western ext tender.
Thanks, well, helped a lot during my tourist stay in Bangkok. Only really big problem is that Google Maps doesn't recognize the lanes almost never
Airport link and underground MRT are operated by the same authority. It is vaguely North American in that it has express vehicle routes through the center of the city.
I have spent a lot of time in Bangkok over the years and often use its public transit. It is really improving lately with the new Yellow Line at 29 km now open.
My Bangkok has greatly improved its transport system. Some of these were under construction when I lived there before 2011. SRT rail has come along way too as it wasn't that long ago the red line was operated by diesel locomotive hauled trains with carriages upto 100 years old .
I am so grateful to be able to experience all these developments in my lifetime. It used to be such a pain being teenager in suburban Bangkok, trying to get anywhere at all. Now I can only dream that Canada (at least Ontario) can get there one day. A subway line for the GTA is too much to ask?
Excellent video on Bangkok. If you plan on exploring SEA region further, can you make a video on KL/Klang Valley next? There are similarly 3 different systems (KTM Komuter, RapidKL LRT/MRT, and ERL to airport)
Monorail too
KTM ETS also
@@Paopalisuthisit ETS is intercity electric rail
Im a Singaporean and I'm always fascinated with Transportation in other countries, thanks for this informative video👍
Good info when coming here first time! Thanks for not adding those mandatory tourist-selfies....
THANK YOUUUUUUUU
I remember someone telling me that in the end of 20th Century, Bangkok was suffering so much from car conjestion that they decided to double the main roads size overnight. Without telling anyone. Some people gone to work in the morning came back in the evening with their house demolished to make way for the enlargement of the road. (those must have been very bad condition houses anyway, but still...)
Yeah no, we don’t have a workforce that can construct stuff that fast
I lived in Bangkok and it is notorious for unnecessarily long construction project. There is a road contstuction project in Bangkok that already took like 30 years and it's still not finished. It is a woldest dream to have any large scale construction project to be finished overnight in Bangkok.