BTS Skytrain - History

History

Bangkok's first attempt at building an elevated rail network was the Bangkok Elevated Road and Train System, which was terminated in 1998 after only 10% had been completed.

The BTS system (the elevated metro system owned by BMA) was initially referred to as the Lavalin Skytrain because it was to be designed using the Vancouver SkyTrain as a model adopting the technology developed by SNC-Lavalin. Due to political interference, the concession with Lavalin was cancelled in 1992, in spite of Bangkok's chronic traffic congestion. The Thai Government focused on increasing road and expressway infrastructure in an attempt to combat congestion. However, this had less than the desired impact as the number of cars on the road increased dramatically. The lines considered under the skytrain project became later the basis for the Bangkok Metro system and are mainly underground.

In the early 1990s, foundations for the Lavalin Skytrain were constructed in the middle of two bridges spanning the Chao Phraya river. The Taksin bridge now supports the Silom line to Thon Buri, completed in April 2009. The supports at Phra Pok Klao bridge remain unused but may be utilised as part of the MRT's future Purple Line.

Shortly after it became clear that the Lavalin Skytrain was stalled, then-governor Major-General Chamlong Srimuang asked his deputy Krisda Arunvongse na Ayutthaya to create a new feeder system with a route along Sukhumvit and Silom Rd. Krisda, who in the same period was elected governor, and his team from BMA managed to find an investor to build it. Krisda also convinced all to let the city supervise the project. The investor founded Bangkok Transit System Corporation and this company successfully financed the system and grew it from a feeder system to a full mass transit project. Siemens as supplier of the railway technology and the Thai contractor Italian Thai Development built the system for BTSC.

The "Skytrain" name was given later by the press.

Originally, the Skytrain depot was to be built underneath Lumphini Park, but due to widespread objections from Bangkok residents it was constructed on a parcel of land located along Phahonyothin Road, replacing the old Northern/Northeastern bus terminal (Mo Chit). The current depot at Mo Chit is a part of the proposed 'Bangkok Terminal' project, where a large complex comprising a new regional bus terminal, park & ride facility and other commercial development can be built directly above it.

Thanayong Public Company Limited (SET: TYONG, Thai: บริษัท ธนายง จำกัด (มหาชน)) had a 28.21% stake in BTSC when the Skytrain began, and therefore in its early days the system was sometimes referred to as the "Thanayong Skytrain".

The Skytrain system was officially opened on 5 December 1999 by Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. It initially had lower-than-predicted ridership, with 200,000 passenger trips per day. Ticket revenue was only enough to meet the trains' operating cost, and not sufficient to service construction loans. However, the Skytrain's daily passenger numbers have steadily increased since then. On 9 December 2005, more than 500,000 single trips were made on the Skytrain in a single day for the first time. As of September 2012, the Skytrain serves around 600,000 passengers on an average day, with a peak of 715,000, and is upgrading to a fleet of 52 four-car trains.

The company implemented a contactless ticketing system in 2007 named 'BTS SmartPass', and plans to allow both BTS and Suvarnabhumi Airport Link passengers to use their RFID smart cards as single ticketing system not before 2014. A one-ticket system for BTS and MRT will be expected by 2015.

• 5 Dec 1999: Sukhumvit Line: Mo Chit – On Nut; Silom Line: National Stadium – Saphan Taksin
• 15 May 2009: Silom Line: Saphan Taksin – Wong Wian Yai
• 12 Aug 2011: Sukhumvit Line: On Nut – Bearing