History
The key airport link contract was signed in January 2005, and construction began in July 2005. The line was built by a consortium of B Grimm, STECON and Siemens, and is owned and operated by State Railway of Thailand (SRT). The estimated cost of the project is 25.9 billion baht.
The line is built largely along the same alignment as the failed Bangkok Elevated Road and Train System (BERTS) project, started by Hopewell but stopped in 1997 when only 10% had been completed. Some BERTS pillars stood in the way of the new system, and after extensive debate on their suitability for reuse and demands for compensation from Hopewell, SRT decided to demolish the pillars and build new ones.
While originally scheduled to be completed by 2006, the Hopewell debacle, an extended bidding process and a series of legal challenges from property owners who had encroached on SRT's land, have repeatedly delayed the project. Initial test runs were conducted in October 2009, with a free limited trial service open to the public running from April 2010 and full commercial service launched on 23 August 2010.
Extension continuing along the SRT Red Lines (former BERTS) alignment from Phaya Thai to Bang Sue is also planned. The line may be extended to Don Mueang (site of Don Mueang International Airport) depending on Don Muaeng Airport's usage policy. In addition, the eastern section of the SRT Light Red Line commuter rapid transit, if built, will utilize the right of way of the SRL, with interchange provided at SARL at Phayathai, Makkasan and Hua Mak station.
Passive provision is being made for an extension of the rail link to a future second terminal at Suvarnabhumi airport.
Read more about this topic: Phaya Thai Airport Link Station
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