[Anonymous]

[TrainTraveller]

Arriving in Bangkok on the morning of August 23rd. I learned that it was the first public day of operation of the Airport train service . Having the unusual luxury of time , I elected to “check it out”

After the expected relatively brief and efficient immigration and customs formalities , I found directional signage to the trains very clear and after following several escalators I bought my ticket to Makkasan station for the promotional price of Baht100 and took a final elevator to the platform.

Boarding the train I realized that I had no idea when it was to depart – the screens indicating the departure in “x” seconds were not registering any seconds , however we departed after about ten minutes, so if they had been working, they would have counted down from around 600, I suppose.

I think some announcements for incoming “farangs” are essential to avoid the usual travel panic. That said, my ticket was #24 in the sequence, so if I was only the 24th commercial passenger, I must give allowance for start up “teething” issues.

The trains are bright and clean but I suspect that if they start to operate at high occupancy , the luggage racks will be inadequate. One immediate benefit for those who travel frequently to Bangkok is the change of scenery and the chance to stand up, stretch and wander around and look down on the area around the airport as opposed to the dreary concrete highway experienced by taxi

My hope was that taking the train would get me to a point where I would avoid congestion leading to my final destination in the Silom/Saladaeng area. Regretfully Makassan is at the beginning of the congestion and once I managed to get a taxi at the station, I was faced with all the same issues I thought that I could avoid had I originally taken a taxi from the airport – toll fees as we accessed the highway – dreadful congestion at the Rama iv intersection and the ever present concern as to what the taxi driver had in mind as the “best” route.

For those with time and a desire to save money , this did not even satisfy the frugal . The usual taxi fare from the airport to the Silom area is in the region of baht 300 including tolls …..my expedition was Baht100 for the train , 45 baht for the highway toll and 95 baht for the taxi – a total of Baht 240 and probably 20 to 30 minutes longer than simply taking the airport taxi.

I would not use the train again, I am afraid.

http://www.bangkokairporttrain.com/

[pariyap]

You could take CityLine link to Phayathai station which connected with BTS skytrain system. It is only Baht15 for the opening period.

[Zoowatch]

You could have…

spent 15 Baht from Suvarnabhumi to Phaya Thai (30 minutes)

and take the BTS from Phaya Thai to Saladaeng for 25 Baht (15 minutes).

You would be spending a maximum of 50 minutes and 40 Baht getting there, which is reasonable for a distance of ~30 km.

It does not purport to be the cheapest mode of transport of getting to town, but something that is guaranteed to have no jam, no bad taxi driver.

I’m sure the system will improve over time as it irons out the teething problems.

[Rabbz_Staralliance]

Zoowatch

I would not think so because onece you reached Phayathai Station, you need to walk down the stairs with your luggage, switch to the BTS getting all the hassle into the train, trying to squeez your-self off in Siam to change trains and to carry the luggage down the stairs agian @ SalaDaeng station, I don’t think so.

Think, if your flight arrive in the early morning of let’s say Monday for argument’s sake, your flight XYZ from airport ABC just landed @ Bangkok around err let’s say 5:30-ish AM It take you and hour and a half to get through custom and to retrive your luggage (I always go over that limit most of the time because of the baggage caroulsels).

It’s 6:30 and you catch a City line to avoid BKK rush-hour morning traffic to get back to your house in Silom soi 4. You take half and hour and arrive at the BTS Phayathai station platform at around 7:10 AM, here comes the sardine-packed to the very last atom BTS train arrives. You are so lucky that tons of people get of to catch a train to thier office in Hua Mark and you get in to the trian. 10 minutes later you arrive at Siam in a long line of poeple who wants to go to Siliom, etc. etc. 3 trains come (one train/5 min wait/ other train) you sucessfully get on the third trian.

You wish that BTS could buy longer trains with more capacity and finally get to your station. If I were you, coming from a bad-flight after that tedious conference having meeting till the last minute before boarding the plane (saying that I’m in the worst case scenario) I will be stressed to my limit. If that happend to me, I would rather take a taxi.

[Zoowatch]

Rabbz_Staralliance

Long train:

BTS will start rolling out the new 4-car train sets from Bombardier this December. The longer trains will serve the Silom Line. BTSC has also placed order (September 2010) with Siemens to add 1 additional car to all current train sets to make them all 4 cars. They will then be used exclusively for the Sukhimvit Line.

Sardine pack trains:

Well, nothing would beat the taxi of course, it gets you anywhere door to door. Of course, it would cost more and may be unreliable. Also, you can’t build a train line from the airport to all corners of Bangkok, right? Lets say you land at Heathrow at 7:10 a.m. on a weekday, and try to use the Piccadilly Line to Central London. You will also encounter congested trains + stairs + changing of lines. You might want to know that SRTET is going to install more escalators at the ARL stations starting the end of this year. The construction of a footbridge linking Makkasan and MRT at Phetchaburi will begin in January 2011.

I know it’s not perfect, but it provides a good alternative. This is just the beginning. When more mass transit lines are completed, it may be quite convenient to take the train to the airport. You are always welcome to use taxi services at the airport. It is fortunate that the cost of taxi rides in BKK is so cheap that you find no reason to use the train more. If it cost you £50 to get from the airport to city centre, then you may appreciate the train more.

[tarisingh]

any suggestions on how to while away a couple of hours at the airport – am flying TG business class to sydney

[MartynSinclair]

just go and enjoy all the Thai hospitality in their lounge. If you can get into the First class lounge, pray that your flight is delayed. I could quite happily spend a whole day in there bieng pampered with massages and food and free internet.

Just for assistance, if you have problems in the First lounge with sending email via Outlook, the settings you need are

smtp.totisp.com

that worked a few weeks ago. Using webmail, this has no effect.

[tarisingh]

thanks – but I’m in Business class!

[MartynSinclair]

then take the next best thing, the Thai business class lounge!

[Author]

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