This 29 July 2019, the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) together with the Bangkok Expressway and Metro Public Company Limited (BEM) will open for Public Demonstration a section of the Blue Line Extension

Tuesday 23 July 2019 15:20
Mr. Pakapong Sirikantaramas Governor of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand, Mr. Sombat Kitjalaksana, Managing Director of Bangkok Expressway and Metro Public Company Limited, led the media on a visit to both Sanam Chai Station and Tha Phra Station. Mr. Pakapong Sirikantaramas, Governor of the MRTA, mentioned that the MRTA has accelerated the preparation for opening to the public to service on the Blue Line, in honor to celebrate the occasion of His Majesty the King's Birthday.

During this Public Demonstration period, the public is invited to use the Blue Line Extension between Wat Mangkon Station and Tha Phra Station (total 5 stations) namely, Wat Mangkon Station, Sam Yot Station, Sanam Chai Station, Itsaraphap Station and Tha Phra Station from 29 July 2019 to 28 September 2019 without charge. After that, the service will be gradually adjusted according to the progress of the work and the availability of the system. Changes to the Public Demonstration service, such as adding the stations between Tha Phra and Lak Song Stations, or providing through put train service to the Lak Song Station without having to change trains at Hua Lamphong Station, will be publicized to the public in the future for further acknowledgment.

This initial Public Demonstration run will be open for service every day from 10.00 AM - 16.00 PM. Three trains will be allocated to provide round-trip train service between Hua Lamphong Station and Tha Phra Station. Travel time between these stations will be approximately eight minutes. Passengers traveling from the Blue Line (Tao Poon Station - Hua Lamphong Station) will have to change the trains at Hua Lamphong Station in order to travel onwards to Wat Mangkon Station - Tha Phra Station.

In the case of traveling between Wat Mangkon Station to Tha Phra Station, there will be no charge in fare. Entry must be made by using token or ticket for the MRT, via automatic gates. Passenger ticket and tokens are issued at the Ticket Vending Machines or the Ticket Offices found in the stations.

In the case of traveling via Blue Line MRT (Tao Poon Station - Hua Lamphong Station) to these five stations of this initial Public Demonstration, there will be a charge of the normal distanced based fare from a minimum of 16 baht to a maximum rate of 42 baht. Those traveling to/from the Purple Line will be charged the normal fare, as well, no more than 70 baht. Once the token or card is tapped at the gate, the maximum time allowed in the train system (BL and PPL) is 180 minutes. The issuance of the ticket and the use of the train system is in accordance with the conditions of BEM.

It is expected that there will be a large number of people participating in this Public Demonstration of the train service which may lead to long queues and we note that certain equipment is still undergoing final testing so we apologize in advance for any disturbance that may affect train and station availability. We also request cooperation from all riders to follow the advice of the staff, and take a chance to admire the architectural beauty and refrain from disturbing the beauty in Wat Mangkon Station, Sam Yot Station, Sanam Chai Station, and Itsaraphap Station. In order to maintain the public safety, people can take pictures within the beautiful stations with use of a general camera. Use of tripods and photographic equipment that obstruct passenger service are not allowed. For the case of taking pictures for use in the advertising, this must be approved by the MRTA or BEM first.