BANGKOK, 11 September 2014 – The Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP) has revealed that the construction plan for the Pink Line electric train is awaiting proposal to the Cabinet while the bidding process is expected to take place late this year.
Director of the OTP Peerapol Thawornsuppacharoen stated that the Pink Line electric train, running from Khae Rai to Pak Kret and Min Buri, is one of the Transport Ministry’s projects which are to be presented to the Cabinet for approval in the near future. The new line, stretching 34.5 kilometers, will come in the form of a monorail and will require a budget of about 58.3 billion baht.
The Director explained that, if the green light is given by the Cabinet, the bidding session for the Pink Line will be opened to private firms by the end of this year and the system’s construction design will be conducted by the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand afterwards. If all goes as planned, the construction and test run processes are expected to take three years before services begin in early 2019.
According to the OTP, the monorail system is capable of transporting 80,000-200,000 passengers daily and its construction is considered easier than that of the dual rail system due to less space required for rail installation and smaller turning radius.
