BANGKOK, Sept 12 — The State Enterprise Policy Office (SEPO) on Wednesday approved a plan to separate the Airport Rail Link from the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), setting it up as a new state enterprise to better operate the Airport Link system, according to Deputy Transport Minister Chadchart Sittipunt.
Mr Chadchart said that the SEPO meeting, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister/Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong has agreed to change the status of the SRT Electrified Train company, an SRT subsidiary which has been operated Airport Rail Link to a new state enterprise under Transport Ministry.
The finance ministry will hold all shares in the new state enterprise, he said, adding that the change is aimed at more flexibility of the operations.
After transforming the SRT Electrified Train company, it plans to operate an additional 7 or 8 routes which will be constructed in the future.
A committee will be set up to study the new structure of the SRT Electrified Train company for six months before submitting a plan to the Cabinet for approval, he said.
The Suvarnabhumi Airport Rail Link started official operation since August 2010. Services comprise two lines, non-stop express services between Suvarnabhumi Airport and Makkasan Station and City Train or Commuter services which run between Suvarnabhumi Airport, stop at Lat Krabang, Ban Thup Chang, Hua Mak, Makkasan, Ratchaprarop and Phaya Thai.
Mr Chadchart said that the operations of the Airport Rail Link experienced problems as it carried only 40,000 passengers per day for City Train services while Express services operate with only 5,000 passengers per day.
