Welcome to the bustling hub of Bangkok, where the hum of the metropolitan melody is powered by the rhythm of its ever-expanding rail networks! Picture this: a staggering 94.97% of the people zooming through the veins of this vivacious city are Bangkok’s very own, diving headfirst into the daily adventure from one corner of the metropolis to the other. A cozy 5.03%, hailing from beyond the city’s embrace, hitch a ride on the interprovincial trains, bringing tales from afar to the City of Angels.
So, what’s revving up the traffic on these steel chariots? Well, join us on a ride through the newly-minted lines – the golden beams of the Yellow Line stretching from Lat Phrao to Samrong, the Pink Line painting a stroke from Kae Rai to Minburi, and the dashing Red Line bridging Taling Chan, Bang Sue, to Rangsit. Each new line is like a fresh pulse in the city’s lifelines, a ticket to a swifter sojourn from the city’s heart to its far-reaching limb and back again.
Let’s roll out the red carpet for the high-flyers of Bangkok’s electric rail realm! Taking the crown is the Green Line, hosting a mind-boggling 264,066,131 people making their trips on this emerald serpent, hogging 54.03% of total rail glitz. A tip of the hat goes to the Blue Line, with its royal procession of 137,336,127 commuters. Not to be outshone, the swift Airport Rail Link whisks 22,495,300 people, with the Purple Line sedately trailing behind at 18,398,106. Last but certainly not least, our spritely Yellow Line has seen 8,296,347 humans whizz by!
In a savvy move, the government’s 20 baht fare fiesta since last October has left tickets fluttering and platforms bustling. Numbers don’t lie – a whopping jump from 50,564 to 94,446 passengers was witnessed on day one of the party! That’s right, who wouldn’t swap a motor-paced crawl for an electric sprint at such a steal?
But it doesn’t end there; turn the page as we peek into the crystal ball of Bangkok’s kinetic future. Tucked within the master plan dubbed M-MAP 2, four brand-spanking routes are bubbling on the blueprint, tagged A1, ripe and ready for the picking. Fancy a ride on the extended Red Line from Rangsit to Thammasat? That’ll be a cool 8.84 kilometers, please. How about the ride from Taling Chan to Salaya? Stretch those tracks for 14.8 kilometers. Or maybe you prefer the scenic route from Taling Chan to Siriraj? A sweet 5.7 kilometers awaits. And for the pièce de résistance, the Brown Line, stretching a glorious 22.1 kilometers from Kae Rai to Bueng Kum, is on the drawing board, preparing to carve new paths in the urban tapestry.
So there you have it, a tapestry of transit painting the town in all shades of speedy! Bangkok’s beating electric rail heart is set to grow even stronger, whisking away more smiles per mile, one swift journey at a time. Stay tuned, because on these rails, the next stop is always just a thrilling heartbeat away.
Toll road operators will be whingeing soon…
But when will Chiangmai get its decades promised modern transit system? It’s Thailand’s bustling second city, after all.