The Suvarnabhumi Airport Rail Link is up and running…

… but will not be opened to the public until spring 2010!

Or so say the people at Siemens, the German company that has built the SARL (Suvarnabhumi Airport Rail Link) for the State Railway of Thailand (SRT).

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Technically ready

I had the great privilege to experience a so called VIP run on the Airport Rail Link last Saturday, with the Swiss Thai Chamber of Commerce, and to be given a good presentation of the whole project by the Siemens team.

Although the train is now technically ready (as I have experienced by myself), there are still a lot of testing and trainings to do that will make it difficult to meet the December 5th deadline.

1 line, 2 trains

The Suvarnabhumi Airport Rail Link provides 2 different rides: the first one is an Express line between Suvarnabhumi Airport and a City Air Terminal at Makkasan, in central Bangkok. The second one is a City line commuting different stations in Bangkok and the Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The City Line and the Express Line feature different models of trains, both supplied by Siemens.

Makkasan Station

The Makkasan station will be the main station, the only one where passengers will be able to check in their luggaged (for selected airlines only) and the only one offering the Express Airport service.

The Makkasan station is located at the intersection between Asoke Road and Petchaburi Road. It is near the Petchaburi MRT station, but both stations are not connected. You’ll have to walk and cross the street to reach one from the other.

The Makkasan station is a brand new station. It’s huge, and not finished yet. It’s look more like a small airport terminal than like a train station (see pictures).

160, the magic number

160 km/h is the maximum speed that the Express Line can reach. At this speed, the train will be able to reach the Airport from Makkasan in less than 15 minutes. 13 minutes when I tried it. State Railway of Thailand will however claim 15 minutes as the official duration for the journey. The City line will not reach this speed and will stop at all the intermediate station. It will reach the Airport from Makkasan in 27 minutes.

160 baht is also the price for the Express Line (one way). I don’t know the price yet for the City Line.

No common ticket

There are already 2 ticketing systems for the BTS (aerial metro) and the MRT (subway). Guess what? The SARL will have its own ticketing system! Take the BTS at Siam station, change to the MRT at Asoke and reach the SARL at Makkasan to go to the Airport. You’ll have bought 3 different tickets for your ride.

Taxi will still be a better choice for a party of 2 people or more. However the SARL gives you the possibility to check in your luggage in the morning and enjoy your day in the city until your late night flight. And also to avoid the heavy traffic on rush hours, of course.

City Line until Phaya Thai

The City Line doesn’t stop at Makkasan but goes further for 2 more stations, ending up at Phaya Thai where it connects with the Phaya Thai BTS Station. I don’t know if the 2 stations are physically connected or if, as at Makkasan station, one has to walk to connect.

“Wait moment”

As I said (as I have been told), there is few chance that the service opens in 2009. More realistic forecast is April-May 2010.

Select your destination

And now to finish with a funny note, here is the screen of the ticket vending machine at Makkasan station.

Select your destination: Suvarnabhumi or… Suvarnabhumi? I mean, where else could you go!