Airport Rail Link check-in likely to begin next year

BANGKOK - Rail link operator SRT Electrified Train Co (SRTET) is looking at opening until early next year a city check-in system at Makkasan rail station according to chief executive Peerakan Kaewwongwattana of SRTET to local journalists. Designed originally to work as an airport city check-in, Makkasan Station did not so far succeeded to turn to an equivalent of existing city check-in facilities as they do exist in Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong or Seoul. The lack of proper access to the station, the lack of inside facilities, the absence of a proper transfer system with the nearby MRT (located less than 200 meters away from Makkasan but until recently virtually inaccessible!) certainly explains the station failure. After opening dedicated counters, Bangkok Airways closed down its check-in operation while Thai Airways sees some 15 to 20 passengers a day at its remaining facilities.

For Kaewwongwattana, check-in and luggage loading systems are now getting improved, before being operational by year-end or early next year. "As Suvarnabhumi airport has experienced high passenger congestion, the 10,000 square metres of Makkasan station is capable of transporting 10,000 passengers a day," he said to media.

Frequencies will also be boosted with a train leaving every half hour compared to one hour at present. The City Airport Line- which stops at a few more stations, which lengthens the travel time by 10 more minutes than the Airport Express- circulates up to 5 times per hour. The CEO of SRTET that Don Mueang International Airport, which now welcomes low cost carriers, is looking at opening a new line from Phaya Thai Skytrain station. The line could be completed by the end of 2015 and would then be in connection with the City Airport Link to Suvarnabhumi. Covering 23-25 kilometres, the route would have six stations with the ride taking less than 40 minutes. According to the Bangkok Post, 1.45 million commuters use the ARL each month, up 15% from last year while the City Airport Line welcomed last year over 18 million travellers.

Sourced: TravelDailyNews