IRSE Sept 08.indd

THAILAND CONVENTION REPORT
IRSE
BR867 d.c. track circuit feed sets in use
on STR at Hua Mak
infrastructure in the city, it was only
natural that some of it was built above
ground level. Following existing streets at
fourth floor level, this minimised the need
to demolish existing buildings for
construction and only caused minimal
disruption to traffic whilst the numerous
viaduct legs were built.
Two lines, the Sukhumvit and the
Silom, cover 23.5 km with 23 stations, the
Silom being the shorter of the two. The
system carries around 430 000
passengers on weekdays, 320 000 on a
Saturday and 200 000 on a Sunday,
removing significant numbers of car
journeys from the busy streets below. The
Sukhumvit line requires 22 trains and the
Silom line 8 trains to operate during the
peak. A minimum headway of 153
seconds is possible. The Silom line will
shortly be extended to the west from the
Saphan Taskin terminus, across the river
for a distance of 2.2 km with an initial two
new stations, followed by five more. The
extension will be controlled using moving
block equipment supplied by Bombardier,
with the remainder of the system being
converted at the same time to match it,
replacing the existing Siemens control
system. The extension is expected to open
in April 2009.
The entire system is controlled from a
control room (OCC) at Mo Chit, adjacent to
the maintenance facility. Seven staff per
shift manage the system from task based
desks, including line control, public
announcement and security.
All maintenance is undertaken at the
depot which also has a Hegenscheidt
wheel lathe for turning tyres without
removing the vehicle bogie.
BTS trains lined up in the Mo Chit
maintenance facility off peak
Bangkok Skytrain
BTS operate the Bangkok Skytrain system
under a 30 year concession from the city.
It was built entirely with private money,
with the operating company retaining
100% of the revenue collected.
The company additionally has the right
of first refusal to build and operate any
system extensions. Revenue earning
service commenced on the King’s birthday,
5 December 1999.
Land is very precious within Bangkok,
every square metre being used for
something. When the Government
decided to provide an improved transport
Entrance to Mo Chit maintenance depot
There are no Platform Edge Doors
(PEDs) on the Skytrain, instead a more
manual method of stopping people getting
too close to the arriving trains is used - a
man with a very loud whistle stands on the
platform looking along the yellow line. As
soon as a member of the unsuspecting
travelling public touches the line, the
whistle is blown with immense ferocity; as
certain members found out to their cost!
IRSE
NEWS Issue 137 September 2008 11