Yellow Line study to be final in April

An environmental impact assessment of a 2.6km extended section of the Yellow Line is expected to be completed by April.

Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand assistant governor Sarot T Suwan said public input is being gathered for the 2.6km section to ensure a smooth ride for commuters. A second public hearing is scheduled for early March next year.

According to Mr Sarot, the 2.6km section will run from Ratchada-Lat Phrao intersection to Ratchayothin intersection where it will link with the northern Green Line, which runs from Bangkok’s Mor Chit to Pathum Thani’s Khu Khot.

The original 30.4km Yellow Line, worth 52 billion baht, stretches from the Lat Phrao area in Bangkok to Samrong in Samut Prakan.

After the EIA is approved, the project will be forwarded to the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP), the public-private partnership (PPP) board and to the cabinet for approval.

According to Mr Sarot, the 2.6km section is designed to be a monorail with two stations: one of them opposite the Criminal Court and the other at Ratchayothin intersection.

The system’s maximum speed is at 80kmph with a carrying capacity of 25,00030,000 per hour.

It connects with the Green Line via a skywalk.

Construction costs of the extension are estimated at 4 billion baht with work likely to begin in the middle of 2019, roughly the same time as that of the original Yellow Line.

He said the entire Green Line route is expected to be operational in early 2021 while the Green Line (Mor Chit-Khu Khot) is likely to begin service in July 2020.

Participants at a recent public hearing on the 2.6km section of the Yellow Line expressed support for the project because it would provide greater convenience for commuters.

However, they voiced concerns about traffic woes during the construction and floods on Ratchadaphisek Road which have seemed to have got worse in recent years after heavy rains.