The Red Line Mass Transit System Project is a
commuter rail
Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...
system serving the
Bangkok Metropolitan Region
The Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR) (; ; ), may refer to a government-defined "political definition" of the urban region surrounding the metropolis of Bangkok, or the built-up area, i.e., urban agglomeration of Bangkok, Thailand, which varies in ...
in Thailand. Construction began in January 2009, and free public trial operation began on 2 August 2021, when
Bang Sue Grand Station opened, with full commercial service starting in November 2021.
It is part of the
Mass Rapid Transit Master Plan in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region.
Financed through an aid grant from the
Japan International Cooperation Agency
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (), also known as JICA'','' is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social gr ...
at a cost of (), the system consists of two lines, one (also referred to as the
SRT Dark Red Line) running from
Thammasat University
Thammasat University (TU; ; , ) is a public university, public research university in Thailand with campuses in the Tha Phra Chan area of Bangkok, Rangsit, Pattaya and Lampang Province. , Thammasat University has over 39,000 students enrolled in ...
's
Rangsit
Rangsit (, ) is a city and neighbourhood in Pathum Thani Province, Thailand. Rangsit is a metropolitan city that supports the expansion of Bangkok in the north. Rangsit has become a departure point for travel to provinces in north, northeast, and ...
campus to
Maha Chai
Samut Sakhon (, , is a city in Thailand; it is the capital of Samut Sakhon province. It is also part of the Bangkok Metropolitan Region.
Toponymy
Samut Sakhon was formerly called Tha Chin (Chinese Pier) probably because, in the old days, it had b ...
in Samut Sakhon Province, and the other (
SRT Light Red Line
The SRT Light Red Line, or Nakhon Withi Line () is a between Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal and Taling Chan and is part of the SRT Red Lines suburban railway system serving the greater Bangkok Metropolitan Region.
An initial segment from ...
) running from
Salaya in Nakhon Pathom Province to
Hua Mak in Bangkok, with both passing through
Bang Sue, which acts as a connecting hub to the
Bangkok MRT system.
Most of the railway runs alongside existing national railroad tracks, eventually replacing them. Segments running through inner-city areas are elevated, and the system is electrified by
overhead lines
An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, Electric multiple unit, electric multiple units, trolleybuses or trams. The generic term used by the International Union ...
. The system was developed and is owned by the
State Railway of Thailand
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) (, abbrev. รฟท., ) is the state-owned rail operator under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transport (Thailand), Ministry of Transport in Thailand.
History
The SRT was founded as the Royal State Rail ...
. Since the Red Lines run roughly along the alignment of the failed
Hopewell Project, they have been described as a "Hopewell revival".
["Reviving the former Hopewell route", translated and summarized by Wisarut Bholsithi from Prachachart Thurakij, 4–7 March 2004. "This Northern Commuter has to connect with the Airport Link which is not even at the design stage. At the minimum, the detailed design for the Airport Link must be done by July 2004. The Hopewell revival will be an elevated single floor—either shared tracks or separated tracks for High Speed Rail, DMU/Diesel Tracks, and Red Line Commuter which all have to be done in six years. The elevated section will end at Don Muang and then it will be at grade with separated tracks."]
See also
*
Greater Bangkok commuter rail
Greater Bangkok commuter rail is a commuter rail system in Bangkok Metropolitan Region, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province, Saraburi Province, Lopburi Province, Suphan Buri Province, Ratchaburi Province, Chacheongsao Province, Nakhon Nayok Pr ...
References
External links
{{Urban Rail Transit in ASEAN
25 kV AC railway electrification