The Gold Line is an automated

people mover A people mover or automated people mover (APM) is a type of small-scale automated guideway transit system. The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks ...

line, part of

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...

system. The line is long, consisting of 3 stations, and was opened by Thai Prime Minister

Prayut Chan-o-cha Prayut Chan-o-cha (sometimes spelled Prayuth Chan-ocha; , ; born 21 March 1954) is a former Thai politician, army officer and dictator who became the 29th prime minister of Thailand after seizing power in the 2014 Thai coup d'état, 2014 coup ...

on 16 December 2020. It primarily serves as a feeder line between the BTS Silom line and

Iconsiam Iconsiam, stylized as ICONSIAM, is a mixed-use development on the banks of the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, Thailand. It includes a large shopping mall, which opened to the public on 9 November 2018, as well as hotels and residences. The ฿54 ...

shopping center. The line will be extended along Somdet Chao Phraya road to connect with the future

MRT Purple Line The MRT Purple line () or MRT Chalong Ratchadham line () is Bangkok's fifth rapid transit line, following the Sukhumvit Line, Silom Line, Blue Line, and Airport Rail Link. The line is long, serving the north-western area of Bangkok running ...

southern extension. When completed, it will connect Krung Thon Buri BTS station with Prajadhipok Road in

Thon Buri District Thon Buri (, ) is one of the 50 districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. On the west bank of Chao Phraya River, it was once part of Thon Buri province. Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) Bangkok Yai, Phra Nakhon (across Chao P ...

for a total distance of . The Gold Line is operated by

Bangkok Mass Transit System Public Company Limited Bangkok Mass Transit System Public Company Limited (BTSC, ) is a Thai transport company, best known as the operator of Bangkok's BTS Skytrain. It is a majority-owned subsidiary of BTS Group Holdings (BTSG, previously known as Tanayong), and also ...

(BTSC) under a 30-year contract. The BTSC also operates the BTS Skytrain. A flat fare of 16 Baht is charged. Tickets can only be purchased for stations within the line.

History

The line was not part of the first M-Map Master Plan as the line was proposed by the owners of Iconsiam mall in July 2015 to provide a feeder service to Iconsiam. The project was approved by the Thai Cabinet in September 2016 with an initial planned opening of late 2018. Preliminary works began in June 2018 with major construction commencing in September 2018. Design and development of the line was the responsibility of Krungthep Thanakom PCL, an enterprise of the

Bangkok Metropolitan Administration The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is the local government of Bangkok, which includes the capital of Thailand. The government is composed of two branches: the executive (or the Governor of Bangkok) and the legislative (or Bangkok Metro ...

. The project budget of 3.8 billion

Thai baht The baht (; , ; currency sign, sign: ฿; ISO 4217, code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). Prior to decimalisation, the baht was divided into eight ''fueang'' (, ), each of eight ''at'' (, ). The ...

was fully funded by the proponent of the project, shopping mall company

Siam Piwat Siam Piwat is a Bangkok-based retail and development company. The company is best known for managing Siam Center, Siam Discovery, Siam Paragon, and Iconsiam shopping malls in Bangkok, Thailand. History Siam Piwat Company Limited was first estab ...

who has responsibility for all construction costs. All advertising revenue and operating profits will be collected by

Company during the 30 year concession period. At the end of August 2020, overall work for the Gold Line was 95% complete. The line was due to open on 1 October 2020 and initial test runs began on 11 September. However, further test runs revealed that additional tests would be required of the signaling and operational systems before full operations could start. The President of the BTSC stated that a further two months of tests were required and that the line would not open until December 2020. In early December, an opening date of 16 December 2020 was announced. Upon opening, a one-month free travel period was in effect until 15 January 2021.

Extension

Prajadhipok Extension

The line will then be further extended west along Somdet Chao Phraya road and terminate at Prajadhipok station to connect with the

southern extension, which is scheduled to open in 2027.

Services

Gold Line trains operate from 06:00 to 00:00 with a frequency range of six to twelve-minute intervals. During the free fare period for the first month of operations in January 2021, the line was averaging between 5000 and 6000 daily passengers with 3000 using Iconsiam station. File:Gold Line train at Krung Thon Buri station.jpg, Bombardier Innovia APM 300 vehicle at Krung Thon Buri station File:(THA-Bangkok) Gold Line APM01 @ Khlong San 2024-02-12 (4).jpg, Bombardier Innovia APM 300 vehicle approaching Khlong San station File:Bombardier Innovia APM 300 Gold Line Interior.jpg, Interior of Gold Line Bombardier Innovia APM 300

Stations

Operation

Paetongtarn Shinawatra Paetongtarn Shinawatra (, , ; born 21 August 1986) is a Thai politician who is the 31st prime minister of Thailand since 2024 and leader of the Pheu Thai Party since 2023. A member of the Shinawatra family, she is the youngest child of the 23rd ...

has implemented a policy of free public transportation in Bangkok for one week. This measure aims to address the worsening air pollution caused by surging dust levels across all districts of the capital.

Headways

Ridership

Rolling stock

The Gold Line uses Bombardier Innovia APM 300 automated people movers with rubber tyres manufactured by CRRC Puzhen Bombardier Transportation Systems (joint venture of

Bombardier Transportation Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, with headquarters in Toronto and Berlin. It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. ...

and

CRRC Nanjing Puzhen CRRC Nanjing Puzhen () is a Chinese railway rolling stock manufacturer, based in Puzhen, Nanjing, Nanjing city. It is a subsidiary of CRRC. Nanjing Puzhen has supplied trains to Shanghai Metro Line 3 and Nanjing Metro in partnership with Alst ...

) in

Wuhu Wuhu () is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Anhui province of China, province, China. Sitting on the southeast bank of the Yangtze River, Wuhu borders Xuancheng to the southeast, Chizhou and Tongling to the southwest, Hefei City to the n ...

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

, China. Innovia APMs are commonly used at airports to transport passengers between terminals. Each set has two carriages with 138 passenger capacity in each carriage, and can travel at a maximum of . The first set was due to be delivered in April 2020, but was delayed due to a COVID-19 related lockdown in Anhui province. The first set later arrived in Thailand on 18 June 2020, the remaining 2 sets were delivered in August 2020. File:Gold Line train at Krung Thon Buri station.jpg, Bombardier Innovia APM 300 vehicle at Krung Thon Buri station File:(THA-Bangkok) Gold Line APM01 @ Khlong San 2024-02-12 (4).jpg, Bombardier Innovia APM 300 vehicle approaching Khlong San station File:Bombardier Innovia APM 300 Gold Line Interior.jpg, Interior of Gold Line Bombardier Innovia APM 300

Line map

Network map

Gallery

File:A ride on Bangkok Gold Line - รถไฟฟ้าสายสีทอง (January 2022) - img 13.jpg, Passengers waiting to enter the train at BTS G1

Krung Thon Buri station. File:สถานีรถไฟฟ้าสายสีทองเจริญนคร เขตคลองสาน กรุงเทพมหานคร (7).jpg, Exterior of BTS G2

Charoen Nakhon station. File:A ride on Bangkok Gold Line - รถไฟฟ้าสายสีทอง (January 2022) - img 04.jpg, Platforms at BTS G2

Charoen Nakhon station. File:สถานีรถไฟฟ้าสายสีทองเจริญนคร เขตคลองสาน กรุงเทพมหานคร (4).jpg, Alstom Innovia APM 300 approaching BTS G2

Charoen Nakhon station. File:(THA-Bangkok) Gold Line APM01 @ Khlong San 2024-02-12 (2).jpg, Alstom Innovia APM 300 turns around outside of BTS G3

Khlong San station. File:A ride on Bangkok Gold Line - รถไฟฟ้าสายสีทอง (January 2022) - img 01.jpg, Ticket Value Machine of Gold Line. File:A ride on Bangkok Gold Line - รถไฟฟ้าสายสีทอง (January 2022) - img 06.jpg, Signage of Gold Line. File:Gold Line APM at Krung Thonburi 01.jpg, Train approaching BTS G1

Krung Thon Buri station.

References

External links

Airport Rail Link, BTS, MRT & BRT network map

MRTA
{{Urban Rail Transit in ASEAN 2020 establishments in Thailand Rapid transit in Bangkok Railway lines opened in 2020