113 replies to this topic
Posted 2009-09-07 00:06:01
 somnomnaaduay, on 2009-09-06 08:45:40, said:
yom07, on 2009-09-05 13:16:08, said: Financial benefits a really arguable here. Taxi cost about 350 thb door to door. For a single traveller, that could make it. For 2, that starts to be a little more difficult. 3 or 4 and it is definitely more expensive. How many travellers are travelling alone ???
hmmmmmm.......i cant see a family of 4 westeners, all with 20kg luggage allowance, squeezing there suitcases into the boot of one of the taxis somehow....would probably need 2 cabs 
Yes! It would be way more fun watching them trundle along a railway platform and take up 8 seats in a coach. 
Posted 2009-09-07 09:49:00
I'll be using it with my usual mini-laptop bag and maybe one light carry on. Hardly burdensome. Thus, it can be concluded that the billions spent will be worth it.
Posted 2009-09-07 13:18:01
eggomaniac, on 2009-09-07 00:01:16, said: rayw, on 2009-09-04 23:39:41, said: May be more expensive than a taxi if there are 3 or 4 of you but hey don't forget the speed and comfort that the train will offer in comparison. One little worry is will you be able to get on these trains at busy times as waiting a further hour for the next express will be a big downer. Hope they are pretty long trains with plenty of seats as no way would I want to stand for the journey then a taxi would be preferable.
Anyway great news and a great positive step for Thailand
Will the train station be right in the airport terminal or will it require a taxi trip to reach? <methinks
The Google maps seem to have it at the Novotel Hotel?
I think it will be on the basement level of the main terminal, so could be 3 levels down from arrivals and 5 levels up to depatures.
Just a guess based on how the tracks appear to go into the terminal.
TH
Posted 2009-09-07 17:32:38
Mercury, on 2009-09-06 00:53:28, said: Anyone know just what the logistics are between getting off the train at the airport and getting to check in ? I think this will be the make or break.
With taxis (and taxis are so cheap in relative terms), you can just walk straight into check in.
As they built it from scratch, the train should come in under the airport.
Are there still plans to have airline check-in counters at the Makkasan terminal where you check your luggage as well? If so, that would make the process easier at the airport end when on an outbound flight.
Posted 2009-09-07 20:53:59
skorchio, on 2009-09-05 16:09:21, said: tac, on 2009-09-05 15:49:15, said: thaibkk, on 2009-09-05 13:25:57, said: travelling with 2 - 3 people you would be better of with a taxi, if you could find an honest one...
i guess also a nice double pricing for locals and farangs is in place
Since 1982, I've taken taxis from the airports into Bangkok more than 200 times, and have never been ripped off. Just pay the extra 50 baht and use the official service - you'll have no problem.
hear hear - have taken a taxi from SVB at least 20 times, and always pay approx the same to get downtown, about 280B plus the 50, plus the tollway. Never had a problem, never had a rip-off. I read above about some geezer going to the top floor to avoid the 50B. Does Thailand attract only penniless weasles, or do visitors morph into weasles according to the number of visits / time spent here?
Weasle who avoids 50B charge - you seem so proud! well done!
I used to sometimes go via the queue. I gave up - more hassles dealing with drivers in the queue trying to justify the wait, refusing meters and the usual rubbish. I recommend going upstairs and getting in a taxi just dropped someone off or being waved off by the officials - no problems there because they are so happy they have a return fair without dealing with the queues and officials. Paying the premium gives worse service if you have basic Thai language skills.
Posted 2009-09-08 13:53:59
wpcoe, on 2009-09-07 17:32:38, said: Mercury, on 2009-09-06 00:53:28, said: Anyone know just what the logistics are between getting off the train at the airport and getting to check in ? I think this will be the make or break.
With taxis (and taxis are so cheap in relative terms), you can just walk straight into check in.
As they built it from scratch, the train should come in under the airport.
Are there still plans to have airline check-in counters at the Makkasan terminal where you check your luggage as well? If so, that would make the process easier at the airport end when on an outbound flight.
There is.
This is the picture of inside the City Air Terminal. Check in your luggages here. Once you arrive at the airport, just walk to immigration.
http://www.skyscrape...p;postcount=847
Posted 2009-09-08 16:19:11
It's not run by the same organization which runs the BTS (Skytrain) system, but to the average Joe it looks very similar; overhead track which look like a copy of BTS in terms of appearance, carriages look similar to BTS from outside (don't know what they look like inside but earlier reports indicated there will be special areas / racks or whatever for suitcases etc. ).
The Airport Link will be operated by a new operations company to be set up by the State Rail Authority of Thailand.
The Makksan Airport Link station is overhead (above the existing standard train line which has been there for many decades, the line that goes from Hualampong station to Don Muang station and then further to the North East etc.).
For this old line there is already a ground level old Makkasan Station which is about maybe 800 metres away from the new Makkasan overhead Airport Link station. There has been talk that a new Makkasan station might be built on the ground level directly under the overhead station so that passengers could quite easily transfer to the old train sytem, but this seems to have gone quiet.
Makkasan is about as central as your going to find, unless the governemnt was prepared to acquire massive amounts of land for another location, probably not justifyable.
Airport link overhead station platform will have an exit directly onto the Phya Thai BTS platforms. (Get off the airport link, walk about three minutes and your on BTS platform.)
It has taxi exits onto Payonyothin Road (perhaps it's called Phya Thai road in that spot, not sure), and also onto Rajarparop Road. Both taxi exits not all that far to entrances to several tollways.
Perfect for me, my condo is just around the corner from Makkasan, easy 10 minute or less walk even with a suitcase etc.
Posted 2009-09-08 19:02:11
scorecard, on 2009-09-08 17:19:11, said: It's not run by the same organization which runs the BTS (Skytrain) system, but to the average Joe it looks very similar; overhead track which look like a copy of BTS in terms of appearance, carriages look similar to BTS from outside (don't know what they look like inside but earlier reports indicated there will be special areas / racks or whatever for suitcases etc. ).
The Airport Link will be operated by a new operations company to be set up by the State Rail Authority of Thailand.
The Makksan Airport Link station is overhead (above the existing standard train line which has been there for many decades, the line that goes from Hualampong station to Don Muang station and then further to the North East etc.).
For this old line there is already a ground level old Makkasan Station which is about maybe 800 metres away from the new Makkasan overhead Airport Link station. There has been talk that a new Makkasan station might be built on the ground level directly under the overhead station so that passengers could quite easily transfer to the old train sytem, but this seems to have gone quiet.
Makkasan is about as central as your going to find, unless the governemnt was prepared to acquire massive amounts of land for another location, probably not justifyable.
Airport link overhead station platform will have an exit directly onto the Phya Thai BTS platforms. (Get off the airport link, walk about three minutes and your on BTS platform.)
It has taxi exits onto Payonyothin Road (perhaps it's called Phya Thai road in that spot, not sure), and also onto Rajarparop Road. Both taxi exits not all that far to entrances to several tollways.
Perfect for me, my condo is just around the corner from Makkasan, easy 10 minute or less walk even with a suitcase etc.
Note that there will be some suitcase racks but if your suitcase is big, then you have to check it in. Your luggages then will be handled by the ARL and then transferred to your plane. You do not have to carry your own luggage. It's the same system just like what Hong Kong is having, pretty much.
The overheads we are talking about here is not the "elevated" track that I think you're trying to refer to. Overheads are what feed the trains the electricity. This overhead electrical feeding system exists pretty much everywhere in Europe but is fairly new to Thailand (if you don't count what Thailand used to have 50 years ago). BTS does not use overheads but the third rail.
Posted 2009-09-08 22:55:21
webfact, on 2009-09-05 13:13:04, said: PaulDee, on 2009-09-05 07:01:03, said: Where is Makkasan area? How close (or far) is it from everything else, like Sukhumvit, MBK, Silom, Victory Monument?
here is a map SARL-Makkasan-Station-City-Air-Terminal
No map in my link looks like one of those l sepia Go Ogle earth fotos
A real street plan showng nearest taxi entrance and the real address
in Thai
may be useful to some and could be quicker in the rush times.
However hourly service is not very encouraging
As to the celebration and the date we'll only know on 6th of December
Phayathai is v near many hotels but still needs a taix transfer
Pathetic with a new System cannot get a unified ticket system for BTS MRT and SRT new link as done in Kobenhaven Amsterdam Dusseldorf Sydney etc
PS solution to Swampy touts is allow only departing passengers with tickets and passport holdrs accredited staff beyond the transport hub easiy arranged wont happen while corruption is derigeur and likely to increase as numbers shrink income per punter
I prefer exiting from C mai via KL which is far more relaxing
Edited by RubbaJohnny, 2009-09-08 23:05:08.
Posted 2009-09-09 09:49:38
scorecard, on 2009-09-08 16:19:11, said: ...
Airport link overhead station platform will have an exit directly onto the Phya Thai BTS platforms. (Get off the airport link, walk about three minutes and your on BTS platform.)
...
The "three minutes walk" applies to Phaya Thai station of the airport link. This is NOT the express train from the airport which stops at City Air Terminal Makkasan. If you are in the express train from the airport and want to go to Phaya Thai you have to change to the slow train and travel two stations more. See this map. Of course you can take the slow train form the airport in the first place. It took me a while to work that out. 
Edited by lothda, 2009-09-09 10:01:09.
Posted 2009-09-10 04:28:32
roadking96cube, on 2009-09-05 20:01:18, said: I always stay at Nana so what I gather from the last three pages to get there I would take the airport train to the last stop.Then have a 15 minute walk to a air train station which i could then ride to Polen Chit or Nana air train station.We usally can negotiate a taxi from the airport to Nana for 450Baht so maybe if two or more of us,a taxi will still be the way to travel.Be back end of october to December what with a new airport train and Thai Air now flying straight back to Brisbane and free tourist visa's for a year I'm just glad I'm a member of Thai Visa .com or I wouldn't know none of this new's keep up the good work.cheers
I live in Soi Nana and I've never paid more than 250 baht for a taxi from the airport to my home (not counting the 25 baht + 45 baht tollway fees.) The trick is not to try to negotiate the fare but rather to get the driver to use the meter. In any negotiation, the driver will always ask for a fare higher than what the meter would indicate. Otherwise there would be no point in him negotiating. And where is the benefit for the passenger to pay more than he should? Doesn't make sense.
Posted 2009-09-13 10:40:55
yom07, on 2009-09-05 02:16:08, said: Financial benefits a really arguable here. Taxi cost about 350 thb door to door. For a single traveller, that could make it. For 2, that starts to be a little more difficult. 3 or 4 and it is definitely more expensive. How many travellers are travelling alone ???
Good point. For any location on east Sukhumvit, let's say Phrom Pong and above, the financial benefit is negligible, even for a single traveler. I took a taxi to Soi 41 from the airport 2 weeks ago, the meter was 180-190 bht, plus the 50 bht extra (the driver took an exit before toll), total 240 bht, and that was door to door.
Obviously one of those rare cases where the taxi driver didn't try to rip me off
Posted 2009-09-13 15:28:55
The Airport Link will also connect with the Subway. I don't remember if it's at the Rama 9 station or the Petchaburi station. For people staying on Sukhumvit, this might be a better connection than the Phaya Thai BTS station.
Although it's called the Airport Rail Link, it will probably end up serving more commuters than air travelers. I used to work out on Pattangarn Road & this line would have made my commute out there much quicker and easier.
Posted 2009-09-13 15:45:38
otherstuff1957, on 2009-09-13 16:28:55, said: The Airport Link will also connect with the Subway. I don't remember if it's at the Rama 9 station or the Petchaburi station. For people staying on Sukhumvit, this might be a better connection than the Phaya Thai BTS station.
Although it's called the Airport Rail Link, it will probably end up serving more commuters than air travelers. I used to work out on Pattangarn Road & this line would have made my commute out there much quicker and easier.
30 minute frequency for commuter trains makes commuting unrealistic. With higher frequencies, airport link would be great for trips within the Bangkok.
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