Bangkok Airport Rail Link
Wonder if there will be construction in the Bangkok Airport Rail Link, which came into use at the end of August 2010, has the connection options to MRT and BTS, the subway and skytrain, been given due consideration?
Bangkok apparently did not want to lag behind other major cities where you can travel to the city from the airport in a comfortable and cheap way. A prestige object and has the importance of arriving travelers been lost sight of during the construction?
The CityLine
To go to the city with the Airport Rail Link you can use the so-called City Line that will take you to Makkasan in about half an hour where you can transfer to the MRT. If you want to use the BTS, you travel a little further to the end station Phaya Thai. Conversely, from both stations mentioned there is a direct connection to Suvarnabhumi Airport and vice versa.
The route description to the Airport Rail Link is well and clearly indicated in the arrivals hall and will certainly not be a problem. You also don't have to wait long because the train departs every 6 minutes from 35 am to midnight. The price will not be an objection either, because for XNUMX baht you go to Makkasan and for ten baht more to Phaya Thai. You can buy a train ticket at the various ticket machines or at the counter.
The test on the sum
After I brought a good friend to Suvarnabhumi Airport, I think it would be a nice test to take the Airport Line back to my hotel at Sukhumvit 11. Bought a ticket to Makkasan at the machine and a few minutes later on my way. In total, the Airport City Line has 7 stops, the fifth of which is Makkasan. From there you can continue your journey via the MRT station Petchaburi to Sukhumvit, among others.
On the site of the Bangkok Airport Train it is very laconically indicated that Makkasan is connected to the subway Petchaburi, but beware; that is quite a walk especially if you arrive with the necessary luggage. In short, for 16 baht I only bridge one stop from there and am on Sukhumvit in no time and walk to soi 11.
All in all a nice experience, but I still frown to do this after a long flight and twenty kilos of luggage. You can save 300 baht on taxi costs that way if you travel alone. It is a decision that is very personal for everyone. My opinion? Just take a guess.
Nice test on the sum. What is also nice is that the link has a slow and a fast connection. Express. Now it is a bit unfortunate that maintenance is required in the 2nd half of 2014. Everything planned, but forgot to order the parts. As a result, only the slow service has been running for months now. And so certainly during the day it is overcrowded with commuter traffic. There is hardly any space for your 20kg suitcases. What is nice is that the price of the ticket is not 90 bht but only 45. So every disadvantage has an advantage. That wisdom also applies in Thailand!
The transfer from the Airport Link to the skytrain is indeed not quite your thing, but that applies to several so-called 'transfer points', such as from the bus terminal (where the Bell buses arrive from Pattaya) to the skytrain.
joseph,
I do like a gamble. So I think you were not too thrilled in the end and certainly wouldn't advise doing it after a long intercontinental flight.
But by now you also know that words such as planning, thinking carefully and carrying out preventive maintenance are not words / concepts that are ingrained in Thais. So you couldn't have been really surprised. However?
Very informative experiment, of course.
I often find that connections of the various public transport systems do not connect well with each other. to transfer from the train to the bus, a tuk-tuk is often necessary.
In itself it is not a bad connection, but not too good either. If you travel alone and you need to be in the city, you will not only save costs, you will be a little faster, because you will avoid traffic jams.
With several people it starts to add up nicely and then a taxi is better recommended. You can then take a nap during the traffic jams….
If you go to Hua Hin or Pattaya, it is much better to travel with the large bus service. You can reserve and pay for this online. http://www.airporthuahinbus.com/
Two considerations for me:
- Comfort
- time.
I live on Suk soi 16/20. During rush hour I take the Airport Rail Link to avoid the heavy traffic. Outside rush hours, especially late in the evening, I take a taxi to avoid the transfer and luggage lugging. Taxi less than 300 baht if not too busy, Rail Link / Mrt 51 baht.
Another possibility is to go from Pattaya-Jomtien with the direct bus line (buy a ticket in advance to avoid waiting in Jomtien) to the airport (approx. 2 hours) and change there, it is a short walk, the airport rail link to get to Bangkok so easily and to have me transported there by other means of transport. And back the other way it said that if the bus at the airport is busy you may have to wait an hour, or part thereof. In about 2,5 hours in the heart of Bangkok.
It was certainly thought about, but the problems turned out to be too great. ARL runs exactly above the SRT's own land = the Thai NS, because of the speed of construction (no expropriation) and costs. BTS only runs exactly above streets, “municipality” BKK. Ditto for MRT, but below. And the cost: too few trains ordered, so in the case of major repairs there is immediately a shortage of equipment.
People are already busy extending the ARL via the railway line via Samsen-Don Muang to far above BKk (Rangsit/Thammasat University), a large part of which has already been built viaduct. Then there will also be an express between both airports.
My last experience last month was that you can easily go from the Airport to Phayathai station where the Skytrain BTS is. From that station you can reach all other stations of the BTS and also the metro stations MRT. All very easy, no problems.
Gerrit, how far do you have to drag your luggage before you get to the BTS station? On Makkasan it is a long way and with luggage it is certainly no fun.
Hi Joseph, no, there is an escalator and a lift and maybe a 200m maximum walk all together.
I'm going to Bangkok for the first time in 5 weeks and I'm wondering what's the best way to get to Khao San Road? We arrive around 7:15 in the morning.
Taxi best option? Or ov?
Taxi is the best option. Go to the Taxi service desk at the airport and they will help you further.
You can take the Airport Rail Link to Phaya Thai and from there by taxi. But the easiest way is simply to take a taxi and then directly to Khao San Road. Especially if you come to Bangkok for the first time, it is a better option.
A tip: taxi drivers can see from a kilometer away that you are coming to Thailand for the first time. Don't just go to a taxi. Don't get dragged into a taxi either. These are often people who take you to a limousine service and are many times more expensive than a normal taxi.
There is an official taxi place. That is also indicated. In addition to the ride, you also pay money for the toll road. It is possible that the driver only asks for this at the end of the ride, but also during the ride. I always pay for entering the toll road. You can bypass the toll road, but then you pay more for the longer ride.
I have never taken a taxi from the airport to downtown Bangkok. Everything with the Airport Link, cheap and easy.
Of course, if you don't want to drag your suitcase around and want to be dropped off at your door, then you shouldn't choose this means of transport.
I hope that something will finally be done to get to Don Muang in a decent way. You can or couldn't reach that with the skytrain. Despite previous attempts, judging by the works of art, to construct this.
Hopefully there will be a fast and preferably also cheap and time-resistant connection between the two airports.