Transportation Minister Saksayam Chidchob said earlier this month that the Red Line rail project would begin a soft launch of its services from August 2.
The new service, which will allow passengers to travel free for three months, was formerly scheduled to start in March.
However, the launch was postponed and rescheduled for Monday, August 2, with a ceremony to be presided over by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha.
The Red Line was built to cover the greater Bangkok area, from Thammasat University’s Rangsit campus to Bang Sue and Taling Chan.
Officials said its fares would be based on distance and range from 15 to 42 baht, but they have yet to confirm the precise cost for each trip.
Transport Ministry expects to coordinate with the Expressway Authority of Thailand (Exat) and the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) to provide shuttle buses connected to the Red Line.
Mr. Saksayam said that the shuttle buses to connect to the railway project would help mitigate the travel plans affected by the inspection of Hua Lamphong’s routes.
Additionally, he has instructed the State Railway of Thailand to continue plans to hire contractors to build the extensions, expecting the line to be completed by 2025.
The 10.2-billion-baht Taling Chan-Salaya section and the 6.57-billion-baht Rangsit-Thammasat section are two of the four extensions.
The 6.64-billion-baht Taling Chan-Siriraj section and the 44.1-billion-baht “missing link” project connecting Bang Sue to Hua Lamphong are the other two extensions.
Meanwhile, Bangkok Mass Transit System Plc’s CEO Surapong Laoha-Unya said yesterday that travelers could use government subsidies to pay for their trips.
Khon La Khrueng (Half-Half) co-pay scheme beneficiaries and government welfare cardholders can spend their subsidies on the company’s sky train fares from Thursday.
