The Yellow and Pink monorail systems are to begin their trial runs next month before commercial operations officially commence in February, Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob has confirmed.
Speaking after chairing a meeting on Thursday of the committee tasked with directing the preparations for the opening of the Yellow and Pink Lines, he said the construction of the Yellow Line (Lat Phrao-Samrong) is 96.8% completed while the Pink Line (Khaerai-Min Buri) is 92.3% finished.
Twenty-nine of all 30 trains for the Yellow Line and 34 of 42 trains for the Pink Line have already been delivered ahead of the trial, he said.
Safety standards are now being audited before an Independent Checking Engineer (ICE) report is carried out to green light the trials, said the minister.
Discussed also at Thursday's meeting was the need to remove a duct bank and relocate a floodway construction site belonging to the Department of Highways which runs between PK11 and PK13 stations of the Pink Line on Chaengwatthana Road, he said.
These two projects are expected to be finished by next March, he said.
The possibility of building some more skywalks to connect the Yellow and Pink Lines with other electric rail systems such as the Airport Rail Link was also discussed at the meeting, Mr Saksayam said.
During the same meeting, a proposal to adjust the routes of Bangkok's public bus services was also talked about, with plans to allow 81 bus lines to connect to a station on the Yellow route and 82 bus lines to a station on the Pink Line brought up, he said.
At present, there are only 59 bus lines that connect to the Yellow Line and 50 to a future station on the Pink Line, he said.
These are aimed at improving the convenience of commuters when the two monorail lines officially open next year, he said.
Following the free run next month, he said, a model is likely to be adopted from the Red Line's extension for pricing.
The partial commercial operation of both monorail lines is at this point expected to begin in February next year, said Pichet Kunathammarak, director-general of the Department of Rail Transport.
