Cheap city train travel planned during royal cremation

Cheap city train travel planned during royal cremation

Workers build the royal crematorium for the cremation ceremony for His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej on Sept 14, 2017. (Photo by Patipat Janthong)
Workers build the royal crematorium for the cremation ceremony for His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej on Sept 14, 2017. (Photo by Patipat Janthong)

Free or cut-rate single-price tickets on city trains are among proposals being considered to handle the huge influx of mourners expected for the cremation of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej next month.

All concessionaires and operators of mass transit lines are being involved in talks on preparations for the five-day ceremony.

Acting Mass Rapid Transit Authority (MRTA) governor Rithika Suparat said free parking services and possibly free rides are among the options being considered.

The MRTA would hold talks with representatives from the Airport Rail Link and the BTS skytrain this week to discuss consistent pricing for the public during the ceremonies, to be held from Oct 25-29.

Mr Rithika said they would consider two options, with the first being the skytrain and subway operators waiving ticket fees after the Airport Link announced it would do so.

The second option involves charging one price for all stations, such as 20 baht, to prevent bottlenecking from the expected mass influx of passengers.

Mr Rithika said the MRTA will waive charges at all of its parking lots.

A decision would be made “as soon as possible”, so that all concerned could hold further discussions with their respective administrative boards.

The MRTA wa still considering whether to extend daily services by an hour, from midnight to 1am, to accommodate incoming passengers during the ceremony.

Surapong Laoha-unya, director and chief operating officer of the Bangkok Mass Transit System Plc , which oversees the skytrain, said the BTSC is talks with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration about fares during the royal cremation.

The BTSC is plans to increase staff in stations with high passenger traffic, such as Victory Monument, Phaya Thai and Siam stations, he said.

Suthep Panpeng, deputy director-general of SRT Electric Train Co, which oversees the Airport Rail Link, has said fares on the service could be waived for three days, from Oct 25-27, with the approval of the State Railway of Thailand board.

Mr Suthep also said the company will schedule airport link trains to arrive at its platforms every 10 minutes throughout the ceremony.

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