The last few years the service of the skytrain public transport in Bangkok has become increasingly tedious. The platform at Siam Square, where both the Silom line and the Sukhumvit line pass, can be very overcrowded, so much so that the situation may even become dangerous for passengers. Admittedly, the video made here was made at the time of some sort of problem on the Sukhumvit line, but similar long queues and overcrowded have occurred on other days.
The background to this situation, is that 'public transport' like the skytrain and the subway in Bangkok, are in private hands. This may be economically more efficient, transporting as many people as possible, at a low price, and with as much profit as feasable. However, the danger of such relying on private companies, is that the comfort of the passengers is sometimes less at the heart of the service. Trains should run at shorter intervals, and trains should have more carriages than at present, at peak hours.
While both the skytrain and the subway have made getting around in Bangkok easier, it is a major disappointment that such slow progress is made in expanding the transport network. The skytrain, more than 10 years in existence, still operates only two lines : the Sukhumvit line and the Silom line. It has only become profitable the last few years. The subway only operates one line. By now, one would expect a network of more than a dozen lines, covering the whole Bangkok metropolis, but the process of expanding the network is unduly slow.
Is there no money for this? We remember that during a previous government no less than about 2 billion US dollar was used in subsidizing fuel for cars and truck transport. This is about the same amount of money it has cost to establish the two lines of the skytrain. Talk about a misuse of funds. When the fuel subsidy was abolished, hardly anyone was complaining, indicating that it was not necessary in the first place.
And we do not want to talk much about the real 'trains' in Thailand. Besides some countries in Africa, the railway authority in Thailand seems to provide the poorest train transport in the world. Now there is talk about expanding the tracks, and creating a fast-speed train network. For some reason, plans are being presented for completion of such a project by 2030 or so. Our advice is : source it out to the Chinese to build it (they are doing a much good job in China), and build a network covering all regions of Thailand, by 2015, or at last 2018.
