The Bangkok Skytrain or BTS

The Bangkok skytrain began operating in December 1999 and, for the areas it goes to, it is an extremely useful way of getting around Bangkok. There's a central station located at Siam square, and two lines: the 17km Sukhumvit line, which stretches from Sukhumvit Soi 81, all the way to Mo Chit. The 6.5km Silom line extends from the National Stadium down to Saphan Taksin along Silom and Sathorn roads. While the Siam station is the hub of the skytrain, the stations at Asoke and Sala Daeng are also main stations due to their connection with the Bangkok subway.

After a somewhat slow start when passenger numbers were well below expectations and empty seats a common sight, today the Bangkok skytrain carries several hundred thousand passengers per day and it's usually standing room only. Especially during morning and evening rush hour. All signs and announcements are in English as well as Thai, so it's easy to use. There is no timetable, but the trains go very frequently, about every 5 minutes or so. It's open everyday from 5am to midnight.

Overall, the bangkok skytrain system is generally very popular with visitors staying near its stations. It makes travelling long distances much quicker than by road and is relatively inexpensive. The trains are clean and air-conditioned (unfortunately the stations are not air-conditioned), and certainly compares very well to the mass transit systems in major cities around the world. My family loves to use the skytrain for transportation when we visit Bangkok. In the Sukhumvit area, the skytrain is essential. Traffic on Sukhumvit Road is often at a standstill.

For A Good Map of the Bangkok Skytrain, Bangkok Subway, and River boat piers, Click Here!

The Thailand skytrain has a good reputation for safety, having suffered nothing worse than the occasional power cut and stuck train in the 9 years it's been operating.

Many of the bangkok skytrain stations are gradually expanding and adding direct links to nearby hotels and shopping centers.

The main disadvantage of the Bangkok skytrain is the relatively limited areas it goes to at present - there's only two lines. This is less of an issue now than it used to be though, as the newer Bangkok subway system covers much of the central Bangkok area that the skytrain doesn't. However, although the bangkok skytrain intersects with the bangkok subway at it's Asoke, Saladaeng and Mo Chit stations, there is no shared ticket system available.

Long-planned extensions to the Thailand skytrain route are finally under construction.  The Sukhumvit line is being extended from the On Nut station several kilometers towards the BangNa area. A rail link with Suvarnabhumi International airport is under construction as well and was scheduled to be finished in October, 2008. However, the project will not be finished until sometime in 2009.

The large flights of stairs that have to be climbed at each Thailand skytrain station make it inaccessible to the less mobile also. The odd station, e.g. Siam, Sala Daeng have up-only escalators and/or lifts installed but for now this is still pretty much the exception rather than the rule. This makes wheelchair access to many of the stations just about imposssible, in contrast to the excellent facilities of the Bangkok subway.

Costs

Bangkok skytrain fares cost between 15B and 40B per person depending on the distance, about one third the cost of a comparable taxi ride. For one person, this is a good value but if you're in a group then a taxi may represent a better option. If you plan to frequently use the skytrain, then it's well worthwhile buying one of the top-up 'Skycards' sold at every station. Though no cheaper than regular tickets, they save the time and effort of having to wait in line for tickets and dig around for 5B and 10B coins (the only ones accepted) anytime you want to go anywhere.

Though these fares are cheap by western standards and for Bangkok's middle class, they are regarded as relatively expensive for the lowest income Thais when compared to a flat fare of 7B on Bangkok's ordinary buses.

Though few Thais will know the English word 'skytrain', the system is widely known as 'BTS' after the company that operates it.

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