The BTS might be about to get slightly less crowded, as officials are adding 22 brand new German trains to the Sukhumvit Line (Mo Chit to Samrong) in December.
A ceremony to hand over the trains between Siemens, the German manufacturing conglomerate and the Bangkok Mass Transit System was held in Ankara, Turkey, on Tuesday.
And if you, like us, were wondering why the handover was celebrated in Turkey, it’s because that’s where our future BTS trains were manufactured.
The 22 trains are scheduled for shipment later this month, and will arrive at the Laem Chabang port in Chonburi province in August for test runs, according to a statement from Siemens.
The new trains will be ready just in time for the opening of eight new stations that will extend the Sukhumvit Line further south in December.
Given that the new trains are being employed to handle a larger influx of passengers from the outskirts, it’s fair to wonder how much of an impact they’ll have on your daily commute. For now, we’ll allow ourselves a tiny bit of hope.
Meanwhile, the Sukhumvit Line’s northern extension (Mo Chit – Khu Khod) is expected to be completed next year. The Nation reported that, in addition to the 22 German trains, the BTS service will also be supplied with 24 more trains from China.
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