Airport rail link fully operational from March

Jaiyavat Navaraj, area station manager for Thailand, Sri Lanka and the Maldives at Austrian Airlines and chairman of the Airline Operators Committee (AOC), said the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) had confirmed to the AOC it would conduct a full trial of the system from December.

The test will take three months to complete. If all goes smoothly, the Airport Rail Link will begin official operations next March.

Some 160 representatives of the AOC, which consists of 81 airlines and 21 non-airline agencies, yesterday participated in an SRT test run held to demonstrate the rail-link system to members.

The elevated system will link Suvarnabhumi Airport with the City Air Terminal in Bangkok's Makkasan area. A non-stop express train will cost Bt150, while the City Line, which will stop at each station, will cost Bt15 to Bt45, depending on distance travelled.

Representatives of international airlines believe if well managed, the Makkasan venue could help ease passenger traffic at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The airlines have also asked the SRT to extend the rental-fee waiver for their check-in counter space at the City Air Terminal by more than a year from the original one-year period, Jaiyavat said.

He said the AOC felt confident about the rail-link system and its facilities, from the passenger check-in counters in the City Air Terminal and the luggage X-ray system to the transport of luggage to Suvarnabhumi and the security system.