BTS gets nod for more rolling stock
The Central Bankruptcy Court has approved the request by Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS) to purchase carriages and a light-signal system for the expansion of its Skytrain lines.
Anat Arbhabhirama, adviser to BTS's board of directors, said yesterday that the company was considering two purchase options as allowed by the court. It could buy 12 additional locomotives, or only passenger carriages to fill in the existing 35 three-car trains. Both options are expected to cost about US$90 million (Bt3.2 billion). The light-signal system alone needs about $60 million. CEO Keeree Karnjanapas said that as the operator of the Skytrain for seven years, BTS was considered successful, especially in terms of providing services. From the first of the year to November 30, the system had carried a total of 128,444,627 riders, surging 11.42 per cent from the same period last year. "Now, there are an average of 439,000 passengers per day on weekdays and 278,000 on weekends," he said. June 30 set a record with 550,577 riders. The single-trip ticket is still the most popular with 6,887,242 trips already this year, an increase of 12.39 per cent over last year. Second is the fixed-ride 30-day pass, followed by the stored-value pass. "The increase in ridership is due mainly to the rise in oil prices," he said. The Nation
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