The final design for the expanded Saphan Taksin skytrain station, intended to end the bottleneck across the Chao Phraya River, should be ready by the end of the year, according to a senior company official.
Planning for another new station on busy Sathon Road is also progressing well.
The two stations, part of the Bangkok Mass Transit System Plc network, are expected to open for use in 2019 and 2020, BTSC chief operating officer Surapong Laoha-Unya said yesterday.
The Rural Roads Department, which supervises the riverside area, would be asked to approve the study and design of the expanded station. It will replace the current station, which serves only a single track that runs in parallel with Taksin Bridge and causes a bottleneck and long wait for commuters during rush hours.
Reconstruction should begin in March or April next year, Mr Surapong said. The new, larger station, with its double track, should be ready for commercial service in late 2019.
The expansion requires the staggered closure of a 230m stretch of one lane on either side of the bridge to maintain traffic flow, as a part of the span's traffic lanes are needed to accommodate the additional track. The estimated cost is one billion baht.
BTSC is also pushing ahead with a plan to build a new skystrain stop, Sueksa Witthaya station, on Sathon Road between Surasak and Chong Nonsi stations, after the project was put to a public hearing. The environmental impact assessment report is now being reviewed, prior to being sent to the National Environment Board for approval. The 650-million baht station is expected to take 18 months to build.
