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[Thailand] Metro Blue Line extended / Photogenic stations become tourist attractions

The station's interior is designed in the image of a Chinese or old royal palace

The Blue Line, one of the two subway lines running through Bangkok, was extended to the opposite bank of the Chao Phraya River in western Bangkok and opened in September 2019. Prior to this, on July 29, 2019, to coincide with King Rama X's birthday, five stations on the extension near tourist sites were also opened, with many people crowding the line for a free ride period until the end of September. The opening of the stations has been welcomed as it will make it easier to reach tourist attractions such as Chinatown and the Emerald Temple. The stations near the tourist sites are decorated in a photogenic style; Wat Mangkol station near Chinatown looks Chinese, and Sanam Chai station near Wat Pho Temple, with its reclining Buddha statue, is a luxurious structure reminiscent of an old royal palace, so the stations themselves are worth seeing. A subway ride costs 16-42 baht (about ¥48-126) and is expected to attract an average of 100,000 passengers a day. It has become very convenient to reach areas that were previously inaccessible by subway, and this has been well received.

Traffic congestion is expected to be eased by the increase in the number of subway users.

Many people use private cars, buses and taxis to get from the west bank of the Chao Phraya River to the city center, causing traffic jams in the morning and evening. For some, using the extended subway system has made it possible to travel in just 10 minutes instead of the hour or more it used to take by bus. There is a huge park-and-ride parking lot at the western terminus station, Luckthorn, where citizens from farther afield can also park their cars and use the subway. The High Speed Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) further plans to begin trial rides by the end of 2019 on a line that will ring the Blue Line (Taopoon Tha Phra) and open by March next year. The ongoing expansion of Bangkok's subway and elevated rail network is expected to reduce the number of people using cars and ease traffic congestion.

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This article is co-authored by TNC Lifestyle Researcher (http://lifestyle.tenace.co.jp/) and Intage's Global Researcher.

Translated with AI Translator

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    TNC ASIA Trend Lab is an information organization run by TNC Inc. that researches and shares trends in Asia. It supports corporate marketing activities by finding insights from trends rooted in the lifestyles and habits of local consumers.
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    Intage Inc.

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  • Feb 13, 2020
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