Pattaya City unveils plans for nine-kilometre monorail

[Jun]

Since this line won't be going into the Pattaya part of Pattaya, the only thing that makes any sense to me would be if people headed for Jomtien Beach are going to be encouraged to park out of town around the sports stadium and then take the monorail to the beach. Otherwise, to me the route seems pointless.

The map in my post shows the red line going all the way to the roundabout on the intersection of second road & north road, by T21.

Incidentally, that map also shows the southern end of the purple line terminating mid way between two stations on the red/green line. Therefore making a connection between the two lines very difficult. Fine if your objective is to generate lucrative construction contracts for enormous stations, but not so good as a functioning public transport system.


As for what to build, well they could start by looking at other cities around the world.

The first thing they would observe is very few have monorails, so the question to ask would be why ?
A few rides on the Bangkok Yellow line monorail and some European city trams would show how badly the monorail works in comparison with the trams.

[Gaybutton]

The map in my post shows the red line going all the way to the roundabout on the intersection of second road & north road, by T21.

Great! Just what we need. Now we have conflicting stories and conflicting maps to go with them. I'm not worried about it because if things go as usual it will be forever before they even start building it, let alone give us reliable information.

The great grandchildren of babies born this morning might be among the first to ride the monorail . . .

[Jun]

Building a monorail would be another one of those developing country infrastructure errors.

The Bangkok Yellow line is simply appalling.
For a start it's too far off the ground, so too much time is wasted getting to the stations.
The entrance walkways are ridiculously convoluted.
Stations are built in the wrong places. For example at Bang Kapi, there's a large shopping mall that's an obvious destination. Rather than have the station right next to the shopping centre with a direct walkway to the second floor, it's a few hundred metres up the road without a walkway.
The ride quality is poor, presumably due to poor quality construction of the rail.
Parts occasionally fall off the line, leading to closure.
After all this investment, the tickets cost far more than bus tickets.

The net result of all this is that the buses running on the road underneath still seem to attract more traffic. For short journeys, these will be quicker and far cheaper.

[Dodger]

Conflicting stories...conflicting maps...and the consultants haven't even finished the feasibility study yet.

Yet another "Throwing the Stone".

Welcome to Thailand...a virtual reality.

[Jun]

Now we have conflicting stories and conflicting maps to go with them.

I suspect it's another example of sloppy journalism by the BKK Post. They stated the monorail will start at Theppraya junction, but the photograph they have has a map showing the lines continuing north from there, but where the lines go is off the page. Also, the first station number shown is 13, implying 12 more off the map.

Unless, of course they will build the southern section first. Which would be daft, when the proven method is to build the heavily used part first & then extend out.

[Gaybutton]

Unless, of course they will build the southern section first. Which would be daft

"Therefore I believe that's exactly what they're going to do."
- George C. Scott (General George S. Patton), 'Patton'

[Jun]

Sounds about right.

Start with this ludicrous priority of not interfering with road traffic.
Choose the wrong public transport solution.
Then build a section which will probably attract very few customers first.

[Jun]

Well, according to the Bangkok Post, the monorail has been approved. Just the useless part of it.

They manage to include an artists impression of a sensible tram, rather than a hideous monorail.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... orail-plan

I'm just back from another trip to 3 European cities. None of them have monorails. All 3 had trams and these work really well. What's more convenient than being able to directly step from the pavement onto a tram ?

Whereas in Bangkok, so much time is wasted getting up to the monorail platform that it appears quicker to take the bus. Which is exactly what most people were choosing to do.

Reminds me of this:

[Gaybutton]

trams and these work really well.

That's what I thought they were going to do. But if that artist's conception is correct, then to me it goes beyond ridiculous.

[Jun]

That's what I thought they were going to do. But if that artist's conception is correct, then to me it goes beyond ridiculous.

I'm not sure if you've tried monorails and modern tram systems recently ?

The Bangkok yellow line monorail is awful. The stations are in the wrong place and it takes forever to get into them, as the platforms are too far off the ground and the access walkways were designed by a moron. The fares also seem quite expensive, compared with Thai wages.
For any short distance travel, the bus is likely to be far quicker. And cheaper. Unsurprisingly, very few people seemed to be using this line.
Even I went to my destination on the yellow line & started the return journey on a 9 baht songthaew.

Trams similar to the artist's impression would be perfect. Since you can step off the pavement directly onto a tram, these would easily be viable for short distance journeys, so could replace the Songhtaew.
In one change from the proven European systems, in some areas, I would be tempted to raise the lines just a couple of feet above the road, to keep cars off them and offer some flooding protection. This would have the added benefit of providing a major obstruction to passenger cars, which is exactly what's needed in Pattaya, particularly if a tram network were to be introduced as an alternative.

I just don't know what they are playing at in Pattaya. If I understand correctly, the initial line doesn't even serve the centre of town. Now, who owns the land alongside the line they are constructing first ? (Add tea money emoji)