My Impressions of the New Suvarnabhumi Airport Train Link
The new Suvarnabhumi Airport Train Link is going to make a big difference to my life. I’ve already used it a couple of times and must admit to feeling impressed by it all. I live in Minburi and driving into central Bangkok is always a hassle; the journey takes at least an hour and finding parking is another nightmare. The new airport link means that I can drive to Lat Krabang station, park the car, and I’m in central Bangkok about twenty-five minutes later.
Sunday is family day in our house and we always try to go somewhere; anywhere that will keep my son entertained and give me a break away from the computer. For the last couple of weeks we have used the new Suvarnbhumi airport train link to go into the city. My son loves trains so even the journey is a nice treat for him.
My first impressions of the new service are mostly positive. The trains are modern and the stations are well laid out; there is a lot of climbing up stairs though as the line is well above ground – hopefully they will have escalators in all the stations soon. There are two types of train on the link; the express and the normal service – you can tell them apart by their trim colours with the express red and the regular service blue. I have not used the express service as it doesn’t stop at Lat Krabang. At the moment the journey only costs 15 THB; a great bargain.
Our first train journey was quite uncomfortable as the air conditioning wasn’t working. These niggles are to be expected though and every other train we used had fully functioning air-con. The trains get quite busy but we have always managed to get a seat – it helps when you have a toddler with you. Each time we have travelled to the terminal station in Phayai Thai; it is then only a reasonable walk across a link bridge to the Skytrain.
Great stuff Paul. I was waiting for someone to finally check out the train. It sounds like it’s off to a good start and might come in handy for me in the future. Be even greater if they announced an additional link towards Pattaya.
A high speed link to Pattaya would be fantastic. Mind you, I live not far from the motorway and can make it down there in just over an hour.
Hi Paul,
Will this make the journey to Wat Thamkrabok any cheaper, easier or quicker?
Often, time isn’t a problem for me and I don’t mind catching buses which takes about 2-3 hours and costs maybe 200 baht. On the occasions I take the monastery car it costs 2500 baht – each way – which when I’m travelling alone is a lot of money!
Keep up the good work 😉
Hi Vince, I’m not sure if it will make too much difference. I suppose you could get the train link into central Bangkok and catch a minibus from near Victory Monument but it would probably take ages. It is very handy though if you wanted to spend a few days in Bangkok first – it connects flawlessly with the skytrain.