Construction of the extended section of the Green Line rail route from Mor Chit to Pathum Thani will start in June this year, but is only expected to relieve traffic congestion in northern Bangkok in five years.
Until the rail route eases traffic, the area will suffer a deterioration in traffic conditions, especially when the flyover at Kasetsart Intersection on Phahon Yothin Road is removed to pave the way for the construction of the 19-km elevated rail track, said Gen Yodyuth Boonyatikarn, board chairman of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA), which oversees the capital’s subway system.
“We have told City Hall and the traffic police to brace for bad traffic,” he said.
The extended route will link the BTS’s Mor Chit station and run along Phahon Yothin Road to Saphan Mai in Bang Khen district and end in tambon Khu Khot in Pathum Thani’s Lam Luk Ka district.
There will be a total of 16 stations along the 19-km route.
The extended Green Line is expected to serve 170,000 commuters a day and ease traffic problems between Bangkok and Pathum Thani, Gen Yodyuth said.
Its construction follows the MRTA recently allowing private companies to win four separate construction contracts worth a total of 28.7 billion baht, he said.
The project will be finished by 2020.
The agency is also working on the Orange Line, linking Taling Chan and Min Buri.
This project is expected to receive cabinet approval this year with construction starting next year, he added.
The Pink Line (Khae Rai-Min Buri) and the Yellow Line (Lat Phrao-Samrong), will be built as monorails.
The Purple Line (Tao Pun-Rat Burana) is also making progress and the MRTA will ask the Transport Ministry to forward the plans for the lines to the cabinet for approval, which will lead to their construction starting in 2017.
Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/517939/construction-of-green-line-extension-to-kick-off-in-june
