Gold Line (Bangkok)

The line was not part of the current M-Map Master Plan as the line was proposed by the owners of Iconsiam mall in July 2015 to provide a feeder service to Iconsiam.[4][5] The project was approved by the Thai Cabinet in September 2016 with an initial planned opening of late 2018.[6] Preliminary works began in June 2018 with major construction commencing in September 2018.

Design and development of the line was the responsibility of Krungthep Thanakom PCL, an enterprise of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.[7] The project budget of 3.8 billion Thai baht was fully funded by the proponent of the project, shopping mall company Siam Piwat who has responsibility for all construction costs.[8] All advertising revenue and operating profits will be collected by Siam Piwat Company during the 30 year concession period.

At the end of August 2020, overall work for the Gold Line was 95% complete.[9] The line was due to open on 1 October 2020[10] and initial test runs began on 11 September.[11] However, further test runs revealed that additional tests would be required of the signaling and operational systems before full operations could start.[12] The President of the BTSC stated that a further two months of tests were required and that the line would not open until December 2020.[13] In early December, an opening date of 16 December 2020 was announced.[14]

Gold Line route plan

The railway of the Gold Line at front of Wat Suwan Temple

The Gold Line starts adjacent to Krung Thonburi BTS station running 500m east to Charoen Nakhon road where it then runs north for 1.3 km past Iconsiam. It will initially terminate at Klong San station near Lat Ya road intersection and provide an interchange with the future SRT Dark Red Line southern extension. The line will then be further extended 1 km west along Somdet Chao Phraya road and terminate at Phrajahipok road to connect with the future MRT Purple Line southern extension. This extension is planned to open in 2023.

Gold Line trains operate from 06:00 to 00:00 with a range of six to twelve-minute intervals.[15]

The Gold Line uses Bombardier Innovia APM 300 automated people movers with rubber tyres manufactured in China's Anhui province. Innovia APMs are commonly used at airports to transport passengers between terminals. Each set has two carriages with 138 passenger capacity in each carriage, and can travel at a maximum of 80 km/h.[16] The first set was due to be delivered in April 2020, but was delayed due to a COVID-19 related lockdown in Anhui province.[17]

The first set later arrived in Thailand on 18 June 2020, the remaining 2 sets were delivered in August 2020.[10]

• Mass Rapid Transit Master Plan in Bangkok Metropolitan Region
• Bangkok Metro
• MRT Blue Line
• MRT Brown Line
• MRT Grey Line
• MRT Light Blue Line
• MRT Orange Line
• MRT Purple Line
• MRT Yellow Line
• BTS Skytrain
• Sukhumvit Line
• Silom Line
• Airport Rail Link (Bangkok)
• SRT Light Red Line
• SRT Dark Red Line
• Bangkok BRT