Alstom has announced that Bangkok’s MRT Pink Line has begun trial passenger service.

Thailand’s Prime Minister, Srettha Thavisin, launched the line on Tuesday 21 November, and it will run as a free public trial until 30 December. If the trial proves successful, the MRT Pink Line will enter revenue service on 31 December.

The Northern Bangkok Monorail Company Limited operates the Pink Line, and contracted Alstom to supply the turnkey Innovia monorail system for the line in 2017. Alstom had previously supplied a monorail system for Bangkok’s MRT Yellow Line, which entered service in July this year.

The Pink Line extends over 34.5 kilometres and features thirty stations across Chaeng Wattana and Ram Intra. It integrates with five other rail lines, which will improve access to city’s east-west transport corridors. Two further stations will open by 2025, improving connectivity between Bangkok and Nontaburi province.

Alstom’s Turnkey regional hub in Bangkok led the project, overseeing system integration, installation and test and commissioning of the Innovia monorail trains, Cityflo 650 GOA4 driverless signalling, communication systems, power supply and conductor rail, track switches, platform screen doors and depot equipment. The Alstom joint-venture CRRC Puzhen Alstom Transportation Systems Ltd. (PATS) in China manufactured the Innovia monorail trainsets.

Alstom will service the project for twenty years, having secured the contract to do so in 2018. The contract includes using Alstom’s advanced predictive maintenance tool, HealthHub, which it also uses on its commuter railcars in Dublin.

Alstom believes that its products are well-suited to Bangkok’s urban transport needs. It designed the Innovia monorail systems to serve rapidly-growing cities and dense urban areas. Innovia systems are elevated and run on dedicated guideways, which ensures a smooth service and does not interfere with road traffic.

The company aims for its products to provide “exceptional route flexibility, outstanding availability and high efficiency in terms of passenger capacity, energy consumption and land use”. The monorail features spacious and open designs, with low interior noise and vibration. The vehicles have large windows to allow a bright atmosphere and passenger comfort.

As both Pink and Yellow Lines are now in service, more than five million residents of eastern and northern Bangkok, Samut Prakan and Nonthaburi provinces have access to the service, which has cut travel time by up to 50%.

Alstom has also supplied Innovia to locations including Dallas Airport,

Toby Tiberghien, Managing Director for East Asia at Alstom, said, “The inauguration of the Pink Line marks another critical milestone for Alstom in Thailand, as our second monorail system starts operation and showcases our expertise in delivering state-of-the-art mobility solutions. Through the Pink Line, we are proud to have supported our customer NBM and the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) in extending Bangkok’s urban transit network to new city areas. This accomplishment reflects our ongoing commitment to innovating for more connected and efficient urban transportation.”