Another morning of delays for BTS commuters

BTS station at the Victory Monument on Tuesday (photo by Pornprom Sartrabhaya)

Bangkok Mass Transit System Plc (BTSC) reported yet another morning of signal problems for its skytrain services on Wednesday and warned that trains could be delayed by 30 minutes at their end stations.

The daily problem recurred shortly after the electric train operator announced normal services from 6am to 8am via its Twitter page. Then at 8.30am it reported signal problems on the main Silom and Sukhumvit lines meant slow trains and longer stopovers.

At 9am and 9.50am the company announced repairs were underway but trains could be delayed for up to 30 minutes at their end stations.

The BTSC management earlier attributed the problem to its ongoing replacement of its signal system, which it said would be finished by Friday.

The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority said it put additional buses into service to serve stranded commuters at bus stops near BTS stations on Sukhumvit, Phahon Yothin and Phaya Thai Roads on Wednesday morning.

The Blue Line operated by Bangkok Expressway and Metro Plc also had a problem with a train at the Tao Poon station on Wednesday morning.

The train reported having lost brake pressure about 7.40am and commuters were moved to another train.

The company said the transfer took only four minutes but the problem caused congestion at the station.