MRT (Bangkok)

Metropolitan Rapid Transit

Blue Line, the first line of the MRT system
Overview
Native name	รถไฟฟ้ามหานคร
Owner	Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand
Locale	Bangkok Metropolitan Region
Transit type	Heavy rail (and monorail (planned))
Number of lines	2 in operation (1 planned)
Number of stations	35
Daily ridership	253,255 (in 2014)
Annual ridership	92.4 million (in 2014)
Operation
Began operation	3 July 2004
Operator(s)	Bangkok Expressway and Metro Public Company Limited (: BEM)
Number of vehicles	19 three-car trains Siemens Modular Metro (Blue Line) 21 three-car trains J-TREC (Purple Line)
Technical
System length	43 km (27 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	Third rail
Top speed	80 km/h (50 mph)

The Metropolitan Rapid Transit or MRT is a rapid transit system serving the Bangkok Metropolitan Region in Thailand. The first section of the Blue Line between Hua Lamphong and Bang Sue opened in 2004 as Bangkok's second public transit system, while the MRT Purple Line opened in August 2016. The MRT is operated by the Bangkok Expressway and Metro Public Company Limited (BEM) under a concession granted by the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA). Along with the Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS, also called the Skytrain), and the Airport Rail Link (ARL), the MRT is part of Bangkok's rail transportation infrastructure.

The MRT serves more than 240,000 passengers each day. It has 35 operational stations along 43 kilometers (27 mi) of underground route. The Blue Line, officially the Chaloem Ratchamongkhon Line, was the first of the two lines currently in operation. As of 2016, two extensions of the Blue Line are under construction. When completed, the Blue Line will become a loop line around the centre of Bangkok, with an extension to Bang Khae on its western side. The MRT Purple Line, officially the Chalong Ratchadham Line, began its full service on August 6, 2016. MRT Purple Line will connect Bang Sue with Nonthaburi in the north-west, and will be the first public transit line outside the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.

The MRT line is officially known in Thai as rotfaifa mahanakhon (รถไฟฟ้ามหานคร) or "metropolitan electric train", but it is more commonly called rotfai taidin (รถไฟใต้ดิน), literally, "underground train".