MRT admits passengers on purple line lower than expected

BANGKOK, Aug 19 (TNA) -- The Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRT) acknowledged that the number of passengers on the newly launched MRT Chalong Ratchadham Line or MRT Purple Line, linking between Bang Yai and Tao Poon were only 20,000 persons daily, was lower than predicted. MRT Governor Peerayudh Singpatanakul said that after the official opening of the new MRT line, only about 20,000 passengers have been using the train line each day, which is extremely lower than the targeted number of 60,000-70,000 persons daily. The governor said the main reason for the low number of passengers is probably due to the connecting point between the Bang Sue and Tao Poon stations, as both stations are about one kilometre apart and passengers must walk out of each stations to catch a provided public transportation and hop off at the end station to catch the next train. Mr Peerayudh said the completion of the connecting point is still underway and should be finished by the start of 2017, after which the number of passengers is expected to rise to 100,000 people daily. (TNA)