SAMUT PRAKAN, Dec 6 (TNA) — Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has opened the 13-kilometre-long extension section of the BTS elevated Green Line linking Soi Bearing and Samrong in Samut Prakan province and it will serve commuters free of charge for four months.
The prime minister inaugurated the link in a ceremony witnessed by the ministers of interior and transport as well as the Bangkok governor and executives of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority.
“The opening of the electric railway extension is the reform of public transport on rails that the government has been trying to accelerate for 4-5 years. It is also a New Year gift from the government to people,” Gen Prayut said.
After the opening ceremony, the prime minister boarded a train from its Samut Prakan depot to the Kheha Samut Prakan station. At the station, he was greeted by the people who welcomed him. He also asked about their problems and said that cooperation from local residents could allow the government to quickly develop mass transit systems. He promised that the government would build residences for people whose properties were expropriated for mass transit projects.
The Green Line’s extension from Bearing to Samut Prakan consists of nine stations. The free service will continue until April 15, 2019. Fares on the Green Line’s Silom Line through to Samut Prakan are capped at 65 baht. (TNA)