MRT Pink Line from Nonthaburi Civic Center to Min Buri Monorail Train Review
The MRT Pink Line is a new elevated monorail mass rapid transit system serving Bangkok and Nonthaburi Province, spanning 34.5 kilometers with a total of 30 stations. Operating primarily in the northern part of the Bangkok Metropolitan Area, it stretches from Nonthaburi Civic Center in Pak Kret district, Nonthaburi, along the significant east–west road corridor of Highway 304 (Chaeng Wattana and Ram Inthra Roads), and terminating at Min Buri in Min Buri district, east Bangkok.
The main alignment of the MRT Pink Line connects the northern regions of Bangkok and Nonthaburi by establishing an outer ring link with 3 existing and 3 upcoming mass transit lines. At Nonthaburi Civic Center, the line offers interchange options with the MRT Purple Line and the proposed MRT Brown Line. Additionally, it facilitates interchanges with the SRT Dark Red Line, the BTS Sukhumvit Line, and the planned BMA Grey Line. Upon reaching its terminus at Min Buri, the line provides an interchange with the future MRT Orange Line.
MRT Pink Line Stations
- PK01 Nonthaburi Civic Center MRT Station
- PK02 Khae Rai MRT Station
- PK03 Sanambin Nam MRT Station
- PK04 Samakkhi MRT Station
- PK05 Royal Irrigation Department MRT Station
- PK06 Yaek Pak Kret MRT Station
- PK07 Pak Kret Bypass MRT Station
- PK08 Chaeng Watthana – Pak Kret 28 MRT Station
- PK09 Si Rat MRT Station
- PK10 Muang Thong Thani MRT Station
- PK11 Chaeng Watthana 14 MRT Station
- PK12 Government Complex MRT Station
- PK13 National Telecom MRT Station
- PK14 Lak Si MRT Station
- PK15 Rajabhat Phranakhon MRT Station
- PK16 Wat Phra Sri Mahathat MRT Station
- PK17 Ram Inthra 3 MRT Station
- PK18 Lat Pla Khao MRT Station
- PK19 Ram Inthra Kor Mor 4 MRT Station
- PK20 Maiyalap MRT Station
- PK21 Vacharaphol MRT Station
- PK22 Ram Inthra Kor Mor 6 MRT Station
- PK23 Khu Bon MRT Station
- PK24 Ram Inthra Kor Mor 9 MRT Station
- PK25 Outer Ring Road – Ram Inthra MRT Station
- PK26 Nopparat MRT Station
- PK27 Bang Chan MRT Station
- PK28 Setthabutbamphen MRT Station
- PK29 Min Buri Market MRT Station
- PK30 Min Buri MRT Station
PK01 Nonthaburi Civic Center MRT Station
PK01 Nonthaburi Civic Center MRT Station is the eastern terminus of the MRT Pink Line and interchange station with the MRT Purple Line, which I used to get to the starting point of the MRT Pink Line to begin my simple exploration.
PK01 Nonthaburi Civic Center MRT Station is located just outside Esplanade Cineplex Ngamwongwan-Khae Rai.
An escalator is provided in an up-riding direction.
MRT Pink Line service information is posted on the board at the entrances to the station on concourse level.
The route map of the MRT Pink Line, shown in bold. Notably, the full network of the Bangkok rapid transit system is not shown, with further destinations on further lines not displayed.
The fare chart of the MRT Pink Line. MRT Pink Line fares are rather steep, especially when considering that the line serves a rather local community, with big jumps between initial stations. The fare caps off at 45 Baht, but that’s still almost 3 times the fare of air-conditioned local buses.
This is despite the 20 baht fare policy across all routes previously promised by the government during the election campaign. Based on the distance travelled, at the point when the fare caps off, the MRT Pink Line fares are possibly even steeper than Singapore’s.
The connection of Nonthaburi Civic Center MRT Station for the MRT Purple Line and MRT Pink Line is by an unpaid link on an elevated linkway under the overrun tracks.
The walk is ridiculously long at 400 meters, and the travellators were not in operation yet. I can’t imagine doing this on a daily basis.
It was a terribly-missed opportunity to not build the MRT Pink Line Nonthaburi Civic Center MRT Station closer to the existing MRT Purple Line Nonthaburi Civic Center MRT Station, even if it means sacrificing a bit of Makut Rommayasaran Park to fit a smaller single-platform station in.
This makes this MRT Pink Line monorail connection even worse than the KL Sentral’s famous “connection” for the KL Monorail Line, especially when considering that monorail tracks take up less space than traditional elevated metro tracks.
The connection is so far that MRT Purple Line trains can be spotted running at cruising speeds on the curve beside the MRT Pink Line Nonthaburi Civic Center MRT Station already.
The MRT Pink Line is operated by BTS, so I used my Rabbit Card to tap in to the system.
Heading up the escalator to the departure platform.
The overrun tracks at PK01 Nonthaburi Civic Center MRT Station, with the system using a replacement beam for switches. These overrun tracks add even more insult to the long 400 meter transfer as the MRT Pink Line monorail trains will be going towards the MRT Purple Line station anyway, but just to turn around without passengers.
PK01 Nonthaburi Civic Center MRT Station operates with side platforms, 1 for arriving passengers only and 1 for departing passengers.
Next train arrival times are also displayed on the screens in the middle of the platform. MRT Pink Line runs at intervals of 10 minutes during off-peak hours.
There is also a facing switch before PK01 Nonthaburi Civic Center MRT Station, to enable the MRT Pink Line to use only 1 platform for turnarounds.
MRT Pink Line Bombardier Innovia Monorail 300
And here comes the MRT Pink Line Bombardier Innovia Monorail 300 train. This is the same rolling stock used on the MRT Yellow Line, but with a distinct pink livery instead.
The MRT Pink Line Bombardier Innovia Monorail 300 train heads to the overrun tracks as a turnback siding to switch over to the departing platform and track. If only the overrun tracks could be used as the actual station so that the transfer to and from the MRT Purple Line would be much nearer.
And off I go on the MRT Pink Line Bombardier Innovia Monorail 300 train!
The cab area has a huge covered space in front, so there’s no direct close-up front window view available.
The interior of the MRT Pink Line Bombardier Innovia Monorail 300 train.
Seats are mainly laid out in benches of 4 seats.
Seats face inwards of each monorail car in all 4 directions.
Passengers are able to walk through all train cars, though the gangways are located by the sides of the train cars.
PK02 Khae Rai MRT Station
Arriving at PK02 Khae Rai MRT Station.
Route information is displayed on the dynamic route map located above the train doors.
PK03 Sanambin Nam MRT Station
Arriving at PK03 Sanambin Nam MRT Station. All side platform stations look alike on the MRT Pink Line, and I did not take photos of each of them on this exploration trip.
Curving right to PK06 Yaek Pak Kret MRT Station.
PK06 Yaek Pak Kret MRT Station
Making a brief stop at PK06 Yaek Pak Kret MRT Station.
The track curves right on Chaeng Wattana Road after departing from PK06 Yaek Pak Kret MRT Station.
PK07 Pak Kret Bypass MRT Station
Arriving at PK07 Pak Kret Bypass MRT Station.
PK09 Si Rat MRT Station
PK09 Si Rat MRT Station is one of the few MRT Pink Line stations with an island platform.
PK10 Muang Thong Thani MRT Station
PK10 Muang Thong Thani MRT Station is a future interchange station with the Impact Link branch line to Impact Muang Thong Thani and Lake Muang Thong Thani.
The Impact Link track and platform has already been built in PK10 Muang Thong Thani MRT Station, but boarded up.
The connection to the main line is currently used as a siding for maintenance of way vehicles.
PK12 Government Complex MRT Station
Arriving at PK12 Government Complex MRT Station.
There is a turnback siding facing PK13 National Telecom MRT Station, perhaps to cater for a future short shuttle line to boost train frequency on the more heavily-used section where many train lines connect.
PK13 National Telecom MRT Station
Making a brief stop at PK13 National Telecom MRT Station. The SRT Red Line tracks can be seen up ahead at Lak Si.
PK14 Lak Si MRT Station
Making a brief stop at PK14 Lak Si MRT Station.
This is an interchange station with the SRT Dark Red Line via an unpaid link.
Curving back to the middle of Chaeng Wattana Road while cruising above the gridlocked traffic.
PK15 Rajabhat Phranakhon MRT Station
Arriving at PK15 Rajabhat Phranakhon MRT Station.
PK16 Wat Phra Sri Mahathat MRT Station
PK16 Wat Phra Sri Mahathat MRT Station is in my opinion the most interesting MRT Pink Line station as the tracks and platforms split by the side of Ram Inthra Road on the viaducts, and it looks like it is 2 separate stations. This is an interchange station with the BTS Sukhumvit Line.
PK18 Lat Pla Khao MRT Station
Arriving at PK18 Lat Pla Khao MRT Station.
PK19 Ram Inthra Kor Mor 4 MRT Station
With my extremely limited Thai, I found that the English translation of PK19 Ram Inthra Kor Mor 4 MRT Station was very weird. While some station names were translated to English properly such as Royal Irrigation Department, or left fully in Thai such as Wat Phra Sri Mahathat which is also perfectly fine, “Kor Mor” was not translated to English (kilometer), while the kilometer number was announced in English ie. “Ram Inthra Kor Mor Four”, which is a weird mashup.
In my opinion, all related Ram Inthra Kor Mor stations should have been better translated to Ram Inthra Kilometer 4 or even Ram Inthra 4th Kilometer. Or even better, choose a proper landmark instead of announcing the kilometer number.
PK21 Vacharaphol MRT Station
A turnback siding is also built after PK21 Vacharaphol MRT Station. It is possible to have a National Telecom-Vacharaphol shuttle train in future to boost frequency on this more heavily used sector.
PK23 Khu Bon MRT Station
Arriving at PK23 Khu Bon MRT Station.
PK25 Outer Ring Road – Ram Inthra MRT Station
Making a brief stop at PK25 Outer Ring Road – Ram Inthra MRT Station.
What looks like a railway station outside PK25 Outer Ring Road – Ram Inthra MRT Station is actually Fashion Island, a big department store.
PK26 Nopparat MRT Station
Arriving at PK26 Nopparat MRT Station.
Stations start to get more spaced out towards Min Buri.
PK28 Setthabutbamphen MRT Station
Arriving at PK28 Setthabutbamphen MRT Station.
PK29 Min Buri Market MRT Station
Arriving at PK29 Min Buri Market MRT Station.
Most passengers alighted at PK29 Min Buri Market MRT Station as that is where the main commercial and residential area is, along with a local bus terminal for onward travel. The last stretch to Min Buri terminal is a fresh site with just a Park & Ride facility for now.
Passing by the main commercial area of Min Buri. Min Buri Market and the bus terminal is behind this front block.
Turning right to the new Min Buri transport site.
The upcoming MRT Orange Line Min Buri MRT Station looks very ready to open any time.
PK30 Min Buri MRT Station
My MRT Pink Line journey from Nonthaburi Civic Center to Min Buri took 65 minutes end to end.
PK30 Min Buri MRT Station operates with side platforms, 1 for arriving passengers only and 1 for departing passengers.
My arriving MRT Pink Line train will go on to the tracks to the depot and stop just after the switches to turn back to the departure platform for the journey back to Nonthaburi Civic Center.
After a quick turnaround, my train is now back in PK30 Min Buri MRT Station, ready for the next trip to Nonthaburi Civic Center.
Again, with 2 brand new stations on a fresh site, it is a missed opportunity to integrate both brand new stations together.
So near and new, yet so far.
At around 4pm, fresh trains were being launched from the depot on to the main line, perhaps to cater for the higher traffic once these trains reach Nonthaburi Civic Center at 5pm. By having the depot located right at the end of the line away from the peak sectors, unfortunately trains will have to be launched earlier to reach the peak crowds.
Heading out of the fare gates.
The link between the MRT Pink Line and MRT Orange Line will be on ground level which is unfortunate.
The façade of PK30 Min Buri MRT Station.
The area map PK30 Min Buri MRT Station.
PK30 Min Buri MRT Station mainly serves the Park and Ride building for now. This is quite a big facility, in preparation for the trunk upcoming MRT Orange Line for passengers travelling to Bangkok.
Looks like a potential paid area transfer is being built after all, though this will still require passengers to go down to ground level and then up again.
Min Buri MRT Station looks to be well integrated as a transport hub with a Park and Ride facility, an upper radial line, and a trunk line going to Bangkok, but will still require a bit of walking for passengers. Nevertheless, it’s still useful as a transit oriented development in Min Buri, and hopefully, this will spur developments around the station.