Recently, there was an interruption in traffic on the Yellow Line monorail as a result of a technological error that happened barely 20 days into the test runs. Five stations from Lat Phrao 101 to Hua Mak were temporarily closed due to the interruption yesterday for about 90 minutes.
The first time such a monorail defect has caused a hindrance to operations since all 23 stations on the line became fully operational on June 19 occurred at 7am when an electrical issue surfaced.
At 8.28am, steps were taken to reduce traffic congestion and monorail disruption, and by 10.15am, things had returned to normal.Unrelated to this, the Department of Rail Transport (DRT) and other relevant parties intend to speed up the process of improving the signage that show the connection between the Lat Phrao and Blue Line MRT Stations.Pichet Kunadhamraks, Director-General of the DRT, has given the Eastern Bangkok Monorail (EBM) the responsibility of improving the signs at Exit 3 of the Lat Phrao station on the Yellow Line. On the other side, Exit 4 at the Lat Phrao station on the Blue Line will be managed by the Bangkok Expressway and Metro (BEM).
Due to a spike in commuters using the line to reach Lat Phrao station, particularly during the morning and evening peak hours, the DRT has simultaneously given the EBM instructions to increase train frequency.
The recent extension of working hours from 6am to 7am and once again from 5pm to 8pm can be blamed for the unexpected rise in passengers, which increased from 65,511 commuters on June 19 to 72,807 commuters on June 20. Due to this, the DRT advised EBM to change the interval between rides during peak hours from every 10 minutes to every five. This proposal, according to Kunadhamraks, will go into effect the following week.
The Green Line at Samrong Station, the Airport Rail Link at Hua Mak Station, and the Blue Line at Lat Phrao Station are all connected by the 30.4 kilometer-long Yellow Line Monorail.
