Airport Rail Link faces technical fault, leaving only one train in service

Passengers travelling to Suvarnabhumi International Airport are advised to allow extra travel time or use alternative transport after the Airport Rail Link disruption reduced train services this morning, July 22.

Airport Rail Link announced on its official Facebook page at about 5am that a technical fault had occurred on a reversing track within its depot, leaving only one train available for service.

According to the Airport Rail Link operator, the fault has significantly reduced operations, with trains now running at intervals of approximately one hour instead of the normal frequency.

Airport Rail Link said the technical issue does not affect passenger safety and confirmed that engineers are working to restore normal operations as quickly as possible.

Airport Rail Link technical issue
Photo by primeimages via Getty Images Signature

The operator urged passengers, particularly those travelling to catch flights at Suvarnabhumi Airport, to allow additional travel time or consider alternative transport options.

Commuters travelling to work were advised to use State Railway of Thailand (SRT) diesel train services during the morning rush hour. Timetables are available on the SRT website.

To assist airport passengers, SRT and the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) have arranged shuttle bus services between Suvarnabhumi Airport and Makkasan Airport Rail Link Station.

Train to airport in Bangkok
Photo by Surachet Shotivaranon via surachetsh’s Images

At Makkasan Station, passengers can board the shuttle on the ground floor. At Suvarnabhumi Airport, the shuttle operates from Gate 9 on the second floor of the passenger terminal.

Airport Rail Link apologised for the disruption and asked passengers to follow instructions from station staff while repair work continues. The operator has not announced when full services are expected to resume.

The announcement prompted numerous complaints on social media, with many regular commuters criticising the communication of service updates. Others called for improved crowd management, saying platforms became heavily congested as passengers waited for the reduced train service.

Thailand diesel train
Photo by SAMART BOONYANG via Canva

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Petch Petpailin

Petpailin, or Petch, is a Thai translator and writer for The Thaiger who focuses on translating breakingThai news stories into English. With a background in field journalism, Petch brings several years of experience to the English News desk at The Thaiger. Before joining The Thaiger, Petch worked as a content writer for several known blogging sites in Bangkok, including Happio and The Smart Local. Her articles have been syndicated by many big publishers in Thailand and internationally, including the Daily Mail, The Sun and the Bangkok Post. She is a news writer who stops reading news on the weekends to spend more time cafe hopping and petting dwarf shrimp! But during office hours, you can find Petch on LinkedIn and you can reach her by email at petch@thethaiger.com.