Bangkok monorails test new systems after recent malfunctions

Operators of Bangkok’s Yellow and Pink monorail lines are actively testing redesigned guide wheel and conductor rail systems to prevent future malfunctions. This initiative follows recent incidents where a guide wheel fell from a Yellow Line train, damaging vehicles below, and a section of the Pink Line’s conductor rail fell causing similar damage.

Eastern Bangkok Monorail Co (EBM) and Northern Bangkok Monorail Co (NBM), the concessionaires for the Yellow and Pink Lines respectively, have partnered with Alstom, the French manufacturer responsible for these components. Their goal is to prevent any recurrence of these issues, according to Surapong Laoha-Unya, executive director of BTS Group Holdings Plc and director of both EBM and NBM.

“We want to prevent any recurrences of these faults,” Surapong stated to the media yesterday, October 12.

Alstom has completed in-house testing of the redesigned guide wheel and has now fitted the new system on one Yellow Line train and one Pink Line train for further testing. This phase is expected to take around three months.

Upon successful completion of these tests, EBM and NBM plan to replace the guide wheels on all their trains—42 Pink Line trains and 30 Yellow Line trains—early next year. Currently, the Yellow Line trains continue to operate with the existing guide wheel design, although the frequency of safety inspections has been increased, reported Bangkok Post.

The conductor rail system has also been redesigned by Alstom. However, the new design’s pros and cons are still being evaluated. Both EBM and NBM have proposed that each section of the conductor rail, currently about 5 to 6 kilometres long, be split into shorter segments to minimise damage in case of future faults.