The Airport of Thailand announced that the new passenger terminal at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok will be ready for use by April 2023.
The Automated People Mover train, which will be the nation’s first driverless electric train used in Thai airports, will be available for passengers to travel between each terminal at the same time too.
The President of the AOT, Nitinai Siriamatthakarn, informed the media that the construction of the new passenger terminal, Satellite 1 (SAT1) had finished, and it would be ready for use in April next year. He also added that the airport capacity would be increased to welcome 60 million passengers per year, up from 45 million passengers. And, with 28 aircraft stand taxiplanes, the airport will be able to support up to 68 flights per hour.
The new SAT1 terminal is a 4-story building giving way to 216,ooo square metres. The B2 floor is for the APM trains, the B1 floor is for the airport office, the G floor is for a conveyor belt, the 2nd floor is for arrivals, the 3rd floor is for departures, and the 4th floor is for restaurants.
The APM will be ready for use at the same time too. The nation’s first driverless electric train in an airport will be shuttling trains that connect the former terminal with the new terminal.
Nitinai explained that AOT imported the 6 APM trains from Austria. Each train has 2 compartments available to welcome 210 passengers per trip or 5,900 passengers per hour. Each train will be tested until they are officially ready for service to ensure its safety, stability, accuracy, and punctuality. Nitinai says no problems have been reported since the AOT started its trials.
Published The Thaiger 21.June 2022
SOURCE: Dailynews