The MRT Pink Line (Thai: รถไฟฟ้ามหานคร สายสีชมพู) is an elevated monorail train line of the MRT in Bangkok and Nonthaburi Province, Thailand. The monorail line is 34.5 kilometres (21.4 mi) long and has 30 stations.[3] It runs in the northern part of the Bangkok Metropolitan Area from Nonthaburi Civic Center in Pak Kret district, Nonthaburi along the major east–west transport corridor of Highway 304 (Chaeng Wattana and Ram Inthra roads) to terminate at Min Buri in Min Buri district in east Bangkok. It opened for free public trial operation on 21 November 2023[4] with Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin taking the inaugural ride.[5]
The line is designed to link the northern areas of Bangkok and Nonthaburi by connecting with three existing and three future mass transit lines. At Nonthaburi Civic Center the line interchanges with the MRT Purple Line and the proposed MRT Brown Line. The line also interchanges with the SRT Dark Red Line, the BTS Sukhumvit Line and the planned BMA Grey Line. At the Min Buri terminus, the line interchanges with the MRT Orange Line.
Construction of the Pink Line began in December 2017. In October 2020, the BSR consortium stated that they aimed to open the first section of the Pink Line by October 2021, with services initially operating from Min Buri (PK30) to Government Complex (PK12). The complete line was originally set to be fully open by June 2022.[6] However, the outbreak of COVID-19 in Bangkok and changes to station locations delayed the opening date. On 24 September 2021, the MRTA Board granted a 290-day extension to the construction contract period.[7] In November 2021, the MRTA Board approved a new phased opening of the line starting from August 2022. On 9 December 2021, daily testing conducted at a maximum speed of 25 km/h (16 mph) began on a short 4 km (2.5 mi) section of the line between the depot at Min Buri and Bang Chan station. After a period of 3 months, testing was conducted at higher speeds and along a longer section of track.[8]
In April 2022, the acting Director-General of the Department of Rail Transport stated that the line would not begin full testing until September 2022 and that the first stage would not open until late December 2022.[9] In May 2023, a further 345-day extension was announced by the MRTA, delaying the start of trial operations for the initial section and later the final opening of the full line to June 2024.[10] However, after the opening of the MRT Yellow line the BSR announced that the first section of the line would open in November 2023.[11]
The line opened for free public trial operation on 21 November 2023 and officially launched on 18 December 2023.[4] Revenue service was initially scheduled to begin on 3 January 2024,[12] but an incident involving conductor rails resulted in a delay to 7 January, with a 15 percent discount for travels between Royal Irrigation Department and Min Buri, and the first four stations will be free of charge, running only in one direction on rails unaffected by the incident as a shuttle service, while the affected rails are being repaired.[13]