Walking in Bangkok, Thailand - Subway from Hua Lum Phong to Central West Gate Series

The Metropolitan Rapid Transit or MRT is a rapid transit system serving the Bangkok Metropolitan Region in Thailand. The first section of the Blue Line between Hua Lamphong and Bang Sue opened in 2004 as Bangkok's second public transit system, while the MRT Purple Line opened in August 2016. The MRT is operated by the Bangkok Expressway and Metro Public Company Limited (BEM) under a concession granted by the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA). Along with the BTS Skytrain and the Airport Rail Link, the MRT is part of Bangkok's rail transportation infrastructure.



The MRT serves more than 410,000 passengers each day (Blue line 360,000 & Purple line 50,000). It has 35 operational stations along 43 kilometers (27 mi)[1]. The Blue Line, officially the Chaloem Ratchamongkhon Line, was the first of the two lines currently in operation. From mid 2011, construction began of the Blue Line at both ends with an extension west from Hua Lamphong to Bang Khae, and from Bang Sue to Tha Phra . When completed, the Blue Line will become a fake loop line (providing interchange with itself at Tha Phra) around the centre of Bangkok. The MRT Purple Line, officially the Chalong Ratchadham Line, began full service on 6 August 2016 and connected Tao Poon with Nonthaburi in the northwest. It was the first public transit line to extend outside Bangkok province, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.



The MRT line is officially known in Thai as rotfaifa mahanakhon (รถไฟฟ้ามหานคร) or "metropolitan electric train", but it is more commonly called rotfai taidin (รถไฟใต้ดิน), literally, "underground train".