Under the contract, Siemens will supply a fleet of 35 three-car trains, the signalling and traction power system, a Scada system, communications, platform screen doors, and equip the depot and workshop. Siemens will also maintain the trains and systems for 10 years.

The trains will be an updated version of the existing Blue Line fleet supplied by Siemens and will be built at the Siemens plant in Vienna. Each train will accommodate more than 800 passengers and will have a maximum speed of 80km/h.

The existing 20km Blue Line, which Siemens delivered in 2004 as a turnkey project, runs in a semi-circle from Bang Sue to Hua Lamphong main line station and carries around 320,000 passengers a day. The two new sections totalling 28km with 19 stations will extend the line from Bang Sue south to Tha Phra, and west from Hua Lamphong via Tha Phra to Lak Song.

When the two extensions are completed in 2019-20, traffic on the Blue Line is expected to increase to around 500,000 passengers per day.

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