Bangkok's Sky Train
In a city as densely populated as Bangkok, transportation is always an issue. According to Jensen’s article “City of layers - Bangkok's sky train and how it works in socially segregating mobility patterns”, private transportation covers 70.6% of the transportation demand of the metropolitan area of the city, whereas public transportation only covers 29.4%. One of the solutions implemented by the government of the city was the creation of the Sky Train, an over the ground train system. The train runs above the ground at 12 meters, surpassing other city infrastructures, sustained by massive concrete columns of 2.5 meters in diameter. The construction of the train was extremely costly, approximately US$ 1.6 billion, and was solely privately financed.
The Sky Train transports between 380.000 and 400.000 passengers every day, a small number against the projected 600.000 that it was supposed to carry. The reasons for the passenger shortfall are the limited routes and the failure of bus companies to establish efficient connections with the train. However, the distribution of the passengers that use the train is not homogeneous. Bangkok’s Sky Train is manly used by businessmen, tourists and middle classes. Meanwhile, the poor people of the city, as well as immigrant workers are unable to afford the ticket price.
The greatest effect of Bangkok’s Sky Train has been on the city’s housing prices. The train routes connect the business center with the great shopping districts of the city, creating two major flows of shoppers and capital that cater exclusively to the new middle and upper classes of the city. Because of this, the areas around the train infrastructure are considered prime land. The new high-end development projects are being constructed along the Sky Train tracks, reallocating investment. This is positively segregating the city in a new vertical pattern. The sky bridges connect the train to the high-rise buildings, the above layer of the city which is already inhabited by the rich. This effectively isolates the train passengers from the ground, where the poor live. The train also aids to the development of gated communities and their connection to the city.
Although in the beginning there was local resistance to the Sky Train construction because of environmental and aesthetic reasons, nowadays the train is promoted as a symbol of progress and modernity by the city government. The Sky Train marks the entrance of Bangkok into a number of post-modern global city, and grants it the title of player in the international capitalist arena. Moreover, the design of the Sky Train as well as the layout of the stations and ticket machines is consistent with a generic transnational style, consolidating Bangkok’s international status. The train has also become a city icon, attracting numerous tourists and becoming the location of multiple modern music videos are filmed. The perception of the Sky Train by the locals has also changed, influenced by Western notions of punctuality. Nowadays, the Sky Train is perceived to be sole reason why workers and businessmen are able to meet specific appointments across town, contributing to a new “culture of punctuality” in the city. On top of this, the train has introduced a new sense of order, cleanliness, coolness and quietness that highly contrasts with the rest of the city. However, the train creates dark tunnels across the city’s ground, inhabited by the poor locals, where pollution and heat concentrate.
Bangkok’s Sky Train has then marked a shift in favor of the city elite’s and international tourists in terms of public transportation. The train alters the mobility patterns of the city dwellers, reconstructing the city’s urban scape and segregating the city’s population in the process. Bangkok’s Sky Train has become then, an expression of power and social exclusion in the city.
