Chiang Mai Metro System – Reviewing the routes of the 3 proposed transit lines

Chiang Mai is planning to build a 3-line urban rail transit system that will be the first provincial subway in Thailand. I visited the locations of every station of the proposed first line, and I reviewed the routes of the other lines. I also propose to turn one line into a circle line.

Chiang Mai is planning to build a 3-line urban rail transit system. There have been different plans since the early 2000s, and I have archived all of the news mentions on the Chiang Mai Mass Transit page.

This plan is so old and has been announced so many times that it’s hard to get excited about it. The project is still being actively proposed, so while I am in Chiang Mai, I thought I should look at the routes of the proposed lines.

Here is what the 3-line system will look like:

Map from bangkokpost.com (with Tha Phae Gate on the wrong side).

The Red Line is the first line that is being planned, and there are some signs around the city that show the route map near proposed station locations.

Red Line map near the North Gate

I walked the proposed Red Line route over two separate days to see where the stations will be located and to get a feel for the neighbourhoods around each station.

This post covers the route of the Red Line, and some observations on the Blue Line and Green Line.

And just to emphasise, these are all proposals that have been sitting in a “too hard” basket for years, so don’t expect a metro system in Chiang Mai anytime soon, if at all.

Red Line

A map of the Red Line can be found on the official MRTA website.

Chiang Mai Red Line (view full size).

The Red Line will be 15.8 km long with 16 stations (9 ground stations and 7 underground stations), and the map shows the underground section as dotted lines.

The line is being planned by the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA), which is the same authority that operates transit lines in Bangkok. It’s MRT by name, but they are calling the Chiang Mai system an LRT, even though the system is part tramway and part subway. I will use MRT and LRT interchangeably until they come up with an official system name.

Starting from north to south, the Red Line begins at the Nakornping Hospital in Mae Rim District.

Nakornping Hospital

The line runs at ground level like a tram. If the rail is separated like a light rail, then it would only leave one lane in each direction for traffic. There would also need to be traffic lights for cars turning to the other side of the road. There is no mention of the line being elevated, though maybe this will change after another feasibility study.

The line then turns west towards the mountain, passing a number of government buildings (thus the station Chiang Mai Government Center).

Chiang Mai Provincial Court

The line stops near the 700th Anniversary Stadium, which is the largest football stadium in the city.

The line continues to the Chiang Mai International Exhibition and Convention Centre. The convention centre is off the beaten track from the old town area (where most visitors for a conference would stay), so having a transit line here is sensible. The road here is also the most suitable for a tram line.

Chiang Mai International Exhibition and Convention Centre.

The line then turns east into Nonghor Road (Highway No. 1366). This is a 4-lane road, and there are two ground-level stations here. The line then goes underground on this road. It would be more practical if the line went underground before it arrived on this small road.

Nonghor Road

The line is now underground and back on the road it detoured from. This road gets clogged with traffic at peak hours, so there is no chance of a ground-level light rail here.

Near the proposed Khuang Sing Station is a sign showing the route map of the Red Line.

The tunnel would have to go deeper here to go under the Super Highway underpass.

Station area for Chiang Mai Rajabhat University.

The station at Chang Phueak Monument is next to the provincial bus station.

The underground tunnel then reaches the north moat of the old city, and the line turns west and follows the moat.

Maneenopparat Road

The line then turns south and continues along the west side of the moat to Suan Dok Gate.

Suan Dok Gate

The line continues south of the old city via an underground tunnel on Mahidol Road.

Heading towards the airport on Mahidol Road.

There is a stop at the Chiang Mai International Airport Intersection, next to the Central Chiang Mai Airport mall. If the mall were connected to the underground station, then it would become the most accessible mall in Chiang Mai.

The airport station is underground, and then it follows the airport road to the Chiang Mai-Hang Dong Road. This road is only two lanes, but the MRTA website says it changes back to an at-grade structure on this road.

Airport Road

The Chiang Mai – Hang Dong Road has 3 lanes in each direction, so there is a possibility of the inner lanes being reserved for the railway without being mixed with traffic.

An urban scene that could be anywhere in Thailand.

Chiang Mai – Hang Dong Road would be a good section for transit-oriented developments, though there are height restrictions near the airport.

Chiang Mai – Hang Dong Road

The line ends at the Mae-Hia Saman Samakee intersection. This could potentially be extended to Hang Dong District in the future.

Mae-Hia Saman Samakee intersection

Thoughts on the Red Line route

The main issues I had with the Red Line were the big detour in the north, and that the line goes around the old city and not through it. After walking the line, these route choices make more sense.

The northern section is a suitable route as it passes the convention centre, the stadium, and multiple government institutions. There would need to be some apartments and shopping areas around each station, which should happen once the line is confirmed and under construction.

I had initially thought that the Red Line went around the old city because they didn’t want to tunnel through the old city, but the Blue Line goes straight through the old city.

I would have liked the Red Line to go north-south through the middle of the old city, interchanging with the east-west Blue Line in the centre of the old city.

The Red Line route is more optimal as it is along Mahidol Road, from the Chiang Mai International Airport Intersection to the southwest corner of the moat. This is a busy commercial road, so it would be better to develop it into a transit corridor.

Another problem with the Red Line is that it’s not useful for tourists arriving by air. I would have preferred that the line go from the airport to the east side of the old city (where there are more hotels), but that would disrupt the north-south alignment.

The Red Line only becomes useful for tourism once the other lines are built.

Blue Line

The Blue Line is the main east-west line of the city, and the line travels along the most logical route out of the three lines.

The line starts at the Chiang Mai Zoo next to the mountain (Doi Suthep). The line then turns into the Canal Road and then towards the old city.

I would have liked a straight line from the zoo to the northwest corner of the moat along Huay Kaew Road, as that road gets jammed with traffic. The chosen route goes through the big university area and also has traffic congestion. Ultimately, there can’t be a metro on every major road, so this is a good choice.

The Blue Line then goes through the old city, connecting Suan Dok Gate on the west side to Tha Pae Gate on the east side.

I would have liked a Red-Blue interchange in the middle of the old city, but the old city is not densely populated, and there is no chance of building a large transit-oriented development in the middle of the old city.

Having a Red-Blue interchange at Suan Dok Gate is a reasonable option, as long as the interchange is built so that passengers can transfer with minimal effort. Let’s hope that the MRTA doesn’t mess up the interchanges like the Bangkok interchanges.

The Red-Blue interchange at Suan Dok Gate will be crucial for making the transit system useful for visitors; otherwise, it will be quicker to get a taxi from the airport.

The line continues east towards the night bazaar area (a big cluster of hotels there) and across the river towards Chiang Mai Railway Station. The ultimate dream would be to have the Bangkok-Chiang Mai High-Speed Railway built in time for the Blue Line to take passengers from the station to the old city.

Green Line

The Green Line is another airport line, and this line also goes to the hotel area around the night bazaar. The line goes northeast towards an area with some of the largest apartment towers in the city (near Central Chiangmai mall).

Like the Red-Blue interchange, my main concern is to make sure the Green-Blue interchange is purpose-built and easy to use.

The airport station should also be integrated with the airport, with easy ability to interchange between Red and Green for passengers who are not going to the airport.

If the airport ends up being connected by two metro lines, then that should put an end to the proposed Chiang Mai Second Airport. They should use the money for the second airport for the high-speed railway instead.

A future possibility for the Green Line would be to extend it north from the airport to Nimmanhaemin Road. This is a popular area, and Nimmanhaemin Road is a traffic sewer during peak hours. It could interchange with the Blue Line, giving the Nimman area access to the old city.

There is a fake Tokyo Subway portal on the corner of Nimmanhaemin and Huay Kaew Rd. I would love to see a real subway entrance here.

The fake Tokyo Subway entrance at Nimmanhaemin and Huay Kaew Rd

If the planners wanted to be overambitious, they could turn the Green Line into a circle line. Chiang Mai would then have a circle connecting the north-south and east-west lines.