Forget about battling through Bangkok traffic to catch your filght. From December you will be able to check in

at the City Air Terminal in Makkasan and even get your boarding pass

Riding a fast Skytrain to the airport will soon be a new lifestyle for outbound travellers. The long-awaited Airport Link will be functional by this December.

Travellers will have the option of checking in their luggage at the soon-to-be-opened City Air Terminal (CAT) in the Makkasan area before boarding the rapid train to Suvarnabhumi Airport with their carry-on bags.

The CAT, 270 metres by 70 metres, has three floors where passengers can board a train as well as check in, receive a boarding pass and leave their luggage on the third floor. The luggage will be transferred to their flight. The second floor will be for arriving passengers and the first a parking lot for 200 cars.

The luggage will be transferred by Suvarnabhumi Airport Express (SA-Express) and placed in a designated coach while passengers will board other coaches on the same train.

A source says the Makkasan Station is expected to be completed by October this year.

Finishing touches

The main structure is already finished. Workers are now decorating each floor, while the modern-style roof of the station is nearly complete. Motorists on the expressways near the station can already see the attractive design of the roof.

The four rail tracks for the SA-Express and Suvarnabhumi Airport City Line and another train serving commuters are well into construction.

The tracks will allow trains to reach speeds of up to 160kph. Express journeys will take 15 minutes and commuter trips 27 minutes.

The station is part of the Airport Rail Link Project, expected to be officially opened by December.

The estimated cost of the project is Bt25.9 billion.

Engineer Banchongsak Panthong said last month that 78.5 per cent of the construction had been completed and 82 per cent of electrical and mechanical work.

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XTRA

Rail link

Express Service

>> Suvarnabhumi Airport - Makkasan (City

Air Terminal -

interchange with MRT Blue Line's Phetchaburi Station)

Commuter Service

>> Suvarnabhumi Airport - Lad Krabang - Thub Chang - Hua Mark - Ramkhamhaeng - Makkasan (City Air Terminal - interchange with MRT Blue Line's Phetchaburi Station) - Ratchaprarop - Phayathai (interchange with BTS Sukhumvit Line's Phayathai Station