Bangkok's Skytrain: Opening The System

In December 1999 Skytrain, the first rail mass transit line to be financed, built and operated by a private company in at least 50 years, opened in Bangkok, Thailand. Skytrain's owners had a concession from the Bangkok metropolitan government to build and operate the line for 30 years. Opening the US$1.3 billion line had required Skytrain and the government to overcome many obstacles. But several months after the opening, the line was carrying only one-third the ridership projected and the owners were in serious financial difficulty.

This teaching case is available for purchase here (A) and here (B).

Authored by Jose Gomez-Ibanez.

Published by HKS.