Colonel William A. Phillips

The Chao Phraya Express Boat (Thai: เรือด่วนเจ้าพระยา Ruea Duan Chao Phraya) is a transportation service in Thailand operating on the Chao Phraya River. It provides riverine express transportation between stops in the capital city of Bangkok and to Nonthaburi, the province immediately to the north. Established in 1971, the Chao Phraya Express Boat Company serves both local commuters and tourists. It also offers special tourist boats and a weekend river boat tours, as well as offering boats available for charter.[1] Along with BTS Skytrain and Bangkok MRT, using the boats allows commuters to avoid traffic jams during the peak hours on weekdays. The 21 km (13 mi) route is served by 65 boats and operates from 06:00–21:30 (last departure from CEN-Sathorn pier of a yellow flagged boat) on weekdays and from 06:00–18:40 on weekends and holidays. Current prices are from THB10 (Local line for distance within one zone) to THB32 (for green-yellow flag trip on its entire route from Pakkret to Sathon), depending on the type of boat and the distance travelled.[2] The river boats carry an average of about 40,000 passengers per day.

Boats

Express Boat on Chao Phraya River

Chao Phraya Express boats operates mainly two types of boats; all of them are built mainly out of wood.

Single-screw boat:  ORANGE   Yellow   GreenYellow  They are able to hold around 90-120 passengers at a time and are around 26–32 m (85–105 ft) long and about 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in) wide. The area on the back of the boat (floor painted yellow) is normally restricted to embarking and disembarking passengers, but some people like to stand there when the boat is highly crowded. There are two 2-step stairs on each side of the boat connecting the yellow pad on the back to the passenger area inside the boat, while in between those stairs is a non-functioning on-board toilet. The engine room, in the appearance of a large wooden box, is inboard in the center line of the boat in front of the seating area. There are two rows of seats on the left and another two on the right and an aisle passing in the middle. On the newer boats, the roof from over the engine room to the middle section of the boat is raised for extra headroom because most standing passengers on crowded boats are standing there. This design has been applied to all other boats that are being built in the company's shipyards in Bangkok and Ayutthaya. These type of boats operate on all non-flagged, orange-flagged and green-yellow-flagged boats, but also off-peak direction trips of yellow-flagged boats. The fleet has about 50 boats of this type.

Twin-screw boat or "super size" boat:[1]  ORANGE   Yellow  This type of boat holds around 120 to 180 passengers. Unlike the single-screw boat, the boat driver sits in a small pod above the passenger deck, similar to a cockpit on board a Boeing 747 airliner, giving view for passenger in the front-most row and public access to the boat's front deck for passengers who desire to watch the view from the boat's front without any obstruction (except for the Thai national flag). It is about 30–40 m (98–131 ft) long and about 5–7 m (16–23 ft) wide. Unlike a single-screw boat, its seating area stretches over the entire boat, while most seating is in front of engines. The engine rooms are placed lower than those in single-screw boats, and some passengers prefer to sit on them when it is crowded. There are 8 seats behind each engine. There are two aisles in the seating area in front of the engines and 3 aisles behind the engines. There are two toilets, one on the port and another one on the starboard, located in front of the engines. This type of boat serves as yellow flagged express boat in peak hours, and serves as tourist boats in off-peak hours. The fleet has about 15 boats of this type.

  • Monohull Boat  BLUE Tourist boat 
  • Catamaran boat  BLUE Tourist boat 
  • Catamaran air condition boat  RED   BLUE Tourist boat 

All seats on board all boats have individual life jackets and there are lifebuoys around the boat that can be used in case of an emergency.

27 electric boats are under construction for the service.[3]

Piers

Railway Pier (N11)
Phra Arthit Pier (N13) Siriraj Hospital is ahead.
Pier Services Transfers Location
No
flag
N33 Pakkret ปากเกร็ด Nonthaburi
N32 Wat Klangkret วัดกลางเกร็ด
N31/1 Baan Pak Tiwanon บ้านพักข้าราชบริพารติวานนท์
N31 Ministry of Commerce กระทรวงพาณิชย์
Phra Nang Klao Bridge สะพานพระนั่งเกล้า  MRT  Phra Nang Klao Bridge station
N30 Nonthaburi (Pibul 3) นนทบุรี (พิบูลย์สงคราม 3)
N29/1 Rama V Bridge พระราม 5
N29 Pibul 2 พิบูลย์สงคราม 2
N28 Wat Kien วัดเขียน
N27 Wat Tuek วัดตึก
N26 Wat Khema วัดเขมา
N25 Pibul 1 พิบูลย์สงคราม 1
N24 Rama VII Bridge พระราม 7
N23 Wat Soi Thong วัดสร้อยทอง Bangkok
N22 Bang Po บางโพ  MRT 
Bang Pho Station
N21 Kiak Kai เกียกกาย
N20 Kheaw Khai Ka เขียวไข่กา
N19 Irrigation Dept. กรมชลประทาน
N18 Payap พายัพ
N17/1 Wat Thepakorn วัดเทพากร
N17 Wat Thepnahree วัดเทพนารี
N16 Krung Thon Bridge สะพานกรุงธน (ซังฮี้)
N15 Thewet เทเวศร์  Phadung Krung Kasem boat 
N14 Rama VIII Bridge พระราม 8
N13 Phra Arthit พระอาทิตย์
N12 Phra Pin Klao Bridge พระปิ่นเกล้า
N11 Thonburi Railway ท่ารถไฟ
N10 Wang Lang (Prannok) วังหลัง (พรานนก)
N9 Tha Chang ท่าช้าง
N8 Tha Tien ท่าเตียน
Wat Arun วัดอรุณ
N7 Rajinee ราชินี  MRT 
Sanam Chai Station
N6/1 Yodpiman ยอดพิมาน
N6 Memorial Bridge สะพานพุทธ
N5 Rachawongse ราชวงศ์
N4 Marine Dept. กรมเจ้าท่า
N3 Si Phraya สี่พระยา
N2 Wat Muang Kae วัดม่วงแค
N2/1 ICONSIAM ไอคอนสยาม  MRL  Charoen Nakhon
N1 Oriental โอเรียลเต็ล
CEN Sathorn (Taksin Bridge) สาทร (ตากสิน) BTS Skytrain  BTS 
Saphan Taksin Station
S1 Wat Sawetachat วัดเศวตฉัตร
S2 Wat Worachanyawas วัดวรรยาวาส
S3 Wat Rajsingkorn
Asiatique
วัดราชสิงขร
เอเชียทีค

Routes

References

  1. ^ a b "Chao Phraya Express Boat". www.chaophrayaexpressboat.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
  2. ^ Chao Phraya Express Boat Co., Ltd Archived February 18, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "Thailand Gets a Fleet of Electric Ferries to Help Clean Up Bangkok". CleanTechnica. 26 October 2020.

External links