Bangkok's Orange Line Gets Its First Train, Eastern Section on Track for Late-2027 Trial Run

Bangkok’s long-delayed MRT Orange Line reached a concrete milestone on August 15, when operator Bangkok Expressway and Metro (BEM) confirmed alongside a record quarterly profit that the line’s first train set would arrive in Thailand in late November. The trains, 32 three-car sets built by Siemens in Turkey, are being delivered and tested one at a time; the first unit finished testing in Turkey and has moved on to trial runs in Germany, so the second set built will actually be the first to reach Thailand.

Once trains start arriving, BEM expects roughly six months of system and operational testing before the line can carry passengers. That points to trial passenger service on the eastern section — a 22.6-kilometre stretch with 17 stations running from Thailand Cultural Centre to Min Buri — starting in late 2027, with full commercial operation targeted for early 2028. Civil construction on this section is already finished, and rail-systems installation had passed 71% by the end of August. Riders will be able to transfer to the existing Blue Line at Thailand Cultural Centre and to the Pink Line at Min Buri.

This timeline covers only the eastern section. The separate western extension, linking Thailand Cultural Centre onward to Bang Khun Non, is still in an earlier construction phase with a target opening years later, around 2030, so it won’t be ready at the same time. Anyone planning around the Orange Line opening should treat late 2027 as a trial-service date for the eastern half only, not a date for travelling the full line end to end.