Pattaya City appears to be pushing ahead with its ambitious plan to build a monorail system through the heart of this seaside resort town. The public transportation line will be akin to the BTS Skyway used in Bangkok, and comes with an estimated price tag of 4 billion baht.
The proposal for the monorail system includes a three-step construction plan. The final total distance of track will be 27km, but the first stage will be an 11km loop capable of handling eight trains and stopping at nine stations. The first phase will run in a loop from the City Hall in North Pattaya, and travel to Pattaya Beach Road, Bali Hai Pier, South Pattaya Flyover, Pattaya 3rd Road, Central Pattaya, the junction of Pattaya 3rd Road and North Pattaya, and then return to City Hall.
Pattaya’s mayor has stated that a world-class resort destination like Pattaya deserves an equally modern public transport system. But getting this ambitious project past the planning stages will likely be the hardest part. The city will need to acquire land for the tracks and move a number of existing buildings to make way for the monorail line. The mayor wisely made no predictions about a completion date, or even groundbreaking date, for the monorail.