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Construction of the first line, officially known as the Chaloem Ratchamongkorn Line ("Celebration of Royal Auspice") but informally as the Blue Line, started in 1999. Delayed multiple times, the line finally opened for limited public trial on April 13, 2004, and had its official opening on July 3, 2004. The 21 kilometer, 18 station line presently runs from Bang Sue to Hualamphong , with interchanges to the Skytrain at Silom/Saladaeng, Sukhumvit/Asok and Chatuchak/Mo Chit. The line's capacity is 80,000 people in each direction each hour. Extensions north to Charansanitwongse and Tha Phra and south to Bang Khae are planned, possibly joined up as a ring in the future.
The Metro's Thai name is รถไฟฟ้าใต้ดินมหานคร (pronounced 'Rot Fai Fah Dhai Din Mahanakhon', literally "city underground electric train").
On July 3 2004 the first line was officially opened at 19:19 local time by King Rama IX and Queen Sirikit. Within 30 minutes, riders reported that the system was filled to capacity, but after the initial crush of sightseers ridership has settled down to around 200,000 riders daily.
Other lines being planned include the Orange Line (Bang Kapi – Samsen) and the Purple Line (Bangyai – Phra Nanklao – Bangsue). Construction will start in 2005 at the earliest.
The system uses an RFID contactless round token system for individual trips, and also a stored value contactless card system for regular travellers.