NFPA 130 Crucial to New Bangkok Subway System's Success

by Alan R. Earls

Bangkok’s new subway system for the city of 12 million is reputed to be the biggest construction project in Thailand’s history.

Suchatvee Suwansawat, a consulting engineer for the Thai government on the project, says NFPA 130, Fixed Guideway Transit and Passenger Rail Systems, was crucial to the project’s success.

“Everybody must have a copy here,” he says. “All decisions were based upon the standard.”

Bangkok had experimented with a small, elevated monorail loop near the city center called the Sky Train, but its impact on the city’s famously unbearable surface traffic was minimal. Hours were still wasted in traffic jams every day, and round-trip commutes of three to four hours were common.

Construction on the subway system began in 1997, and it carried its first passengers in 2004.

The first phase of the project, which includes surface and underground sections, covers about 12 miles (19 kilometers) with 18 stops and connections to two railway stations. The tunneling process, which took about four years, was begun at the north and south ends of the project and employed as many as eight tunnel boring machines for two shifts a day.  

With periodic monsoons to contend with, the project designers wanted to make sure the tunnels were flood-proof. Because of the tunnels’ depths—most are about 66 feet (20 meters) deep—and the impermeability of the tunnels’ hard clay walls, the primary flooding threat was surface water cascading through the station entrances. So stations entrances were built 7 feet (2 meters) above street level and can be sealed off if water rises higher than that.

Mindful of the potential for fire, the subway was built using a wide range of fireproof materials. Ventilation was designed to carry away smoke, and the ventilation shafts can be used as access points for firefighters at the surface and as an escape path for passengers. Safe spaces were also built to protect passengers in the event of a fire. Furthermore, a separate power plant for the subway ensures that regional power disruptions will not affect safe operations.

NFPA 130 proved useful in a number of unanticipated ways, as well. Since the subway went through many business areas, for example, building owners wanted to build their own underground connections to the MRTA tunnel.

“NFPA 130 was very helpful,” in this matter, says Suwansawat, “helping to establish the proper space to accommodate people [during egress].”

NFPA 130 also helped ensure that the use of combustible materials was avoided in the planning phase, he says.

Long-range plans envision further expansion over coming decades.

Fire Safety Design for Rapid Transit Systems

A paper prepared by Siew Yee Cheong FIFireE, PE, Vice President, Institution of Fire Engineers, Singapore

This paper was originally published in the conference proceedings of Fire India 2004

Introduction
Many new Rapid Transit Systems are being planned, designed and constructed in major cities in the world. Generally, nations are launching these projects with the aim of building and operating an efficient and effective land transport network that is integrated, efficient, costeffective and sustainable to meet the needs of their urban population.

With the above aim in mind, Builder/Owner/Operator of such rapid transit systems (RTS) not only has to ensure the safety of the railway but also that of the safety of commuters who use the system. Therefore, it is necessary to adopt a vigilant fire safety design that would meet the international standard as well as to incorporate comprehensive fire safety strategy to protect the life safety of transit’s commuters, minimise loss of property and to facilitate evacuation, fire fighting and rescue operation in the event of an emergency.

Download the entire paper (PDF, 48 KB).