The Airport Rail Link (ARL) () is an express and commuter rail line in Bangkok, Thailand. The line provides an airport rail link from Suvarnabhumi Airport, via Makkasan station, to Phaya Thai station in central Bangkok. Most of the line is on a viaduct over the main eastern railway. It is owned by State Railway of Thailand (SRT) and, since 2021, operated by Asia Era One Company Limited. The -long Airport Rail Link opened for service on 23 August 2010. History The airport link contract was signed in January 2005, and construction began in July 2005. The line was built by a consortium of B.Grimm, STECON, and Siemens. The cost of the project was 25.9 billion baht. The line is built largely along the same alignment as the failed Bangkok Elevated Road and Train System (BERTS) project, which was started by Hopewell Holdings and ceased construction in 1997, when only 10 percent of the project had been completed. Many idle pillars left from BERTS stood in the way of the new system. After an extensive debate and an engineering review on their suitability for use in the ARL project—and demands for compensation from Hopewell—the SRT eventually decided to demolish the pillars and build new ones. Originally scheduled to be completed by 2007, the Hopewell debacle, an extended bidding process, and a series of legal challenges from squatters and property owners who had encroached on SRT's land, repeatedly delayed the project. Initial test runs were conducted in October 2009, with a free limited trial service open to the public running from April 2010. Full commercial services were launched on 23 August 2010. It was initially operated by the S.R.T. Electrified Train Company (SRTET), a wholly owned subsidiary of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT). In October 2021 operation of the line was transferred to a new special-purpose vehicle led by the consortium of Charoen Pokphand (CP) Holding and partners including Ch. Karnchang PLC. (CK), Bangkok Expressway and Metro PLC. (BEM), Italian-Thai Development PLC. (ITD) and China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) and the service rebranded as AERA1 City. The consortium will also operate the Don Mueang–Suvarnabhumi–U-Tapao high-speed railway. Operations Services originally consisted of both express services and the City Line, a commuter rail service with eight stations. However since September 2014, all express services have been suspended indefinitely due to a shortage of rolling stock availability. The ARL operates daily from 05:30