Airport Since its inception, the ARL was intended to be extended north to the new SRT Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal and ultimately Don Mueang Airport (DMK). This would use the SRT Dark Red Line and main SRT north line corridor. The extension— underground and elevated—would consist of five stations beyond the current terminus at Phaya Thai: Ratchawithi (underground), Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal, Bang Khen, Laksi, and Don Mueang. Originally, it was thought that work on the extension would not commence until after 2016. However, the Thai Cabinet designated a two-airport policy in March 2012 encouraging airlines, particularly low-cost carriers, to move to Don Mueang Airport. This resulted in an advance of the ARL extension timeline. The SRT budgeted for the extension in its 2013 budget and the 27 billion baht extension was planned to be tendered in the latter half of 2013. The political crisis in the last three months of 2013 and early-2014 delayed any further progress of the project. The military coup of May 2014 resulted in a military administration which did not fund the project in 2014. The ARL was intended to be the backbone of a future high speed rail line (HSR) to Chonburi and Rayong - originally scheduled to be completed by 2018. The military coup of May 2014 subsequently resulted in deferring all HSR line proposals for a period of two years. Construction resumed along the elevated line to the station at Don Mueang International Airport in late 2016. In February 2015, the Thai Cabinet approved a budget for land appropriation with the expectation that the extension would be tendered later in 2015. However, this did not occur and there was no advance on the project in 2016. In 2017 that the Thai Government decided that the new Eastern high speed line would originate at Don Mueang Airport, and not Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal. Thus, this project effectively became the ARL extension to Don Mueang Airport as it will use the ARL track and stations. In early 2018, the SRT stated that the Eastern HSR line section from Phaya Thai to Krung Thep Aphiwat and Don Mueang Airport is expected to be tendered by May 2018 with a 4 months auction period before the successful bidder is awarded. The cost of the project is estimated to be over 200 billion baht, of which the Thai Government will fund 123 billion baht