Thailand’s Transport Ministry to propose nine train projects
Govt needs B661bn in investments
Nine railway projects, including the 357-kilometre second phase of the Thai-Chinese high-speed train system, will be proposed for cabinet approval next month, according to Deputy Transport Minister Surapong Piyachote.
All nine projects need a total of 661 billion baht in investments, he said. Of the nine, six cover double-track rail routes which require 298 billion baht, he added.
The six are the 285km Paknam Pho-Den Chai route, the 168km Chumphon-Surat Thani route, the 189km Surat Thani-Hat Yai route, the 308km Thanon Chira Juction-Ubon Ratchathani route, the 45km Hat Yai Junction-Padang Besar route and the 189km Denchai-Chiang Mai route.
Two more projects are being planned for the suburb extensions of Bangkok’s Red Line system, which altogether require a budget of 21.6 billion baht, he said.
The Rangsit-Thammasat University Rangsit Campus extension requires an investment of about 6.4 billion baht, while the Siriraj-Taling Chan-Salaya extension needs 15.1 billion baht, he said.
Another important railway construction project is the second phase of the Thai-Chinese high-speed train system, which will be built from Nakhon Ratchasima to Nong Khai at an estimated cost of 341.3 billion baht, he said.
Bids for the second phase of the high-speed train project are expected to be called later this year, with construction likely finished in late 2028, he said.
Lessons learnt from the ongoing implementation of the first phase of construction should help expedite the implementation of the second and last phase of the project, Mr Surapong added.
The construction of the 250km first phase of the high-speed train project, from Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima, which officially began on Dec 21, 2017, was only 34.9% complete, according to the latest update on the project’s official website on July 25.
The recent collapse of a rail tunnel in Nakhon Ratchasima resulted in the deaths of three foreign workers: Two from China and one from Myanmar.
The three were working inside the tunnel when it collapsed on the night of Aug 27 after a prolonged period of heavy rain.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2860421/ministry-to-propose-nine-train-projects
