Construction of new high speed rail tracks in Thailand set to start within 2017

BANGKOK, June 21 (TNA) - The construction of a new high speed rail tracks, a Sino-Thai cooperation project, has been set to start by September 2017. Thai Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith told journalists of the update on June 20, saying that the 252.2-kilometer Sino-Thai rail track cooperation project, connecting Bangkok with Nakhon Ratchasima Province in the Thai Northeast, is expected to be submitted for the Cabinet's further consideration and a final decision by next month. Arkhom noted that for Thailand's side, the over 179.41-billion baht-mega project is totally funded by the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), which is also solely authorized by the government to utilize all areas along the two sides of the high speed rail tracks for the maximum public and national benefits. According to the minister SRT is, however, legally allowed to give the green light for the private sector to handle the management of some sections of areas along the new Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima high speed train route. The minister also acknowledged that it must take times for any operator of a high speed train system to gain returns from such a mega-transport infrastructure development project, citing, as a good example, that operators of high speed train services in Japan took over 50 years to start gaining profits from their investment. The transport minister suggested that returns to the overall Thai economy in the long run in terms of continual national economic growth, stimulated by the further development of urban areas, be taken into account instead. The minister revealed that, based on the Sino-Thai agreement, all construction materials of the new Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima rail tracks project will be locally-procured, while China will be in charge of the development of its rail and signal systems, the high technologies of which will be transferred to Thailand. (TNA)