Thailand to expand cross-border rail services

BANGKOK, January 20 (TNA) - Thailand goes ahead with a plan on expanding cross-border rail services, paving the way for the Kingdom to become a regional hub of transport networks in the future. State Railway of Thailand (SRT) Governor Wuthichart Kalyanamitra expressed his confidence on Wednesday that the southern Thai railway should be connected with Malaysia's train network within 3-5 years. Wuthichart stressed that apart from railway projects under negotiations with China and Japan, his state enterprise plans the first railway connectivity with Malaysia. For the Thai-Malaysian train service, Wuthichart acknowledged that SRT has not yet modified its diesel locomotives to be compatible with the electricity supply system of Malaysian trains and the task should also take 3-5 years. The SRT chief revealed that barriers will also be installed at all level crossings in Thailand within this year and SRT workers will increase daily track patrols to reduce derailments, caused by bent rails and loose rock foundations of tracks. (TNA)