Transport Ministry, China Discuss Production of High-Speed Train Drivers

BEIJING, March 4 (TNA) – Authorities from the Transport Ministry discussed with Chinese counterparts the production of high-speed train drivers to support the inauguration of high-speed train service in 3-4 years. Sorapong Paithoonpong, assistant permanent secretary of the Transport Ministry, led the Thai delegation to discuss the issue with representatives of China’s National Railway Administration and China Railway International Co in Beijing on March 2 and 3. The meeting resulted from the 26th and 27th meetings of a Chinese-Thai joint committee on railway cooperation. Mr Sorapong said both sides would quickly work out the qualifications of high-speed train drivers and establish a working group to set a process for the issuance of high-speed train drivers’ licenses for the first time in Thailand. According to him, the process will consist of two steps. Firstly, the State Railway of Thailand will set up a department of railways that will issue certificates for its existing train drivers. The personnel will then sit for examinations to be high-speed train drivers. In China, high-speed train drivers must at least have two years of train-driving experiences and do the duty for a combined distance of 100,000 kilometers. They must pass strict physical and mental checkups before attending training and sitting for an examination. The meeting with Chinese authorities responded to the transport minister’s policy to produce Thai high-speed train drivers for their service in 3-4 years, Mr Sorapong said. (TNA)