Thailand mulls construction of new rail route in Northeast

BANGKOK, February 20 (TNA) - The Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP), under the Ministry of Transport, plans to construct a new railroad in Thailand's Northeast, expected to serve at least 133 million passengers and more than 6 million tons of cargo annually over the next 20 years. According to OTP Deputy Director Pranot Suriya, the project will be proposed before a mobile Cabinet meeting in Thailand's northeastern Udon Thani Province on Tuesday. Pranot told journalists that the 41-billion-baht new rail route, proposed by Thailand's Joint Public-Private Consultative Committee (JPPCC), will link Baan Phai in Khon Kaen , Maha Sarakham, Roi Et, Mukdahan and Nakhon Phanom in the country's upper northeastern region. If approved by the Cabinet and the construction completed by 2017 as planned, the OTP deputy chief foresaw, the new rail route would cater at least 133 million passengers and 6.3 million tons of cargo annually within 20 years thereafter, helping reduce transport costs and automobiles-borne impacts on the environment by up to some 56.5 billion baht. The senior official acknowledged that the new 336 kilometre-railway would also be connected with Laem Chabang Port in Thailand's eastern Chonburi Province, cross-border trade in Mukdahan and Nakhon Phanom, as well as Myanmar’s new Dawei Port, facilitating borderless transportation and business links after the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) among member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including Thailand, is formed by 2015. (TNA)