josephbloggs

Welcome to TVF, the forum where positive news stories are received with great and unnecessary negativity. Really quite sad.

It is not "these trains". It is one train. Donated and will be turned in to a tourist train to run on tourist routes. It's really not that hard to read the article before responding to it, is it?

I don't argue stuff should have been done long ago - absolutely it should have been, and it wasn't.....which is kind of my point. Infrastructure-wise there has been pathetic investment here for decades, but in the last few years it has accelerated massively. Double rail expansion over more than 1,000kms, the three airports link (obviously not done yet but awarded), several mass transit lines in Bangkok under construction with many near completion (Pink, Yellow, Orange). Obviously these lines are part of the original master plan but executed under this government (who did cause delays while they reviewed everything). Also several mass transit extensions. The high speed rail, meh, maybe, I'm not including that, let's see. Several motorway projects have happened or are underway. The southern elevated expressway is making great progress, I just drove past there last week. Airport upgrades and expansions. Drainage tunnels, new parks being built, electrical and communication lines being buried, canals being revitalised (Ong Ang, Rama IV). I am not a big fan of Prayut and his cronies by any means - there are many things abhorrent about this government - but I am not so blinkered I can't acknowledge that the infrastructure work currently happening in Thailand is unprecedented, at least in my time here (25+ years). Seriously just drive around Bangkok and the outskirts and there are roads and rail lines being built everywhere. It is pretty incredible to be honest.

Let me close my eyes and guess if you are are racist..................aaaaand bingo!!

Yep, women should not be allowed to go out late or dressed how they like.

Wasn't criticising, merely pointing out that diesel rail is very common even in "advanced" countries. The poster I replied to seemed to think all "advanced" countries are purely electric when that is not the case; even Japan - where everyone only pictures sleek bullet trains - has many diesel commuter lines.

I'm old enough, been here long enough, and I know enough, thanks for asking. The Walter Bau dispute was to do with not being approved for toll increases (which were allowed in the contract). It was nothing to do with "building a highway and not paying for it". I have been here long enough to have been around before that extension was built. Not sure what you are rambling on about to be honest. Of course, very convenient.

I know you like to get your "den of fools" and "Thailand is moving backwards in to the stone age" comments in to most threads, but you really should pick and choose ones where Thailand is perhaps moving backwards to make them. The current rate of investment in infrastructure is like nothing I have ever seen here. You have taken a single picture of a single train and read your own agenda in to it.

OK, Thailand's railways are pretty poor but are improving. The SRT is probably the most ineffiecient government agency of all, but sorry we can't just make stuff up to criticise. They are not depending on 2nd hand wagons. This was a (dubious) "gift" from Japan which is being refurbished and turned in to a tourist train. Just a few years ago they purchased 115 brand new cars, so not true to say they are depending on handouts, they are not. And what are you on about that the railway system was a present from England? No it wasn't. Nothing of the sort in fact. The first line was built by a Danish company. The Brits had nothing to do with it, nothing at all. Thailand is upgrading the network quite considerably (easily the most investment I have seen in the railway here in my 26 years) with double tracks. It would be nice to electrify but one step at a time, at least there is significant progress being made. And let's not forget the huge electric network being built in Bangkok at the moment - an enormous undertaking and to be applauded (thought it is not without its faults such as not having a unified ticketing system). Which highway in Bangkok did they not pay for? Please do tell. You must have some serious insider knowledge, love to hear it. And where is this railway system sponsored by China? That doesn't exist either. They were/are looking at Chinese railways which makes sense as the Chinese are the world leaders in that technology, but they rejected Chinese financing as the interest rates were too high. So, again, where is this new railway system sponsored by China? It doesn't exist. Phuket is an island. And the topography in that southern region means it would be hugely complex and massively expensive to extend the railway network. Surely you know that? Sorry for the long post, just had to challenge your nonsense. Interested to hear your response.

Not hard to find pictures if you can be bothered. Pretty good although they are being fully refurbished anyway. This will be a tourist train, not a commuter train.

But large sections of rail in other parts of Japan are not. I forget the percentage but it is surprisingly high. My first trip there I was expecting rail perfection and I got that on the Shinkansen, but I did several journeys that were on rickety old diesel trains - it was a real surprise to me. Britain is only around 40% electrified. USA if I remember correctly is under 5%.

It is not being used as a normal commuter train, but as a tourist train on tourist routes. One single individual train is pretty useless on a commuter route.

Yes, donated.

For all the wags saying the Thais won't have thought of that, from the article: "The trains will be shifted to the Makkasan maintenance centre for inspection before modified bogeys are added. The entire operation is expected to take about four months." Eh? Every single country in the world - including Japan - has multiple rail systems as well as high speed.

People get confused really easily here and I suspect it is because they don't read the full article. If you enter under Thailand Pass you do one day quarantine while you wait for the result of your PT-PCR test. If you are coming from a country that is not eligible for Thailand Pass then you do 7 days. So basically it is the same as it is now.

I'm not sure about that - the sense and spirit of community in rural Thailand is very strong.

Wow, even for this forum that is quite an extreme "they're all out to get us" paranoia. Believe it or not a seller wants to sell and they want to sell as quickly and as often as they can. Why on earth would you believe they would pack your stuff and then just sit on it waiting for a Thai to come along so they can go through the process of cancelling your order and initiating a refund process just so they can then give your order to a Thai person? That is such a ridiculous belief. You do realise they could just sell another one to the Thai so they get two sales, right? We see a lot of chips on a lot of shoulders on this forum but that don't think I've ever seen one that big.

My only take away form this is who says "my girl"?

So if you can afford nice things you shouldn't have them? You should just buy a Corolla if you can afford a Ferrari because, erm, TVF geezers think you are showing off otherwise. It really is a horribly jealous comment, a horribly jealous attitude. If I have a nice house is it because I want to show off? Or maybe I just like living in a nice house and having my creature comforts. If I have nice car is it because I want to show off? Maybe I just like nice cars and I can afford them. If I dress in nice clothes is it because I want to show off? Maybe I just like feeling good in how I dress. Some people can afford nice things, get over it. If he is dripping in gold then I might agree with you. How does he look? Is he flaunting his wealth? Oh, you have no idea do you. He just has a nice car that you can't afford, hence the jealousy.

Thanks for mentioning me. I was replying to people saying he has his plane waiting and will be escorted to the airport to flee the country. I said that can't happen and it hasn't - if they were going to let him off it would have happened before trial or alternatively the Supreme Court could have overturned the lower court. They didn't. None of that has changed. He is trying to weasel himself in to a hospital, he is not being allowed to flee the country.

Perhaps they like cars and can afford it. Never understood comments like "why would anyone buy a Ferrari here". It's obvious - because you love cars and you can afford one. Plenty of good places to drive it. I have always bought fast cars because I enjoy them. I can't afford a supercar here but if I could I would buy one without a doubt and it would not be because of "status". Comments like that come from jealousy in my opinion.

I have been here 26 years. There has been more park building (seems like an oxymoron) in the last 3-4 years than in all the 23 years previous to that. By a long way too. The Thailand Tobacco Monopoly land could have been given to developers but wasn't, it was turned in to a huge park. Same with other new public parks. It's not enough and will never come near somewhere like London which is full of green spaces, but Bangkok has taken huge strides in the right direction in the last few years and it is to be welcomed.

Not sure why you're holding the UK up as an example (other than a misguided feeling of superiority). The UK is at least 40 years behind Europe and other advanced nations like Japan, and light years behind China when it comes to rail networks. The fact that the 125s are still in use is an embarrassment, not something to be proud of.

No escape once you've been sentenced in person. If he was going to be allowed to escape abroad it would have been before sentencing, or they could have overturned his sentence. Why would they uphold the sentence, have him carted away and then let him go?? So all these people who think he's got a limo or plane on standby are wrong - he's going to jail.

.....as opposed to the PT party who accomplished essentially nothing whilst in power other than trying to pass resolutions to get Thaksin pardoned. Why does anyone care what this guy has to say exactly?