New dual track train line to slash travel time between Bangkok, Hua Hin and southern Thailand

[webfact]

New dual track train line to slash travel time between Bangkok, Hua Hin and southern Thailand

 

File photo

 

Thailand’s new dual track train line is set to transform travel between Bangkok, Hua Hin, Chumphon and the deep south.

 

The new line, which is currently under construction and will replace the existing single track line, will be a boon for business, tourism and will help to reduce travel time for passengers, SRT acting governor Worawut Mala told the media this weekend.

 

SRT acting governor Worawut Mala. Image. Ban Muang

 

Once all phases are completed, the new dual track will enable passengers to travel from the new Bang Sue station in Bangkok to destinations such as Nakhon Pathom, Ratchaburi, Phetchaburi, Hua Hin, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Bang Saphan Noi, Chumphon, Surat Thani, Songkhla and then onto Padang Besar on the Malaysian border.

 

Trains will travel at 160 km/h, meaning passengers leaving Bangkok can be in Hua Hin in just two or three hours, Mr Worawut said, adding that it can often take the best part of four to five hours to complete the same journey by car.

 

Mr Worawut also said that tourists will be among the biggest beneficiaries of the new train line. He said that foreign tourists account for a whopping 90 percent of passengers travelling by train between Bangkok and Chumphon.

 

He said that it currently takes around nine hours to travel by train between Bangkok and Chumphon but once the upgrade is completed journey time will be just five hours.

 

The Nakhon Pathom-Hua Hin and Hua Hin-Prachuap Khiri Khan sections of the upgrade are around 30 percent complete, while the southern phase from Prachuap Khiri Khan-Chumphon is 19 percent complete.

 

Dual track train line under construction at Soi 94 in Hua Hin, Image: Thaivisa

 

The new dual track between Bangkok and  Padang Besar will cost 90 billion baht will be fully operational by 2022.

 

By 2051, 2.85 million people will be using the new dual track train line, the Nation TV reported.

 

A new dual track line is also being constructed Nakhon Ratchasima and Khon Kaen.

 

It will be 187 kilometers long and is set to be finished by the end of next year.

 

The line will run into Khon Kaen - the last 5 kilometers will be elevated (10 meters up) leading to a two story station that will be the biggest and first of its kind in Khon Kaen. Ticket hall will be downstairs with shops and upstairs will be the trains.

 

Thailand’s new dual track lines will operate from the new Bang Sue Central Station, which is set to open in 2020.

 

The station, which is located near Bang Sue intersection on Thoet Damri road, will become the hub for Thailand’s new rail infrastructure, including the proposed high speed trains from Bangkok to Nong Khai and Bangkok to Chiang Mai.

 

The high speed trains is a separate project to the new dual track upgrade.  

 

 

 

The station will also be used for the proposed Eastern Economic Corridor high-speed rail line which will link three airports - Don Mueang, Suvarnabhumi and U-Tapao in Rayong, and which promises travel from Pattaya to Bangkok in less than one hour.

 

The new station will eventually replace the Hua Lamphong station, which has been Bangkok’s primary train station since it opened in 1916.

 

The Bang Sue Central Station will be the largest in Southeast Asia when it opens.

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2019-06-10

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[manarak]

they should directly move to laying high speed tracks, or at least semi-high speed like 250 kph.

[shady86]

  On 6/10/2019 at 9:08 AM, Matzzon said:

It´s about 190 km to Hua Hin from Bangkok with car. Train will go more straight, which will mean about 1 hour and 15 minutes at a speed of 160 km/h.

As I said in the comment above. Can´t believe anything. Mr. Worawut needs a calculator.

It won't be 160kmh the whole journey. There will be stops im between so 2 hrs+ sounds fine.

[FritsSikkink]

  On 6/10/2019 at 9:08 AM, Matzzon said:

It´s about 190 km to Hua Hin from Bangkok with car. Train will go more straight, which will mean about 1 hour and 15 minutes at a speed of 160 km/h.

As I said in the comment above. Can´t believe anything. Mr. Worawut needs a calculator.

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No, you need to read better. There are stops between Bangkok and Hua Hin.

[happydays]

Is the track going to be elevated? Not sure I’d want to travel at 160kph above ground.

 

 

[shady86]

  On 6/10/2019 at 9:51 AM, happydays said:

Is the track going to be elevated? Not sure I’d want to travel at 160kph above ground.
 
 

China's bullet train can do over 300km/h with elevated track. Im sure Thais are not that far behind...

[ThaiPauly]

  On 6/10/2019 at 9:51 AM, happydays said:

Is the track going to be elevated? Not sure I’d want to travel at 160kph above ground.

 

 

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Not sure I would trust being whisked at 160 mile an hour ANYWHERE in Thailand.

 

Whatever next a Nuclear Power Plant ???

[Mitkof Island]

And how many Thais will be able to afford this? Second many foreigners will just fly cheaper and faster. This will be the biggest boondoggle in Thailand's history.

[billd766]

  On 6/10/2019 at 9:51 AM, happydays said:

Is the track going to be elevated? Not sure I’d want to travel at 160kph above ground.

 

 

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At least there should not be a problem running into pickup trucks at illegal railway crossings if the line is elevated.

[Samuel Smith]

  On 6/10/2019 at 11:11 AM, ThaiPauly said:

Not sure I would trust being whisked at 160 mile an hour ANYWHERE in Thailand.

 

Whatever next a Nuclear Power Plant ???

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160 kmph, most cars can manage that on a good motorway ????

[Samuel Smith]

  On 6/10/2019 at 11:51 AM, Mitkof Island said:

And how many Thais will be able to afford this? Second many foreigners will just fly cheaper and faster. This will be the biggest boondoggle in Thailand's history.

Expand  

It's a regular railway, not highspeed.  Should be normal prices.  Emphasis on "should"

[Mitkof Island]

  On 6/10/2019 at 12:05 PM, Samuel Smith said:

It's a regular railway, not highspeed.  Should be normal prices.  Emphasis on "should"

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The prices will soar ! And i would not trust anyone driving a high speed train here. I will wait a few years and count how many train wreaks first.

[Scutty]

  On 6/10/2019 at 9:08 AM, Matzzon said:

It´s about 190 km to Hua Hin from Bangkok with car. Train will go more straight, which will mean about 1 hour and 15 minutes at a speed of 160 km/h.

As I said in the comment above. Can´t believe anything. Mr. Worawut needs a calculator.

Expand  

Its Thailand . The train will stop 25 times for 20 minutes each before it reaches Nakorn Pathom which makes for a 3- 4 hour journey . Great if you like trains like me . But not the new fangled ones that are all AC closed window . I also wouldnt trust anyone in Thailand with a high speed train . 

[Scutty]

  On 6/10/2019 at 12:08 PM, Mitkof Island said:

The prices will soar ! And i would not trust anyone driving a high speed train here. I will wait a few years and count how many train wreaks first.

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Agreed . These people are not ready for this .

[Psimbo]

  On 6/10/2019 at 11:51 AM, Mitkof Island said:

And how many Thais will be able to afford this? Second many foreigners will just fly cheaper and faster. This will be the biggest boondoggle in Thailand's history.

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Next airport after Hua Hin (Air Asia is the only current user) is Surat Thani IIRC, then Krabi and further south- handy for people in between.

 

Strangely this isn't just about external tourism. Places like PKK and other towns down the isthmus will benefit.

[Psimbo]

  On 6/10/2019 at 12:41 PM, Scutty said:

Agreed . These people are not ready for this .

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'These people'? Didn't work out well for him!

[Reigntax]

  On 6/10/2019 at 11:58 AM, billd766 said:

At least there should not be a problem running into pickup trucks at illegal railway crossings if the line is elevated.

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The pickup trucks will find a way onto the tracks

[kralledr]

2-3 hours from bkk to hua hin by a 160 km/h train?

 

trolololol...

 

 

[cooked]

This has to be a joke. Thailand needs dual tracking for sure, but what it also needs is a reliable, cheap and safe passenger service, with as much freight as possible going by rail.

Prestige project, nobody will use it more than once although some people will make a lot of money building it.

[sfokevin]

  On 6/10/2019 at 11:51 AM, Mitkof Island said:

And how many Thais will be able to afford this?

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Silly boy...

There will be one price posted in Thai and a second (4x) price in English... 

[mortenaa]

The big question is: Standard gauge or (still) narrow gauge... 160 kmph on narrow gauge ... hmmm.

[josephbloggs]

  On 6/10/2019 at 11:51 AM, Mitkof Island said:

And how many Thais will be able to afford this? Second many foreigners will just fly cheaper and faster. This will be the biggest boondoggle in Thailand's history.

Expand  

People will fly to Hua Hin???

 

And did you not read the bit that said currently 90% of passengers between Bangkok and Chumpon are foreign tourists?  (Seems high, but I've never checked myself).  So people are already using the train, this will be faster and more convenient.

[300sd]

  On 6/10/2019 at 8:53 AM, webfact said:

Mr Worawut said, adding that it can often take the best part of four to five hours to complete the same journey by car.

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Think that might be a bit of an exaggeration.

[josephbloggs]

  On 6/10/2019 at 11:11 AM, ThaiPauly said:

Not sure I would trust being whisked at 160 mile an hour ANYWHERE in Thailand.

 

Whatever next a Nuclear Power Plant ???

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So you don't fly in Thailand?

 

And it is 160kmh, not mph.  The ARL Express ran at 160kmh.  The City line gets up to around 120kmh.   How many smashes have there been in the nine years that has been running?  

[josephbloggs]

Another perfect TVF thread.  In other threads about high speed rail plans (250km/h) people moan that that's stupid for Thailand, no need, brown envelopes, waste of money, Thailand should just concentrate on dual track upgrades and normal speed decent trains.

Here's a thread about the progress of the dual track project that will run "normal speed" decent trains between major tourist destinations and a key southerly route.........and the TVF residents complain and moan about it.  Wouldn't trust it, calculations are wrong, not fast enough, what about Somchais in pickups etc etc.

Is it so hard for some of you to actually come out and give credit, ever?

[bangrak]

  On 6/10/2019 at 9:51 AM, happydays said:

Is the track going to be elevated? Not sure I’d want to travel at 160kph above ground.

 

 

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Oh well, 'happydays' to you when you have a liking for lobotomised vehicle drivers crossing the tracks, the odd ones falling unconscious (drunk and/or drugged) there, the pedestrian cousins of sleeping on the tracks, the buffaloes and other animals liking the specific(?) taste of the grass there, etc.!

Elevated is the only way to go, 2m. above surface or so (with steep, protected sides) already enough, mind you.

As for the, unsafe, narrow track width that will be retained, don't worry, there will be amulets available at a special rate for travellers... 

[Golden Triangle]

Well that's all fine and dandy but what about the Eastern & Oriental express from BKK - Singapore and vicki verki hmm?? That likes to trundle along at a sedate speed so us peeps can view the countryside from the rear open bar with a G n T in hand and admire the locals from the dining cars while scoffing on exquisite cuisine, we don't want any of this high speed kerfuffle.

 

Having said that I do enjoy train travel and would probably use it once just as far as it goes to experience it. 

[Alan Michael]

  On 6/10/2019 at 11:11 AM, ThaiPauly said:

Not sure I would trust being whisked at 160 mile an hour ANYWHERE in Thailand.

 

Whatever next a Nuclear Power Plant ???

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Funny you should say that.

[richard_smith237]

  On 6/10/2019 at 8:53 AM, webfact said:

Trains will travel at 160 km/h, meaning passengers leaving Bangkok can be in Hua Hin in just two or three hours

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No faster than a car then.....  It usually takes me about 2.5 to 3 hrs to drive to Hua Hin from central Bangkok (about 200km).

 

Theoretically its possible to achieve Bangkok to Hua Hin times in less than an hour, but I fear this will not happen. At 160kmh its possible in 1.5 hrs and this may attract some without a car, but the convenience of the car and not having to stick to a schedule for many outweighs a 1.5 hr time difference.

 

Usage may increase when Bangkok becomes a city less dependant on cars, with congestion charges significant enough to heavily limit traffic in the capital. 

[Tanlic]

Chang bought a huge amount of land just north of Chaam/Petchburi so it doesn't take a genius to work out where one stop will be........not too late if you want some :0)

 

If they do half the developing of high class resorts and golf courses they have in their master plan a badly needed resort you can take your kids away from prostitution will become a reality and prices in the area will go through the roof