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

[Whip]

21 hours ago, Samuel Smith said:

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

 

21 hours ago, Scutty said:

Agreed . These people are not ready for this .

You got that right

[marcusarelus]

25 minutes ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

Sure, there are, but they can't build a proper drainage system, struggle with simple electric wiring and have a society riddled with corruption, nepotism and graft that would rival some African countries.

 

As to maintenance, testing and inspection, they are woefully inept and unskilled, and I speak from vast industry experience. 

 

Keep kidding yourself on though. 

Try visiting Thailand sometime.  Because.  You don't know what you are talking about.  

[Crustyhk]

The Thais are well capable of building this. Trouble is, as a tourist there are plenty of countries I can go to and hop on a super modern air conditioned fast train. I love train travel in Thailand because it’s rattly slow old and full of character. Thailand seems to be losing so much of what makes it an interesting place to visit

[sandyf]

18 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

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. 

What a narrow minded post, all about you and your car, xxxx the bigger picture.

Not everyone lives in Bangkok and not everyone wants to drive to the south of Thailand. I have taken the train to the south many times and the current journey is quite reasonable. Moving the station alone will make a significant difference to the shorter journey times and the overall increase in speed will benefit the long distance traveller.

Your last statement just beggers belief.

[nong38]

On ‎6‎/‎10‎/‎2019 at 4:08 PM, 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.

Although wild claims are always being made esp about the new train lines, construction and  completion dates which seem rather fanciful to say the least you must also remember that although the line speed may be 160 kph not all of the line will that and start to stop average speeds cannot possible be 160 kph as you start and end at 0 kph.

I await seeing the trains running for a completion date and a timetable for actual proposed speeds.

With Bang Sue being the huge hub it is hoped that the infrastructure and transport is built into the plan with an emphasis on underground train lines.

[Booboo101]

43 minutes ago, Selatan said:

When Malaysia upgraded its single tracks to dual tracks with electrification, all level crossings were closed and many were replaced with flyovers. The only remaining level crossings were those single tracks without electrification and they are not that many left. Together with the upgrading of the tracks and electrification, many stations were renovated or rebuilt.

 

Not sure if the Thais would eliminate all the level crossings with this planned upgrading job. 

That’s why it’s all going to be raised up on stilts like the skytrain, there won’t be any crossings !

[Selatan]

15 minutes ago, Booboo101 said:

That’s why it’s all going to be raised up on stilts like the skytrain, there won’t be any crossings !

As I understand it, it would cost a lot more to make the line elevated for such a long distance, unless the line is a high-speed one, like the high-speed rail line planned for the KL-Singapore route. I think it makes more sense to build more flyovers and close all the level crossings.

[tdr]

23 hours ago, billd766 said:

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

 

22 hours ago, Reigntax said:

The pickup trucks will find a way onto the tracks

 

I thought of this one.

 

 

From this story.

[miamiman123]

2030 if it’s like BTS construction ha! 

[billd766]

3 hours ago, tdr said:

 

 

I thought of this one.

 

 

From this story.

There is no known medical cure for stupid.

[yogavnture]

still cheaper to fly to surat thani than on any train .  

[Oziex1]

Will it get out of the first platform, once the feeding frenzy is over actually building the thing,  well that's another story. 

[marcusarelus]

11 hours ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

To give you an example, the best known Thai inspection company that has definitely done work at that refinery keeps their radioactive isotopes in a house in a populated Bangkok suburb. 

 

You are totally out of your depth on this one son.

 

The company I manage has offices in a PTT owned facility so I know exactly what is going on at these facilities as regards inspection and testing.

Well son, you wrote, "but they can't build a proper drainage system, struggle with simple electric wiring and have a society riddled with corruption, nepotism and graft that would rival some African countries"  Perhaps you could point out examples of the improper drainage system or simple wiring problems or nepotism in the new Samsung/Ptt project as my office is on site and I've seen none of these problems.  Out of your depth on this one son as I'm management.   

[yokat]

For those wondering like me why 2051 and how they got their numbers:

"In 2021 the amount of passenger trips will be 3,009.42 thousand person trips/day and will increase to 3,748.90, 4,750.84, and 5,872.07 thousand person trips/day in 2031, 2041, and 2051, respectively. Growth rate is 2.2% per annum increasing from 2,660.40 thousand person trips/day in 2015"

source: http://www.songkhlastation.com/pdf/surathatyaisongkhla/ExecutiveSummaryReportofDetailedDesign.pdf

Also interesting to see that the 160kmh train does not seem to be the only one using the tracks, I wonder how they will handle that.
"-Rail passenger train double standard,aver.160 km./hr. (max.200 km./hr.)
-Rail passenger train double the size of one metre aver.100 km./hr. (max.160 km./hr.)
-Rail passenger train one single size(ST/MG) aver.60 km./hr."

[ChrisY1]

IMO, this will be really good...for me and my wife, no driving along the rotten highway to BKK and back for approx 2.5--3.5 hrs each way and multiple near accidents.

However, the construction is slow....maybe 5 years until completion

[Burma Bill]

17 hours ago, Crustyhk said:

The Thais are well capable of building this. Trouble is, as a tourist there are plenty of countries I can go to and hop on a super modern air conditioned fast train. I love train travel in Thailand because it’s rattly slow old and full of character. Thailand seems to be losing so much of what makes it an interesting place to visit

I totally agree and if you like the current old Thai trains full of character, cross the border and travel on the vast Myanmar State Railway system. Despite on-going modernization, you can still see infrastructure from the late UK Victorian era - fascinating! 

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

Other stops on the way?

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.

Sent from my SM-A730F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

The homes that was torned down was build on government land. Much the same as what happens on most roads.

I live in Hua Hin. I can get on the 16:00 train to Bangkok and at 20:30 I come up out of the MRT next to Soi Cowboy.
 
If they can shave a hour off of the trip great. Anything that gets me there faster is OK with me. 
 
Dual track means no more waiting on a side rail for other trains coming from the opposite direction, and they can haul a** without worrying about  cross traffic. I am looking at what they are doing and it looks as if they are adding one more track besides the existing track where possible ON THE GROUND and then taking both tracks up into the elevated sections.
 
This construction project is very big. Thousands of homes have been torn down on the easement alongside the track all the way between BBK and HH. After looking and what has been built so far, I don't think this will be elevated for the entire route.
 
They are building flyovers for country two lane roads and dozens of new bridges over water. I have seen three new stations, all the same design, along the route so far.  
 
Huge staging areas with piles of railroad ties and rails, giant piles of gravel, concrete mixing areas.
 
I like the train, it is usually mostly full, has AC, I just bring my own food and a bottle of water and noise cancelling headphones.
 
I look forward to being able to do day trips south to PKK.  
 
   

Sent from my SM-A730F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Rimmer]

A disrespectful flame has been removed

[SunsetT]

On 6/10/2019 at 1:08 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.

By the time it is finished it will be driverless and controlled from Bejing by Huawei.

[Phatbeets]

Great news, cannot wait

[cat handler]

On 6/10/2019 at 9:51 PM, 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.

Have you ever been to the Bangkok airports? First it’s an hour in a taxi to get to them, then it’s an hour at checkin, that’s coming up to 3 hours before you get off the ground if you take into account security screening and boarding times, then on arrival it’s 30 minutes to get off the plane and collect luggage. How is a 2hr30m train ride from the centre of BKK slower than that?

[cat handler]

On 6/10/2019 at 10:08 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.

 

Why wouldn’t you trust them, it’s called Automatic Train Protection, it’s idiot proof and I would be surprised if any new rail systems built anywhere in the world wouldn’t have it.

[cat handler]

On 6/11/2019 at 4:07 PM, monkeycu said:

But maintenance is another story, its the not so educated that do the repair work 

 

You mean like the not so educated that do perway work around the world? I’ve seen the train system in Bangkok and it’s world class, even looks like 70kg rail used which is a bit overkill for around a 10 tonne axles load, in Australia they use 60kg rail with 25 tonne axle loads with no problem. I’ve stood at crossings near Hua HIN and seen the existing passenger service roll by and and mechanically the worst I’ve seen is a couple of very minor flat spots, and the rolling stock are almost museum pieces. I like how many uneducated people here make uneducated comments.

[bermondburi]

On 6/11/2019 at 12:42 PM, Selatan said:

When Malaysia upgraded its single tracks to dual tracks with electrification, all level crossings were closed and many were replaced with flyovers. The only remaining level crossings were those single tracks without electrification and they are not that many left. Together with the upgrading of the tracks and electrification, many stations were renovated or rebuilt.

 

Not sure if the Thais would eliminate all the level crossings with this planned upgrading job. 

Can only speak for the area I know but flyovers have been built, are being built as you go east from Pran Buri towards Pak Nam Pran

On 6/11/2019 at 10:28 PM, yogavnture said:

still cheaper to fly to surat thani than on any train .  

Not everyone will be travelling from Bangkok. 

[bermondburi]

Any progress updates?