High Speed train: Bangkok to Pattaya in less than 45 minutes after "historic" deal

[KKr]

20 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

45 min.

After you needed an hour in the taxi to reach the station.

beats a taxi ride all the way !

[chivo]

Will the train sometimes stop in between official stops so the driver can pick up a bag of oranges from one cousin to deliver to another a few stops later?

[josephbloggs]

5 minutes ago, Jane Dough said:

One wonders why anyone would want to get to Pattaya within 45 minutes. 

 

I always want to put it off for as long as possible....

 

????

 

Rooster

It's for getting the Hell out of there in 45 minutes!

[chivo]

And/or will the taxi mafia park their cars on the track to block the train?

[josephbloggs]

Just now, chivo said:

And/or will the taxi mafia park their cars on the track to block the train?

You mean like they did with the buses?  Or the airport train?  Or the BTS?

And unless they have a way to get their cars up on to the elevated tracks they are going to struggle.

[shy coconut]

18 hours ago, IvorLott said:

 

you took the words right from my fingertips, and indeed I'd say has been in the press many times since then I'd wager.

This has been mooted for years now yet the 'boneshaker' service is all that has been constant...while that trip used to be great fun (when you could still drink on trains) it isn't ideal for a supposed 'world class tourist resort'

Do world class tourists have the need to get sozzled on a train?

 

A raill link between Pattaya and the 2 main international airports makes a lot

of sense if the resort is going to cater for many international tourists.

 

The train in the photo looks a lot like the ones used out of St Pancras down to

Margate. They can get up to speed really quickly, unlike the old diesels, so I 

wouldn't be to surprised if the journey times were achievable, although press

reports like these all over the world pull out odd statistics which in no way are

accountable, like the figures put out on the benefits to the economy etc.

 

The projected "X"billion Thai baht benefit seems like a figure plucked out of their

backside in a funding drive.

[Isaanbiker]

It will boost the Thai economy to the tune of 650 billion baht. 

 

A report by Channel 7 News estimated that approximately 147,000 passengers each day will use the service when it opens.

 

It was also estimated that ticket prices will be around 500 baht, although no further details were given.

 

 Chinese high speed trains and Thai mechanics are two very bad combinations. 

 

It will boost some soldier's pockets only, a project like the "one tablet per child"?

[sandrabbit]

They didn't need a high speed train, just a normal speed dual track system which should have been planned to go all the way to Trat. I live in Rayong and would love to be able to get on a train and have an occasional day out in Bangkok or Pattaya or go the other way to Chantaburi.

Edited October 26, 2019 by sandrabbit

[Jane Dough]

16 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

It's for getting the Hell out of there in 45 minutes!

Brilliant! That made me laugh!

 

Rooster

[SunsetT]

20 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

45 min.

After you needed an hour in the taxi to reach the station.

U mean to reach Pattaya.....and another 500thb!

[SunsetT]

18 hours ago, Destiny1990 said:

Bkk Pty in 45 minutes sounds nice.

The 'Hooker Express'......Or, perhaps more appropriately in Esaan, the 'Hookee Express'.....555.

 

 

Edited October 26, 2019 by SunsetT

[Dustdevil]

Let's see how many Chinese strings are attached. Like 99-year leases on all of the adjoining land?

 

[orchidfan]

16 hours ago, nong38 said:

What a load of <deleted>, people here say whatever feels right and everyone believes them because the education system does not teach them to question any statements. The only way 250 kms can be achieved is if it does not stop at any intermediate stations. Stop making ridiculous statements and just build the line safely and if it takes an hour or so to Patters that's ok as well, just cut out the bull!!

In China the "high speed" trains do 360+km/hr (can do 400+ but limited) BUT they don't stop..city to city. And these are journeys which would take 6 or 8hrs by road.....not a 2hr road trip!

[natway09]

It the SRT has any involvement you will be lucky to get there at all

[The Deerhunter]

21 hours ago, Chazar said:

so its  going to do all those  stops and  still be 45 minutes?

Of course and an accompanying headline also assures us that tourism projections are well on target even after all those pesky hotelier pessimists complained about low forward bookings.

[Golden Triangle]

Lets try to look at it from another perspective shall we, I have lived in Pattaya (The Darkside) for 8 years, over that time I have had family & friends visit us, as have many of my friends, the majority of these visitors have landed at Swampy and as such have either needed to be picked up, got the bus or haggled with a taxi and then risked their lives with all the speeding lunatics on Highway 7.

 

If they are lucky future visitors will be offered the option of using the train, a damn sight safer than some of the other options, for those of us that live in around the Pattaya area it is a fairly easy drive to the current Pattaya Railway Station, no tolls, no idiots or accidents to contend with, what is there not to like?

 

I know that the expat demographic is tiny compared to the Thais here in Patts, but I think Thais that live here would also have family and friends using the service to visit, it may seem like a pipe dream to many but like other posters I to like train travel, a day out in BKK and able to return later in the same day would be nice as well. I'm not a Junta lover as you may already be aware but this progress has to be welcomed, and I also wonder if during quieter times it will used to move freight ??

[scoutman360]

So, if it takes 45 minutes to get to the station, another 1 hour to buy tickets and wait for the next train, what time have you saved?

[alzack]

22 hours ago, Chazar said:

so its  going to do all those  stops and  still be 45 minutes?

yes must stop for noodles and BBQ chicken and dogs and pick ups on the track. Well if it has a Thai driver may never get there at all

[smutcakes]

23 minutes ago, Golden Triangle said:

Lets try to look at it from another perspective shall we, I have lived in Pattaya (The Darkside) for 8 years, over that time I have had family & friends visit us, as have many of my friends, the majority of these visitors have landed at Swampy and as such have either needed to be picked up, got the bus or haggled with a taxi and then risked their lives with all the speeding lunatics on Highway 7.

 

If they are lucky future visitors will be offered the option of using the train, a damn sight safer than some of the other options, for those of us that live in around the Pattaya area it is a fairly easy drive to the current Pattaya Railway Station, no tolls, no idiots or accidents to contend with, what is there not to like?

 

I know that the expat demographic is tiny compared to the Thais here in Patts, but I think Thais that live here would also have family and friends using the service to visit, it may seem like a pipe dream to many but like other posters I to like train travel, a day out in BKK and able to return later in the same day would be nice as well. I'm not a Junta lover as you may already be aware but this progress has to be welcomed, and I also wonder if during quieter times it will used to move freight ??

I think its good to look for positives, but its a hell of an outlay for what would seem like a relatively small pool of people to use it. CP did not come down with the last shower and i am sure there are plenty of clauses in the contracts which protect them and not the public. Those who made and signed the deal will be long gone by the time the chickens may come home to roost.

 

I reckon in 5 years time, Makkasan 100 rai site will be developed out or at least partially by CP group into a massive commercial centre and the train will still be trying to get started. CP will take the Makkasan land and simply wind the other bits through the courts for decades, probably due to the inability of the SRT to and hand over the lands. CP get their prime commercial land, SRT, lawyers, and the original deal makers all get there piece of the action and the public will be left huffing and puffing and footing the bill.

 

Hope i am wrong, as like you i do enjoy a train journey.

[dabhand]

14 minutes ago, scoutman360 said:

So, if it takes 45 minutes to get to the station, another 1 hour to buy tickets and wait for the next train, what time have you saved?

'..another 1 hour to buy tickets..'

Is your internet connection that slow?

[Rick1812]

22 hours ago, fforest1 said:

Not when a 2 hour bus ride from Bangkok to Pattaya cost 100 baht......

118 baht Pattaya to ekemai bus station 

[Moonlover]

3 hours ago, Cadbury said:

I believe it is more about the Prayut Eastern Economic Corridor dream. Without the HS train and the image that goes with it there would be no EEC.

Potential investors would not be in the slightest bit interested unless there was such a train to support the infrastructure needed for the EEC. 

Very likely, I see parallels between this project and the ever expanding HS networks in the Quangdong region in China, which is also an economic growth region. I've traveled on that service a few times between Zhuhai and Quangdong. It's a superb service.

 

Have no doubt. The Chinese know how to build and run medium distance high speed services.

[BobbyL]

Strange. Far too many stops for such a short distance to make it anywhere near 'high speed'. Also, for 500b it seems expensive. 

[flynn]

In Japan the stations are a cash cow, hotels, shops, restaurants and everything you can think off, so the developers make the money there,


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[friend of siam]

20 hours ago, Destiny1990 said:

Bkk Pty in 45 minutes sounds nice.

last time i saw a docu about pty...the most depressing place in thailand.. good there is a high speed train soon helps people get away fast

[plfomylo]

My benz is faster...

 

 

[phetpeter]

So would it have been to much to extend the sky trains to link them with a direct service above ground to just join the two airports, instead of high speed this and that!

[bkk6060]

As opposed to many, I tend to believe this will happen.

The same was said of the BTS.

Or any extensions.

Airport link.

Extension coming to DMK.

Utapao will never be an International airport.

They will never build a more efficient road to Utapao.

Super highways in Chiang Mai.

On and on...

 

Yes, they are slow but will be a very important piece of the EEC which is a huge project.

As is all that is going on in and around Utapao.

 

I also think 500b is inexpensive.  For 1/2 the time and less then 1/2 the cost of a taxi.

A person should stick with the bus if they cannot afford 500b.

[Bkkthebest]

22 hours ago, madmitch said:

A high speed train of this nature is totally unnecessary on such a relatively short route. But the more money spent the bigger the brown envelopes!

being far-sighted is the word. i don't believe the build this just between bbk and pattaya. 

[overherebc]

22 hours ago, Destiny1990 said:

Bkk Pty in 45 minutes sounds nice.

By Harrier possible including take off and landing.