High-Speed Rail Project Linking Airports Faces New Delay

[webfact]

Picture courtesy: MGR online

 

The ambitious high-speed rail project connecting Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, and U-Tapao airports has hit another delay, stemming from disagreements within the coalition government.

 

The proposed revisions to the contract need the coalition partners' approval, but according to sources from the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) Policy Committee, internal disagreement has caused a stall in progress.

 

Initially agreed upon in principle by the committee, the revisions were anticipated to receive cabinet approval at this week's meeting. However, the government is still negotiating, leaving the project's timeline in question. Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit remains optimistic, indicating that he expects resolution soon, with hopes of cabinet submission in the coming weeks.

 

Once the cabinet grants approval, the committee will negotiate with concession holder Asia Era One, a consortium spearheaded by the Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group.

 

The outcome will then need further approval from both the cabinet and the Office of the Attorney-General. The original contract, inked in 2019, included a concession agreement for operating the Airport Rail Link (ARL).

 

The ARL witnessed a significant dip in ridership during the Covid-19 pandemic, prompting Asia Era One to seek compensation, leading to the 2021 cabinet-approved contract revisions. Mr Suriya has openly dismissed claims that the adjustments unduly benefit private partners.

 

This rail project holds the status of a flagship undertaking under the EEC initiative, designed to seamlessly connect the nation’s three major airports. However, delays in revising the contract could have a domino effect, potentially stalling the crucial U-Tapao airport development as well.

 

With efforts ongoing to resolve land issues related to the U-Tapao Airport and Eastern Aviation City project, commencement of rail construction isn’t expected for five years. This schedule pushes the anticipated operational date to 2029, reflecting a five-year setback, reported Bangkok Post.

 

-- 2024-10-31

 

 

[ChrisY1]

Oh..let me guess...more budget needed urgently?

[Callmeishmael]

This will probably turn into another Rama II fiasco.  They will milk the budget for years and never actually finish working.  They are currently in the - planning/getting backhanders/acquiring the land before selling it back to the project at an inflated price - stage.  This will be followed by the neverending  construction phase.

[redwood1]

This has been in serious discussion since about 2017....And lets see its almost 2025 now......Trust me folks plenty of people have been making good money in the last 8 years....And not a single shovel of dirt has been turned....

[RT555]

Not enough Brown envelopes being exchanged.

[hotchilli]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

The ambitious high-speed rail project connecting Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, and U-Tapao airports has hit another delay, stemming from disagreements within the coalition government.

Oh happy days....

[jojothai]

How can anybody believe things reported in the media when some of the text is nonsense.

"commencement of rail construction isn’t expected for five years. This schedule pushes the anticipated operational date to 2029, reflecting a five-year setback, reported Bangkok Post."

So how does operation start when construction may only be starting in five years. Is that not late 2029?

[newnative]

   By the time this ever gets built--likely sometime in the 22nd or 23rd century--we'll probably have the ability to tele-transport ourselves anywhere.

[Guderian]

They cleared and bulldozed the land for the new track alongside the existing railway line through Pattaya before the pandemic. OTOH, U-Tapao still only seems to have about two flights a day, so I don't think the railway line is really urgent, lol.

[bradiston]

This article appeared in the BP but again with no mention of what the cabinet split was. Which parties lined up with which? What were the objections ?Nobody's saying. Maybe in the Thai press.

[scorecard]

6 hours ago, Guderian said:

They cleared and bulldozed the land for the new track alongside the existing railway line through Pattaya before the pandemic. OTOH, U-Tapao still only seems to have about two flights a day, so I don't think the railway line is really urgent, lol.

 

Plus flying into U Tapao thinking it's very close to Pattaya is not true, it's quite a distance and far from check for taxi, van, bus services.

 

I did one trip (3+ years back) from Chiang Mai to U Tapao with a plan for my Thai family (on a short holiday in Pattaya) to rent a taxi from Pattaya to come and meet me at U Tapao.

 

Total Chaos. My Thai adult son called U Tapao airport twice to check arrival  time of stated flight. "we don't know, call Swampy airport". Son's Thai wife called Swampy and got abused.

 

She also called the airline and got transferred several times then the airline asked her to go personally to U Tapao airport to check because they weren't sure.

 

Son called 2 taxi services from where he, his Thai wife and three kids were staying in Pattaya (friends house in Jomtien area), more expensive than a taxi from Swampy to Pattaya. Son told his buddy who owned the house - son's old uni buddy, he told my son to use his car and put 200Baht worth of Gasoline in the car on the way back to Pattaya.

 

Flight Arrival time still unknown. I touched down, about 8:00 pm and no airport or airline staff on duty.

 

Eventually a cleaner assisted by finding a cleaning schedule which also showed flight details.

 

Called son, he arrived 30 times later and picked me up. 

[Patong2021]

4 hours ago, scorecard said:

 

Plus flying into U Tapao thinking it's very close to Pattaya is not true, it's quite a distance and far from check for taxi, van, bus services.

 

I did one trip (3+ years back) from Chiang Mai to U Tapao with a plan for my Thai family (on a short holiday in Pattaya) to rent a taxi from Pattaya to come and meet me at U Tapao.

 

Total Chaos. My Thai adult son called U Tapao airport twice to check arrival  time of stated flight. "we don't know, call Swampy airport". Son's Thai wife called Swampy and got abused.

 

She also called the airline and got transferred several times then the airline asked her to go personally to U Tapao airport to check because they weren't sure.

 

Son called 2 taxi services from where he, his Thai wife and three kids were staying in Pattaya (friends house in Jomtien area), more expensive than a taxi from Swampy to Pattaya. Son told his buddy who owned the house - son's old uni buddy, he told my son to use his car and put 200Baht worth of Gasoline in the car on the way back to Pattaya.

 

Flight Arrival time still unknown. I touched down, about 8:00 pm and no airport or airline staff on duty.

 

Eventually a cleaner assisted by finding a cleaning schedule which also showed flight details.

 

Called son, he arrived 30 times later and picked me up. 

 

Come on. There are a large number of websites that provide  real time arrival and departure of flights from the airport. Flightstats  and Flight radar has been doing it for at least 10 years.  Thailand airports have been providing realtime updates of departures and arrivals for well over a decade too. Don't people in your family know how to use the internet?

 

It wasn't too difficult to figure out arrival time into UTP. You could have messaged your family at departure and given the estimated arrival time. It's a 90 minute flight. 

 

I wasn't there for your taxi experience 3 years ago, but it doesn't matter now. The reality today is that there are more than 10 transport options to get from UTP to Pattaya or to  Bangkok ranging in cost from 800 baht to 1500 baht. I was surprised to see that the cost to Huahin is 2000 baht which is the same as BKK-HH.  It's bargain time at UTP.