Thailand-Laos Rail Service to begin in April

[MekongCombat]

Thailand-Laos rail service begins in late April

www.chinaview.cn 2008-03-01 21:38:30 Print

BANGKOK, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Rail service between Thailand and neighboring Laos will start late this April, according to the Thai Ministry of Transport on Saturday.

Chaisawat Kittipornpaiboon, Thailand's permanent secretary for Transport, was quoted by the Thai News Agency as saying that the rail lines of the two countries were connected on the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge in the Thai border province of Nong Khai on Feb.20.

The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) plans to begin its rail services to Laos around late April, said Chaisawat.

Construction of the rail line from the middle of the bridge to Ban Tanalaeng in Laos has taken 18 months and is due to be completed next month as the SRT has also installed a traffic control system and telecommunication facilities.

Initially, two passenger train services from Bangkok-Nong Khai-Ban Thanaleng will be operated while a special ticket between NongKhai and Ban Thanaleng will be issued for tourists.

[ilyushin]

Great news. Keep us informed of any new reports on the Thai-Lao railway. I used to enjoy Bangkok to Udon return ( 1980s) and now with connections to Laos a big bonus. I would love to make the trip.

[Cyberstar]

I think I've heard that one before - or am I mixing up involved countries?

[seonai]

So this is the first ever rail line in Laos?

[sabaijai]

So this is the first ever rail line in Laos?

No, the French built a line on two islands in the Mekong, Don Khon and Don Ket (linked by bridge), in southern Laos in 1917 to bypass Mekong river rapids and Khon Pha Pheng Falls. The French built another short line near Tha Khaek in central Laos around the same time. Trains ran along the short lines until WWII. The remains of both lines can still be seen.

[ilyushin]

Lao Railway

Railway History

Map of LaosThere are currently no major railways in Laos. Work begin in 2007 on a 3.5 km extension of the metre-gauge Thai railway network across the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge into Laos. Surveys have begun to continue to the line a further 12 km to Vientiane.

Laos does not have any links to other neighbouring countries by rail, although a link to Vietnam's Ha Tinh Province has been proposed. All neighbouring countries share the same 1000mm gauge, including lines in the China as far as Yunan.

A metre-gauge track from the new Nong Khai station runs only to the beginning of the bridge on the Thai side.

On March 20, 2004 an agreement between the Thai and Lao governments was signed to extend the railway to Tha Nalaeng in Laos, about 3.5 km from the bridge. This will be the first railway link to Laos. The Thai government agreed to finance completion of the link to Tha Nalaeng.

On February 22, 2006 approval of funding for further development of the rail line from Tha Nalaeng to Vientiane, a distance of about 30 km, was announced by the French Development Agency.

Work on the construction of the first leg (from the Thai side of the bridge to Tha Nalaeng) was begun early 2007 and is expected to be completed in the course of 2008.

Railway Plans

First Laos-Thailand railway sets to open early 2008

Posted: 2007/10/11

The first friendship railway linking Laos and Thailand is set to be completed on schedule in April 2008...

Vientiane (VNA) – The first friendship railway linking Laos and Thailand is set to be completed on schedule in April 2008 since half the construction work has already finished.

According to a recent fact-finding report submitted to Lao Prime Minister Bouasone Buphavanh, the remaining work for the 3.5 km railway connecting the existing Thai rail track in the centre of Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge to Tha Na Laeng train station in Dongphosy village in the outskirt of Vientiane is already underway.

During this phase, railway stations, immigration offices, railway lounges, restaurants, water systems and other supporting facilities will be built.

The railway is estimated to cost 55 billion Kip (roughly 6.2 million USD), 70 percent of which is soft lending from the Thai government.

Vietnam Funds Railway Feasibility Study for Laos

26/07/2007

Vietnam has agreed to assist Laos in the feasibility study for a railway project linking the city of Vinh, in central Vietnam, to Laos capital Vientiane via Thakhek in central Laos.

The feasibility study is expected to take ten months and funded by a 3-billion Dong grant from Vietnam. The Vinh-Thakhek-Vientiane railway would be 519-kilometer long, with the Vinh-Thakhek segment running parallel to the R-2 highway.

If the project is deemed feasible, Laos is expected to look to China for construction funding. The Communist giant who wants to have railway access to its neighbors to the South to facilitate its trade has already approved a $525-million aid to Vietnam to fund railway feasibility study and construction projects linking Vietnam to Laos and Kampuchea. China hopes to have a railway network running from Kunming to Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Kampuchea, and Thailand by 2020.

Looks like some rail going to be laid in Laos.

[sabaijai]

I don't really see the point of such a short railway line from the border to Vientiane. Seems as if trucks do all the hauling necessary at present. What's the advantage, I wonder?

[Big A]

..... What's the advantage, I wonder?

Lao wants its share of the farang dollar!!

[ovenman]

I don't really see the point of such a short railway line from the border to Vientiane. Seems as if trucks do all the hauling necessary at present. What's the advantage, I wonder?

Probably none, as such. The point is that China wants to eventually extend the line into its Yunnan Province.

[samran]

..... What's the advantage, I wonder?

Lao wants its share of the farang dollar!!

probably the Japanese Yen there.

Laos is still pretty dependent on foriegn aid. It'll take any money it can get.

[seonai]

It does seem an incredibly short line I have to say... is this the one mentioned in travel that will eventually link China, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam???

[sutnyod]

I think I've heard that one before - or am I mixing up involved countries?

Good sense of humor and yes, you are right. Talks, peppered with newspaper announcements then and when have been on for more than 10 years. Thailand actually believed in the success of negotiations and finished its part of the rails yeas and years and years ago (as one could easily see on the friendship bridge where the tracks were properly built on the Thai part). Now the Thai part of the rails is already rusty. I don't remember, but in the early nineties I saw the annual report of the Lao Railway Department (Oh, yes, there is one; located a bit across the road from FAO in Vientiane). They had, during one year, with a dozen or so staff members, surveyed 10 km of railroad. Wow! At that time we joked that they probably went back an forth across the Friendship bridge until they reached 10 km.

However, this time they seem to be a bit more serious. At least one can see some construction ongoing.

The railroad is some years too late. Nothing left to take out of Laos. It is probably for that reason the distance is so short.

[stattointhailand]

I thought that the "World bank" funded freight line from Singapore to China that was mentioned a while back, got shelved because of the costs involved to get through the mountains in Lao.

[stattointhailand]

3.5 Km ..... metre gauge ...... hmmmmm, sounds like an ideal job for an old steamer to me !!!!

[rimbung]

3.5 Km ..... metre gauge ...... hmmmmm, sounds like an ideal job for an old steamer to me !!!!

One major advantage of the line will be transportation of gasoline and LPG from Thailand to Laos.

One train can carry a hel_l of a load compared to trucks.

[snooky]

Just wondering if the coaches on these trains will be the same ones that they recently removed from the

BKK - NongKai line becuase of infestation with bed-bugs. They will find a use for those cars somehow to be sure!!

[nefelimhg]

Any news about the Thai - Lao service ? The only "information" i found online are the news clippings on various sites.