New Expressway Link Open To Motorists

[george]

New expressway link open to motorists

Connects with Chon Buri tollway

BANGKOK: -- Having caused traffic nightmares for months during its construction, a new section of expressway was opened yesterday linking Bangkok's tollway network with the Chon Buri tollway.

Inaugurated by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the 4.7km link of the Expressway and Rapid Transit Authority (ETA) has three inbound and three outbound elevated lanes.

Along with the new flyover that the Highways Department completed in April above the Bang Na intersection linking the Bang Na-Trat highway and Sukhumvit road, the link will relieve traffic at Bang Na intersection and the Bang Na toll plaza and ease travel to and from the eastern suburbs of Bangkok, the ETA said.

The construction of the three-billion-baht link led to traffic jams on the expressway for months. This was particularly bad for vehicles travelling in to the capital from Chon Buri.

Meanwhile, the government is pressuring Don Muang Tollway Co to make its 20-baht toll permanent or lose its control over the Din Daeng-Don Muang tollway.

The toll for four-wheeled vehicles has been sharply cut from 53 baht to 20 baht, while the toll for larger vehicles has been reduced from 83 baht to 50 baht since last December in a bid to woo motorists. As the trial is set to expire next Tuesday, the government, through the Highways Department, is in the process of trying to convince the company to make the reduction permanent.

Mr Thaksin said if the negotiations failed, the government would select a new contractor through bidding to take over the operation from Don Muang Tollway Co. The new operator would compensate Don Muang Tollway Co for estimated income losses during the remaining seven years of its concession.

''The government wants the toll to remain at 20 baht. If the company disagrees, there will be a bidding process to find a new operator. Don Muang Tollway Co would also have the right to bid.,'' Mr Thaksin said.

Sombat Panitcheewa, managing director of Don Muang Tollway Co, insisted yesterday that the tollway would return to its previous rate because his company could not continue to bear losses due to the toll reduction, even though the government helped bear 80% of income losses during the trial period.

In terms of mass transit transport systems, Alstom, the French train manufacturer, has shown an interest in setting up a factory in Thailand to serve the government's mass transit project.

Prapat Chongsanguan, governor of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA), said the plan would save a significant amount of money for the state. Alstom estimated that building a train car here would cost about 1.15 million euros (57.5 million baht), about 350,000 euros less than it would cost to import one, he said.

The new mass transit project under the MRTA is likely to require 300 such passenger cars.

Rather than importing the trains, the MRTA and the Transport Ministry has been trying to lure manufacturers to set up businesses in Thailand to supply cars to the project.

Siemens, the German company that supplies trains to the BTS and underground system, and its Spanish competitor, CAF, will meet MRTA to discuss the possibilities.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, led by the Democrat party, is gathering public support to press the government to endorse its plan to extend the network of the BTS electric train system. Deputy governor Samart Ratchapolsitte led a group of BMA executives to a public hearing on the BTS extension from Taksin to Phetkasem yesterday during which most of the 200 participants expressed their support for the extension.

Mr Samart said the BMA planned to seek approval from the government for the completion of the 4.5km Taksin-Phetkasem extension first. The only other outstanding tasks on the route were the laying of track and the construction of stations, he said.

With a green light from the government, Mr Samart said, the extension could be ready to serve commuters within one year.

--Bangkok Post 2005-06-16