Monorail proposal to be aired

PHUKET: -- A proposal to build a passenger monorail system in Phuket will undergo its first public hearing in February. The aim of the hearing is to allow discussion between those likely to be affected by the project and the consultancies responsible for the planning and routing of the monorail.

The proposed system would provide a route between the airport and Phuket City with a west coast route taking in the Patong area.

After ideas are gathered from the February meeting, a second public hearing is scheduled for April to consolidate the results of the initial brainstorming session.

About 80 people are expected to attend each meeting. Tawee Homhuan, Committee Member and Engineer at the Phuket Public Works and Town and Country Planning Office, commented: “We must ensure that we follow correct town planning regulations and make sure that any construction is done within the correct zones. “The hearings are set up to host 80 people,” he added.

He said, “Really, I think at least 800 people should attend,” but added that this was unlikely. In his experience, only a few dozen people would attend hearings, but when actual work started on a project, hundreds would turn out to protest its negative impact on their lives.

He also noted that the greatest potential problem with a project such as the monorail is that it would need to cross private land. He also pointed out that, in Phuket’s case and especially in Patong – where one rai of land can fetch up to 40 million baht – the government might not be able to afford to buy the land required.

Vice-Governor Niran Kalayanamit today chaired a committee meeting with the three monorail consultancies; Dr Tawatchai Laosirihongthong, Director of the Traffic and Transport Development and Research Center at the King Mongkut University of Technology in Thonburi; EO System Engineering Consultants; and Pyramid Development International Corp (PDIC).

PDIC is the architectural company responsible for Bangkok’s Mass Transit Railway.

At the meeting, public transport specialist Somprasong Satatiyamullay explained that a monorail would help solve much of Phuket’s traffic congestion, alleviate air pollution and reduce road accident statistics, as well as reducing tourists’ transport costs.

K. Somprasong said that the inception report would be compiled over a period of seven months, ending next May. The report will focus on seven aspects: legal feasibility; funding; planning; architectural design; environmental impact; engineering, and organizations involved in the project.

He also said that, in 2001, a request was sent to the Prince of Songkla University (PSU) to research alternative transport solutions for Phuket and to produce a feasibility study. The three consultancies then studied the PSU report and were drawn to the monorail solution.

He added, “At the moment about 90% of people on the island use their own vehicles, maybe because they feel that public transport is not reliable and possibly because it cannot meet demand.”

Dr Tawatchai added, “Phuket’s roadsides are lined with parked motorcycles and peddlers selling their wares as well as tuk tuks parked one after the other in Patong. There’s no parking space. Phuket is an international city, so visitors have high expectations as to the quality of life and services they will find here.”

He explained that, to make the monorail project successful, public and private investment returns would have to be studied, along with careful assessment of the project’s environmental impact to ensure minimal damage.

--Phuket Gazette 2005-11-17

I nearly fell off my chair this morning when i read this.

We are having a good laugh about this at my office. There isn't even a bus system to speak of. They should try sorting that out before even contemplating anything else.

Have they consulted the tuk tuk mafia about this I wonder?

Wasn't there a Simpson's episode about this?

cv

I think that was more a Shelbyville idea...

Monorail, Monorail, Monorail!

That was one of my favourite episodes

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=24366

We can be a mono-rail hub!

So, I've just got my lap top back from the repair shop who kindly cleaned out the coffee I sprayed into it, but I still can't wipe the silly grin off my face.

The really funny thing is, this could actually happen!

...We must ensure that we follow correct town planning regulations and make sure that any construction is done within the correct zones...

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"Zones" ??? In Phuket??? What is this guy on?

...the monorail ... would need to cross private land....in 2001...The three consultancies then studied the PSU report and were drawn to the monorail solution....

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So who has been buying up the land between the airport and Patong, I wonder? And who's going to to have a friendly chat with the tuk-tuk/minibus Mafia? Kevlar strongly recommended.

Personally, I think they should spend the money on an escalator to nowhere. (Or 50-foot magnifying glass).

Personally, I think they should spend the money on an escalator to nowhere.

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Is that the modern Buddhist's equivalent of buying a stairway to heaven?

Personally, I think they should spend the money on an escalator to nowhere.

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Is that the modern Buddhist's equivalent of buying a stairway to heaven?

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I think that was more a Shelbyville idea...

That was one of my favourite episodes 

Yes, it was a classic, and very apropos, Mono-rails are a tough sell, the failed project in Seattle (city core to space needle failed miserable in part due to the resistance of public bus interests,

I think that was more a Shelbyville idea...

That was one of my favourite episodes 

Yes, it was a classic, and very apropos, Mono-rails are a tough sell, the failed project in Seattle (city core to space needle failed miserable in part due to the resistance of public bus interests,

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Ah, well, that's alright then. No such problem in Phuket.