Phuket Light Rail: All Stop At Feasibility Studies

[Lite Beer]

Phuket Light Rail: All stop at feasibility studies

Phuket Gazette –

Kobkul Motana, the assistant director of the Bureau of Regional Transport and Traffic Promotion, told the Phuket governor that by law only the Thai government could conduct feasibility studies in projects such as the Phuket light rail. Photo: Kritsada Mueanhawong

PHUKET: The Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP) will ignore all feasibility studies conducted by companies that have expressed interest in developing a light-rail system in Phuket.

Thenews was delivered by Kobkul Motana, the assistant director of the Bureau of Regional Transport and Traffic Promotion under of the Ministry of Transport’s OTP department, on Friday.

Ata meeting attended by Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha, Ms Kobkul explained that, by law, only the Thai government could conduct such studies.

Whether or not this was explained to the companies that have already conducted their feasibility studies was not elaborated on.

However,Ms Kobkul added, “The Cabinet is now considering amending the act to allow private companies to conduct such studies.”

A similar study in Phuket, focusing on developing a bus rapid transport system, was carried out in 2006, but deemed inappropriate at the time.

“Now things have changed, such as the increasing volume of tourists. Wehave, therefore, been asked to reassess the viability of a light-rail system that would run from Phuket International Airport to Chalong Circle,” Ms Kobkul explained.

“I will request that the Ministry of Transport set a budget of 30 to 40 million baht to carry out the study, which will include a review of the potential environmental impact. The study should not take more than one year to complete and the budget for the study should be available by fiscal 2014,” she added.

Switching topics to the proposed rail link between Phuket and Surat Thani, Ms Kobkul explained that a provisional budget of 124.6 million baht to carry out a feasibility study for that project had already been approved by the mobile Cabinet meeting in Phuket in March.

“I believe the study will begin at the end of the year and should be completed within about 14 months. Our tentative idea is to link the new railroad with the convention center [in Mai Khao] and Phuket Airport, as well as Phuket Town,” she said.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/archives/articles/2012/article16200.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2012-06-17

[LivinginKata]

"A similar study in Phuket, focusing on developing a bus rapid transport system, was carried out in 2006, but deemed inappropriate at the time."

Says it all. Taxi mafia rules. Far too much money being made to even think about a rail link possibility.

[madmitch]

A quick translation:

The official Government Department want all the kickbacks on this one, so the Phuket officials will have to find some other way of making money.

[Valentine]

So the transport ministry has a team of experts capable of conducting a feasibility study? What about all the feasibility studies that have been conducted over the years regarding the Patong tunnel & the current 3 studying routes for the road from Chalong to Patong? Feasibility studies are great for overseas junkets but they never seem to accomplish much else. If the tunnel, road & light rail are completed before 2020 then I will say "Miracle Thailand". They talked about the skytrain in Bangkok (remember a company called Lavalin) for about 30 years before they actually started building it.

[steelepulse]

Au contraire Valentine,,these multiple feasibility studies keep the luxury car and new home builders businesses in operation.

[Lannatyne]

Would expect the construction companies to carry out their own studies anyway!

Bit of a pre-requisite, I'd think, to finding out about various engineering, environmental, geographical issues etc before even attempting to put a bid together.

[HongKongPhooey]

"A similar study in Phuket, focusing on developing a bus rapid transport system, was carried out in 2006, but deemed inappropriate at the time."

Says it all. Taxi mafia rules. Far too much money being made to even think about a rail link possibility.

A quick translation:

The official Government Department want all the kickbacks on this one, so the Phuket officials will have to find some other way of making money.

Au contraire Valentine,,these multiple feasibility studies keep the luxury car and new home builders businesses in operation.

For those people that never know what I'm talking about it's this. Every single day there are stories simply about the way things are in Phuket. And every single time people make the exact same kind of comments. I said recently about how people were like the girl in the film "50 first dates" well this is exactly 100% what I was talking about.

It's as if you all wake up on Phuket every day for the first time. It's Ground Hog day gone mad!

"Oh look there's another post about the Phuket officals and what they are up to. I know I'll make a really original and funny comment about how there's corruption in Phuket, and how the taxi mafia control everything. That will be funny and worth while"

Some of you have been here for 10/15 years yet you still make these exact same posts every single day. There's corruption in Phuket we get it allready.

Tomorrow there will be another story about what the politicians are up to and the exact same people will make the exact same banal posts. I think they just use cut and paste.

Edited June 19, 2012 by HongKongPhooey

[steelepulse]

And your point in regards to this study that only results in pockets being lined and nothing happening is .............? No wait, it can't be corruption as you don't see it according to your 4K posts from various nics.. But wait, in the above post you admit to corruption whereas before you say corruption doesn't affect most people. even though I've shown it does on a daily basis. BTW, why do you spar with everyone that doesn't agree with you even though the majority of residents that live here have a differing opinion of what you spin?

>>There's corruption in Phuket we get it allready.

But as you wallow in in multiple threads, it doesn't affect the average tourist according to you, so therefore, no problems..

>>I said recently about how people were like the girl in the film "50 first dates" well this is exactly 100% what I was talking about.

P.S. I love how you're OK with people getting screwed over here. Must be nice to be in the UK most of the time posting under various nics.

[HongKongPhooey]

You seem to struggle a bit with comprehension. I will break it down just for you.

"And your point in regards to this study that only results in pockets being lined and nothing happening is .............?"

.........that it's as routine, expected and unsurprising as water being wet!! Do you feel the need to comment on the wetness of water every day?

"No wait, it can't be corruption as you don't see it"

What do I need to do, tattoo it on my arse and send you a picture? I DO SEE IT!! I happily accept that it exists and have said so about 40 times in the last 2 days. You're highlighting your strange obsessive thought process by refusing to absorb those words when I write them. Not to mention that it has nothing to do with the point I made in this thread, which is people stating the more obvious than obvious on a daily basis, is a bit of a mental pass time.

"according to your 4K posts from various nics.."

I promise on my families life that if you added up every post I've ever made on every forum under every name, it would come to less than the 2946 posts you've made on this one forum, so another pointless, and baseless comment.

But wait, in the above post you admit to corruption whereas before you say corruption doesn't affect most people.

Yes, and what's your point? Those two comments are completely unrelated so why are you insinuating I'm contradicting myself? I know 100% that the Thai way and especially the Phuket way is a corrupt one, but I don't believe it affects the vast majority of people, tourists or expats alike. If you can't see that those statements are unrelated and in no way contradictory, then you have basic comprehension issues.

even though I've shown it does on a daily basis.

You haven't "shown" me anything. You gave one example of taxi drivers being rude and violent to people who park in their ranks. Firstly, that's only a tourist issue and doesn't affect expats at all, as they should know where and where they can't park. Secondly, by rude and violent you're probably referring to 20 incidents of rudeness and 1 of violence (minor) out of 1000 incidents of tourists parking in the wrong place. Add on top of that one incidence of major violence which resulted in a broken arm, and the whole parking in a taxi rank issue is hardly affecting people every day is it.

BTW, why do you spar with everyone that doesn't agree with you even though the majority of residents that live here have a differing opinion of what you spin?

How many people disagree with me is irrelevant. I'm not a sheep, I think for myself. Yes I will offer a different opinion to everybody I disagree with. On a thread where opinions are being shared I think that's fairly standard practice. I never trash peoples threads that are asking for advice or help and I never attack a poster because who he is only on what he says, big difference.

But as you wallow in in multiple threads, it doesn't affect the average tourist according to you, so therefore, no problems..

Spot on. I don't believe it affects the average tourist. All you've done there is just repeat what I've said before, so not sure what your point is. Yes I believe that the average tourist is not affected by corruption in a sense that it doesn't adversely affect their holiday.

Yes you could indirectly say that if things in Phuket were done the same as they were in the UK then there would probably be a bus service, meaning tourists could save money not using tuk tuks. So <deleted> what? If my aunt had balls she'd be my uncle. If a tourist comes to Phuket, uses tuk tuks happily, is happy with the price of beer (with the tea money factored in), and goes home having had a blinding holiday, then no, corruption hasn't affected them adversely in the slightest IMO.

It's a bit like saying the bloke wearing a pair of Nike trainers is affected by the fact that they were made by an underpaid, exploited person in a third world country. We would never treat workers like that in the West so it must affect the bloke wearing the trainers surely? I think you'll find he doesn't give a flying <deleted>!

P.S. I love how you're OK with people getting screwed over here.

I get no pleasure out of seeing people get screwed over what so ever.

Must be nice to be in the UK most of the time posting under various nics.

Your obsession with my location is getting a tad worrying! But yes you are right it is lovely being in the UK this time of year. A long weekend in Barcelona, took the kids camping in the New Forest, day trips to Brighton etc, Saturday nights out in Soho, trips to the theatre etc etc. Very nice indeed. When was the last time you went to the theatre? Your kids nativity play perhaps .

I love Phuket with a passion but I wouldn't swap my time in Europe for low season weather for anybody. What's exactly is your point? Not to mention that I first started spending time in Phuket when I was 24. By the time me and you are both brown bread, I bet I will have spent more time in Phuket than you.

P.S Before you ask "Snamos" No, I didn't spend an hour writing it, 20 minutes tops.

Edited June 19, 2012 by HongKongPhooey

[HongKongPhooey]

Wow that looks longer than I thought it was!! Do I win a prize if I get a record amount of TLDR posts?