Land eyed for train project in Phitsanulok 'being used'

[webfact]

Land eyed for train project 'being used'
The Nation



PHITSANULOK: -- Wing 46 insisted yesterday that it was already using the land in Phitsanulok's Muang district that the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning was eyeing.

The office wants to use the land for a yard to park the Bangkok-Phitsanulok high-speed trains as well as a community park, athletics field and demonstration garden for agricultural self-sufficiency.

Group Captain Thakoon Nakhonthap, deputy commander of Wing 46, led the media to inspect the area to show that his unit was occupying and making use of it. It was not abandoned as claimed, he said.

A source said the military airport's jet-fuel tanks were lined up along the railway while a warehouse for explosives was reportedly located 2 to 3km away.

The planning office had held two public hearings on the high-speed-rail project this year and had selected three possible sites for a train station - near Beung Phra Train Station, near Phitsanulok Train Station and a 400-rai area along the Phitsanu-lok-Beung Phra railroad that Wing 46 claimed it still needed.


-- The Nation 2013-06-13

[Utley]

Sounds to me like Wing 46 is claiming "squatter's rights"!

[hellodolly]

Sounds to me like typical Government planning.

Right hand don't tell left hand what you are doing.

Just get your cut of the money and run.

[OzMick]

I'm sure the group Captain had some suggestions as to where they should park their train.

[rametindallas]

Extort a little more, then.

[Neilly]

I bet Thomas never had this problem finding somewhere to park

[drdoom6996]

Build a High Speed Train, Hell they can't even find land to build a station.

Another project that will never with a PTP administration.

[hellodolly]

Build a High Speed Train, Hell they can't even find land to build a station.

Another project that will never with a PTP administration.

I know the train was to be started in Bangkok but what was to be it's final destination. Was not Phitsanulok just a stop on the way?

[OzMick]

Build a High Speed Train, Hell they can't even find land to build a station.

Another project that will never with a PTP administration.

I know the train was to be started in Bangkok but what was to be it's final destination. Was not Phitsanulok just a stop on the way?

Initially the route was BKK - P'lock - Chiang Mai but someone recalculated and decided that the second leg, likely to far more expensive because of the terrain, would be left to private investors after they see the huge financial success of the first segment. As that success was pretty much an assumption based on SFA, the chances of the P'lock to CM section ever being built are slim.

I suppose they figured they could scam off enough of the big loan on a few short lengths of track.

[chainarong]

Build a High Speed Train, Hell they can't even find land to build a station.

Another project that will never with a PTP administration.

I know the train was to be started in Bangkok but what was to be it's final destination. Was not Phitsanulok just a stop on the way?

They are only parking all the rolling stock, the problem I have , for how long.

[Tomtomtom69]

Build a High Speed Train, Hell they can't even find land to build a station.

Another project that will never with a PTP administration.

I know the train was to be started in Bangkok but what was to be it's final destination. Was not Phitsanulok just a stop on the way?

Initially the route was BKK - P'lock - Chiang Mai but someone recalculated and decided that the second leg, likely to far more expensive because of the terrain, would be left to private investors after they see the huge financial success of the first segment. As that success was pretty much an assumption based on SFA, the chances of the P'lock to CM section ever being built are slim.

I suppose they figured they could scam off enough of the big loan on a few short lengths of track.

Yeah and who would get on the train to only go as far as Phitsanulok? Building a high speed train line that only goes half way is dumb, a waste of resources and incredibly inconvenient for travelers looking to go to Chiang Mai - few people would get on a great, fast train to Phitsanulok, only to face an arduous bus or slow train journey north to their destination and with no flights between Phitsanulok or Chiang Mai, you would regret not flying or even driving all the way from Bangkok. All in all I think this project would become a white elephant project almost from the outset - there wouldn't be enough passengers to justify the service.

I've been to Phitsanulok but apart from Central and a few nice hotels/restaurants and one famous temple, it's a forgettable town that you might spend a night in, or stop for a meal when you travel between Bangkok and Chiang Mai. However, most drivers, me included rarely even go anywhere near Phitsanulok, because it's faster to travel directly from Nakorn Sawan via Kampaeng Phet, Tak and Lampang rather than Phitsanulok and Uttaradit to Chiang Mai.

If they can't build a line all the way to Chiang Mai from the beginning, I have difficulty believing anyone would want to build a line half way to a no-name city in north central Thailand that very few foreigners have even heard of. Even Thais don't travel to Phitsanulok in big numbers, they too prefer Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and other northern towns.

Edited June 13, 2013 by Tomtomtom69

[tragickingdom]

And the military always speak the truth. Ask about their success in the South the working of the fake bomb scanners, the non working too hot armored cars that serve as an artificial reef. the claim that the navy needed an aircraft carrier without the airplanes, or that a Zeppelin was better than a drone. So the land is being used. (Kind of)

[belg]

just make that part underground, everybody happy, politicians, cement makers, construction workers, planners, ...

[smutcakes]

If land needs to be expropriated to carry out this, then so be it- the Crown, army, air force, SRT etc own so much land it was always going to be a case that some of theirs would need to be expropriated as well.

They should be compensated exactly the same as other private landowners- whether that is sufficient or not is another story.

[jaidam]

And the military always speak the truth. Ask about their success in the South the working of the fake bomb scanners, the non working too hot armored cars that serve as an artificial reef. the claim that the navy needed an aircraft carrier without the airplanes, or that a Zeppelin was better than a drone. So the land is being used. (Kind of)

The artificial reefs have indeed been a success. Benthic invertebrates and coral have colonized and are thriving there, reports of also occasional pelagic visitors. Your point being?

[chrisinth]

I'm sure the group Captain had some suggestions as to where they should park their train.

"A source said the military airport's jet-fuel tanks were lined up along the railway while a warehouse for explosives was reportedly located 2 to 3km away"

Looks like a good enough location to me...........................

If he hasn't got enough lube for the train that is...................

[GeorgeO]

I'm sure the group Captain had some suggestions as to where they should park their train.

"A source said the military airport's jet-fuel tanks were lined up along the railway while a warehouse for explosives was reportedly located 2 to 3km away"

Looks like a good enough location to me...........................

If he hasn't got enough lube for the train that is...................

What gets me about this statement is that The Nation feel that it is perfectly acceptable to point out that military explosives are stored just 2 to 3 Kms away.

Give the needs of those involved in the southern insurrection and the propensity for the Redshirts to use such materials, isn't it a little careless of the article to reveal such facts...?!

[arthurboy]

I bet Thomas never had this problem finding somewhere to park

Not strictly true. Sometimes, Thomas and Percy, or Percy and Gordon get into a little spat over who has parking rights in the big shed. Inevitably, the Fat Controller steps in, and - hey presto - everything gets sorted and everyone is happy.

Well at least that's what my son tells me.

[ratcatcher]

And the military always speak the truth. Ask about their success in the South the working of the fake bomb scanners, the non working too hot armored cars that serve as an artificial reef. the claim that the navy needed an aircraft carrier without the airplanes, or that a Zeppelin was better than a drone. So the land is being used. (Kind of)

The artificial reefs have indeed been a success. Benthic invertebrates and coral have colonized and are thriving there, reports of also occasional pelagic visitors. Your point being?

I believe the poster was referring to the fact that the "armored cars were found to be 'useless" and were dumped in the ocean to serve as a reef.

The quality of the vehicles reflects on the army.

The use of the scrap vehicles used to create a reef is unquestioned, and as you say, very successful.

[OzMick]

And the military always speak the truth. Ask about their success in the South the working of the fake bomb scanners, the non working too hot armored cars that serve as an artificial reef. the claim that the navy needed an aircraft carrier without the airplanes, or that a Zeppelin was better than a drone. So the land is being used. (Kind of)

The artificial reefs have indeed been a success. Benthic invertebrates and coral have colonized and are thriving there, reports of also occasional pelagic visitors. Your point being?

I believe the poster was referring to the fact that the "armored cars were found to be 'useless" and were dumped in the ocean to serve as a reef.

The quality of the vehicles reflects on the army.

The use of the scrap vehicles used to create a reef is unquestioned, and as you say, very successful.

Actually he was displaying his anti-military bias by linking a statement about land use to a few poor choices in the past. If I was to suggest that PTP's poor policies are grounds to believe that Yingluk is incapable of telling the truth, he would be rightfully incensed, without realising his own hypocrisy.