SRT kicks off Bangkok-Rayong high speed train study

[webfact]

SRT kicks off Bangkok-Rayong high speed train study
By English News



BANGKOK, July 2 – The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) signed an agreement with a consultant firm to conduct a feasibility study for the country’s first high speed rail project from Bangkok to the eastern seaboard province of Rayong.

SRT governor Prapas Chongsa-nguan said Monday that the study should take 14 months while bids for the construction should be called early next year.

The initial project will link Bangkok, starting at Suvarnabhumi airport, and Rayong, while the next phase will involve an extension to the easternmost province of Trat.

Mr Prapas said the route is short, to be built mainly on SRT land, requiring minimal land expropriation. Service should begin in 2019.

The high speed rail link, a project under the government’s Bt2 trillion infrastructure investment programme, will extend 221 km from Bangkok to Rayong. When in operation the new rail service will take only an hour and 15 minutes at a speed of 250 km per hour.

The entire project will cost Bt100.631 billion with stations in Chachoengsao, Chonburi, Pattaya and Rayong, after which it may extend to Trat if feasible.

An estimated average of 30,000 passengers, mainly tourists, will travel per day on the high speed train in the first year. (MCOT online news)


-- TNA 2013-07-02

[CrypticBob]

I wonder why they're not bringing the line to Bangkok?

I suppose

1) Don't want to compete with airport express

2) Difficulties in finding a route into Bangkok

3) Identification of a suitable terminus

But if the City Line is busy on that route, then maybe getting rid of the airport express service when the new high speed line made it redundant would be an option... Alternatively, the high speed line might go to a more commercial, less touristy part of the capital.

[Antathome]

High speed trains are expensive, they would want to be pretty sure that they will get the patronage as the annual interest bill on $100 Billion baht will be a burden for a long time whilst they pay it off. I live on the Gold Coast in Queensland and they are building a fairly useless light rail project at the moment. Does not terminate at a major transport hub until at least Phase 2. The term white elephant comes to mind.

[sprq]

Ridiculous project. If ever a high-speed route is built, the first one should quite obviously run on the country's most important economic route, which is Bangkok-Central Plains-Chiang Mai. High speed trains are first and foremost useful to business travellers, not tourists.

But in fact, what the SRT should be doing is not high speed trains at all, it is upgrading the current system to modern express train standards with dual tracks throughout. The current system is about 80 years out of date, and should be brought in line with standards in Europe or Japan. That is the priority, not hugely expensive and totally over-the-top projects like this.

Walk before you can run. Or rather, run before going for super speeds.

[Kananga]

A High speed train study. The sceptical part of me seems to think this will amount to little more than countless meetings where the main agenda item will be when to set a date for the next meeting, followed by copious amounts of nose picking and deciding what to eat for lunch.

[Orac]

Quite impressed that they have got the cost pinned down to the nearest 1 million baht before the feasability study has been done!

[Bagwan]

So the feasability study will be completed by October next year at the earliest, yet constructiobn will begin early next year. A classic case of heads stuck up fundamental orifices.

The report should have said that speeds of up to 250 kph will be achieved so we may assume that standard gauge will be laid. Rayong to BKK is 146 kilometres as the crow flies and a safe assumption is that the route taken will be near to 200 kilometres. Given that there will be three intermediate stops a journey time of 75 minutes looks very optimistic.

[Lakegeneve]

I wonder why they're not bringing the line to Bangkok?

I suppose

1) Don't want to compete with airport express

2) Difficulties in finding a route into Bangkok

3) Identification of a suitable terminus

But if the City Line is busy on that route, then maybe getting rid of the airport express service when the new high speed line made it redundant would be an option... Alternatively, the high speed line might go to a more commercial, less touristy part of the capital.

I had to wonder if there was some cryptic meaning in your queries given your first sentence!

Firstly, don't expect to get much informative info from these govt agency puff pieces. They are always poorly written, miss much info and often misleading (as the reading of "starting at Suvarnabhumi airport" could be for many. If you wish to know more do some google searches.

Secondly, the Airport Line will be used as the basis of the Rayong HSR line with Makkasan at the terminal. That was decided long ago.

Thus with that knowledge when the poorly written MCOT release says, "starting at Suvarnabhumi airport", it actually means extending from the ARL line. The line will be extended from where it turns from the SRT eastern line right of way towards the airport.

It should be noted by all that the Dems had this HSR as their priority line and had they won the 2011 election (which they were never going to) they started that worked would start by early 2012. Of course, PT made the two northern lines their priority and the first section slated to be built will be from Bang Sue towards Ayutthaya.

[Lakegeneve]

Ridiculous project. If ever a high-speed route is built, the first one should quite obviously run on the country's most important economic route, which is Bangkok-Central Plains-Chiang Mai. High speed trains are first and foremost useful to business travellers, not tourists.

But in fact, what the SRT should be doing is not high speed trains at all, it is upgrading the current system to modern express train standards with dual tracks throughout. The current system is about 80 years out of date, and should be brought in line with standards in Europe or Japan. That is the priority, not hugely expensive and totally over-the-top projects like this.

Walk before you can run. Or rather, run before going for super speeds.

Au contraire but as mentioned above the first section of the northern line does have priority so that should satisfy you.

Also, you seem to be ignoring all of the huge number of business people that travel between BKK and Chonburi and Rayong given the large number of industrial parks, factories and major industry in this corridor. That will be a % of potential customers given the delays in driving for mtgs etc.

Lastly, yes the SRT has been abused, neglected & run down for the last 5 decades. However, the dual tracking and upgrading program will occur in tandem with whatever HSR network is built but that will only bring speeds from the current ave 40-50km to an ave of 80-100km.

(There is info on what is being done on another old thread, http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/556919-bangkok-chiang-mai-high-speed-rail-ready-by-2018-transport-ministry/page-10#entry5495113 if you are interested.)

HSR lines offers the chance for the SRT to enter the later 20th century towards the end of 2nd decade of the 21st century. Like any project in Thailand and Asia there will be corruption, politics rather than merit and dysfunction in implementation but these lines will eventually be a huge positive for the economy and country in the long term - the Rayong line especially should be a huge money earner and get a % of road based traffic to the eastern seaboard over to HSR. The reality is that road based transport is already at near capacity. We can't keep building new roads forever - too many other costs involved.

[chooka]

all those lunch boxes for the train that they organised 12 months ago must be getting a little on the nose by now.

[belg]

14 months to study if it is possible ?

lol

how much will that cost ? 30% of the projected construction budjet i presume

[Langsuan Man]

I just wonder how these engineers are going to handle the sharp curve just South of Nong Nooch, when the rail turns East towards Rayong

[IsaanUSA]

I just wonder how these engineers are going to handle the sharp curve just South of Nong Nooch, when the rail turns East towards Rayong

I would assume they would have to buy some additional land to make the curve radius larger.

[JSPS]

A contract for a feasibility study? Ka-ching!

[CrypticBob]

Personally, I'd put the double-tracking and improving freight services higher on the list of priorities.

[Jasun]

That's a long feasibility study. I wouldn't have thought it would take those in-the-know that long to buy up all the land surrounding the planned stops.

[Tomtomtom69]

Ridiculous project. If ever a high-speed route is built, the first one should quite obviously run on the country's most important economic route, which is Bangkok-Central Plains-Chiang Mai. High speed trains are first and foremost useful to business travellers, not tourists.

But in fact, what the SRT should be doing is not high speed trains at all, it is upgrading the current system to modern express train standards with dual tracks throughout. The current system is about 80 years out of date, and should be brought in line with standards in Europe or Japan. That is the priority, not hugely expensive and totally over-the-top projects like this.

Walk before you can run. Or rather, run before going for super speeds.

I think the reason this line might be built first is not for businesspeople or even tourists, but for logistics. Rayong being home to many (if not most) of Thailand's factories along with Chonburi and having access to a seaport will make it more efficient to transport goods between Suvarnabhumi/Bangkok and the rest of the world via the seaports located in Rayong province.

Another route that needs urgent attention will be the Vientiane-Bangkok extension of the Kunming-Vientiane line, that is already under construction as far as I'm aware.

[Lakegeneve]

Ridiculous project. If ever a high-speed route is built, the first one should quite obviously run on the country's most important economic route, which is Bangkok-Central Plains-Chiang Mai. High speed trains are first and foremost useful to business travellers, not tourists.

But in fact, what the SRT should be doing is not high speed trains at all, it is upgrading the current system to modern express train standards with dual tracks throughout. The current system is about 80 years out of date, and should be brought in line with standards in Europe or Japan. That is the priority, not hugely expensive and totally over-the-top projects like this.

Walk before you can run. Or rather, run before going for super speeds.

I think the reason this line might be built first is not for businesspeople or even tourists, but for logistics. Rayong being home to many (if not most) of Thailand's factories along with Chonburi and having access to a seaport will make it more efficient to transport goods between Suvarnabhumi/Bangkok and the rest of the world via the seaports located in Rayong province.

Another route that needs urgent attention will be the Vientiane-Bangkok extension of the Kunming-Vientiane line, that is already under construction as far as I'm aware.

Your thinking would miss the mark. HSR lines will not carry freight (aside from small packages) - that is the norm around the world. The dual tracking program of the current narrow gauge network will carrying freight - eventual max speed of 120km? Most of the eastern line from Chachoengsao to the Laem Chabang port has been dual tracked (it was a priority) but not yet fully operational.

The US$7.2billion. Yunnan - Vientiance HSR line is NOT under construction, no where near it! Laos doesn't even have financing for it and is still seeking a 2% loan from the Chinese (who want the land in Laos)! A different non-HSR US$5 billion freight line from Savannakhet to the Vietnam coast via Lao Bao is planned and meant to start work next year but I doubt it will get the financing. (It is planned to join what will be a future SRT line to Mukhdahan)

The only thing planned to be built soon in Laos is extending the current and only operating line of 3.5km the friendship bridge. The 9km ext of the line from the current terminus station at Tha Naleng to what will be the future Vientiane Station - at Khamsaved. Work will start later this year with a completion timetable of end of 2015 (most likely that will be 2016)

This map gives you an idea of where the future Vientiane Station will be located;

(This is a rough plan for a future Commuter lines around Vientiane. Planned China HSR LINE is not shown)