No funds in sight, but state railroad keeps talking high-speed links to Pattaya

No funds in sight, but state railroad keeps talking high-speed links to Pattaya

PATTAYA:--Long before Suvarnabhumi International Airport even opened in 2006, Thai officials have been talking about linking it with Pattaya by high-speed train. They’re still talking.

The State Railway of Thailand hosted yet another discussion on the proposed rail link Sept. 13 noting that the budget for the project is still on hold, but if it ever passes, the train will have pronounced benefits for Pattaya, Chonburi and Rayong.

Mapped out to run 206 kilometers, the government figures it needs an astronomical 2 trillion baht to get trains running. Needless to say, it won’t happen all at once: The government budget for the entire kingdom in 2013 was 2.4 trillion baht.

Nonetheless, SRT executives were at the Ambassador City Hotel in Jomtien Beach promoting the benefits of a high-speed passenger and rail link for Thailand after it joins the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015.

Full story:http://www.pattayamail.com/localnews/no-funds-in-sight-but-state-railroad-keeps-talking-high-speed-links-to-pattaya-30540

-- Pattaya Mail 2013-09-27