Court rules today on Bt2-tn loan bill

[SICHONSTEVE]

The high speed train costs 700 billion baht. if half of the current 12,000 daily domestic airline passengers used the high-speed trains instead at a rate of 1,600 baht per person per trip, the investment would yield a return of almost 10 million baht per day, or more than 3.5 billion baht annually it would take around 200 years for the amount to be recouped. That is without interest. With interest included then it would be 374 years.

So thaksins great great great great great great great great grand son would still be spending the 2 billion baht and the tax payer would still be paying this loan off all because the PTP want this loan "out of budget" to ensure no transparency.

The government cannot even show fiscal discipline in ensuring they had loans secured to fund the rice scheme before they went into caretaker mode. A simple oversight like that and they now want to be entrusted with 2 trillion baht!! The contempt this government have for the majority is abysmal.

At least the majority have woken up to this fact now. My prediction is it will be knocked on the head and they will have to go through the standard budgetary (transparent) channels.

The PTP seem to be getting loans for everything yet not once have they asked to borrow a brain. So one can only assume they are still brainless.

Having recently seen a presentation and the reports along with the justification for the high speed train project, the presumption that passenger traffic will pay for it is completely untrue. In fact, the great about 90% of the income will be from logistics transportation between ASEAN countries with Thailand serving as the logistics hub. Part of this project will connect Dawei port in Burma/Myanmar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawei_Port_Project ) to Thailand and then on to Cambodia and Vietnam. Eventually it will also connect China with Thailand through Laos for the transportation of goods and possibly link up Singapore and Malaysia with Thailand.

The end result will be to decrease roadway traffic with trucks and decrease the cost per km of transport by using rail instead of roadways. A side benefit will be passenger traffic, allowing people to move about the country much faster and safer.

Most people do not currently chose to use rail transport in Thailand since 1) it takes longer in most cases than driving, and 2) the rail system has not been upgraded for more than 25 years, with many train engines even older. The tracks are falling apart resulting in derailments each month, making train travel unsafe.

For Thailand to become a major player in the ASEAN community as the logistics hub, which will bring more jobs and an increased economy, the country must move forward with this overhaul of the rail transportation network. All of Thai industry and foreign companies here are 100% in full support of this project.

There are many national public works which do not need to be cost justified since they are for the overall growth and development of a country and therefore in the best national interest.

Does the fact that the Dawei dam project looks dead and buried have any consequences on all of this???

[robblok]

The high speed train costs 700 billion baht. if half of the current 12,000 daily domestic airline passengers used the high-speed trains instead at a rate of 1,600 baht per person per trip, the investment would yield a return of almost 10 million baht per day, or more than 3.5 billion baht annually it would take around 200 years for the amount to be recouped. That is without interest. With interest included then it would be 374 years.

So thaksins great great great great great great great great grand son would still be spending the 2 billion baht and the tax payer would still be paying this loan off all because the PTP want this loan "out of budget" to ensure no transparency.

The government cannot even show fiscal discipline in ensuring they had loans secured to fund the rice scheme before they went into caretaker mode. A simple oversight like that and they now want to be entrusted with 2 trillion baht!! The contempt this government have for the majority is abysmal.

At least the majority have woken up to this fact now. My prediction is it will be knocked on the head and they will have to go through the standard budgetary (transparent) channels.

The PTP seem to be getting loans for everything yet not once have they asked to borrow a brain. So one can only assume they are still brainless.

Having recently seen a presentation and the reports along with the justification for the high speed train project, the presumption that passenger traffic will pay for it is completely untrue. In fact, the great about 90% of the income will be from logistics transportation between ASEAN countries with Thailand serving as the logistics hub. Part of this project will connect Dawei port in Burma/Myanmar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawei_Port_Project ) to Thailand and then on to Cambodia and Vietnam. Eventually it will also connect China with Thailand through Laos for the transportation of goods and possibly link up Singapore and Malaysia with Thailand.

The end result will be to decrease roadway traffic with trucks and decrease the cost per km of transport by using rail instead of roadways. A side benefit will be passenger traffic, allowing people to move about the country much faster and safer.

Most people do not currently chose to use rail transport in Thailand since 1) it takes longer in most cases than driving, and 2) the rail system has not been upgraded for more than 25 years, with many train engines even older. The tracks are falling apart resulting in derailments each month, making train travel unsafe.

For Thailand to become a major player in the ASEAN community as the logistics hub, which will bring more jobs and an increased economy, the country must move forward with this overhaul of the rail transportation network. All of Thai industry and foreign companies here are 100% in full support of this project.

There are many national public works which do not need to be cost justified since they are for the overall growth and development of a country and therefore in the best national interest.

Sorry mate please put your red glasses of so your not red sighted anymore.

What you are saying is true many things don't need their cost to be justified, usually things like healthcare and schooling enviroment ect. However when you are talking about economic investments and these are classified as such they must justify their cost.

Good try but fail.. kinda like the current government.. although their try wasnt even good.

[djjamie]

The high speed train costs 700 billion baht. if half of the current 12,000 daily domestic airline passengers used the high-speed trains instead at a rate of 1,600 baht per person per trip, the investment would yield a return of almost 10 million baht per day, or more than 3.5 billion baht annually it would take around 200 years for the amount to be recouped. That is without interest. With interest included then it would be 374 years.

So thaksins great great great great great great great great grand son would still be spending the 2 billion baht and the tax payer would still be paying this loan off all because the PTP want this loan "out of budget" to ensure no transparency.

The government cannot even show fiscal discipline in ensuring they had loans secured to fund the rice scheme before they went into caretaker mode. A simple oversight like that and they now want to be entrusted with 2 trillion baht!! The contempt this government have for the majority is abysmal.

At least the majority have woken up to this fact now. My prediction is it will be knocked on the head and they will have to go through the standard budgetary (transparent) channels.

The PTP seem to be getting loans for everything yet not once have they asked to borrow a brain. So one can only assume they are still brainless.

Having recently seen a presentation and the reports along with the justification for the high speed train project, the presumption that passenger traffic will pay for it is completely untrue. In fact, the great about 90% of the income will be from logistics transportation between ASEAN countries with Thailand serving as the logistics hub. Part of this project will connect Dawei port in Burma/Myanmar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawei_Port_Project ) to Thailand and then on to Cambodia and Vietnam. Eventually it will also connect China with Thailand through Laos for the transportation of goods and possibly link up Singapore and Malaysia with Thailand.

The end result will be to decrease roadway traffic with trucks and decrease the cost per km of transport by using rail instead of roadways. A side benefit will be passenger traffic, allowing people to move about the country much faster and safer.

Most people do not currently chose to use rail transport in Thailand since 1) it takes longer in most cases than driving, and 2) the rail system has not been upgraded for more than 25 years, with many train engines even older. The tracks are falling apart resulting in derailments each month, making train travel unsafe.

For Thailand to become a major player in the ASEAN community as the logistics hub, which will bring more jobs and an increased economy, the country must move forward with this overhaul of the rail transportation network. All of Thai industry and foreign companies here are 100% in full support of this project.

There are many national public works which do not need to be cost justified since they are for the overall growth and development of a country and therefore in the best national interest.

Great. So it can be done within budget, transparently and with parliamentary approval.