Southern rail service to receive major facelift

BANGKOK, 21 April 2014 (NNT) – The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) is to greatly improve its rail routes in southern provinces.

SRT Governor Prapat Chongsanguan revealed that the SRT had allocated 6 billion baht, for its largest railway renovation in a hundred years. The massive project will take three years and is to commence in May.

The governor said the renovation will begin with soil re-enforcement, and the switching of wooden railway sleepers to concrete sleepers.

The renovation will begin at Hua Hin Railway Station in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province and will end at Sungai Kolok Railway Station in Narathiwat Province.

When completed, the governor expects the improvement to reduce rail accidents especially derailments, as well as to permit an increase in the speed of trains traveling south.

In order not to inconvenience passengers, Governor Prapat said not all stations will be closed at the same time, asserting that the southern rail service will still be open to travelers during the three year maintenance period.


-- NNT 2014-04-21

Great idea but where is this 6 billion baht coming from ?

Great idea but where is this 6 billion baht coming from ?

G2G Rice sales.

Perhaps the SRT might dual the tracks while they're at it ?

To link up with the dual-tracks laid a few years back, on the Malaysian side of the border, just a thought.

Or does that require a larger budget, in larger brown-envelopes, and better 'lunch-boxes' ?

Great idea but where is this 6 billion baht coming from ?

I am like the PTP, never thought of that , I just thought like most governments , they had the money , sorry.

Great idea but where is this 6 billion baht coming from ?

no bad idea....It should be made complete new in a modern standard system, not that small tracks single line.

Great idea but where is this 6 billion baht coming from ?

I am like the PTP, never thought of that , I just thought like most governments , they had the money , sorry.

The GVT is INTERIM and can not authorize this can of expenditures.

A good idea, but ten times better would be the installation of dual tracks, duh! You know, SRT, having not one but two tracks, so that you can run more than twice as many trains and also not get the service suspended by problems on one track. Getting the idea?

B6-billion is a welcome reduction on B2.2-trillion, I'd say.

Wonder why they couldn't find a photo, with a Thai train in it, to illustrate the article, perhaps they're all 'resting' or 'pining for the fjords' ?

Great idea but where is this 6 billion baht coming from ?

A gift from the rice farners

Soil and changing the sleepers is not going to fix SRT, short term maybe but long term they need to go to standard guage and have deep ballast, the propsed scheme would keep the status quo going until the next time though, you know a quick fix, make do and mend, patch it up.

SRT has been broken so many times if it were your own you would throw it away and get a new one, but, its a revenue stream isnt it.

Someone with balls needs to get SRT into the modern world, going to take time but make a start please, concrete sleepers, deep ballast, standard guage, level tracks. no sharp curves, banked curves, modern signalling and track/points. Big job and a lot of inconvenience anyone up to it? Oh and lost of dosh, sorry farmers no dosh for you either while this upgrade is on the go.

This is a political statement by SRT. Thaksin has always said that the sectors of Thailand that do not support him will not have government money spent on them. His puppet government have honored that maxim i.e. while lavishing subsidies on the rice farmers of the North and NE, there has been scant attention payed to the needs of the South. This move by SRT to use its funds to benefit the Southerners, who always vote Democrat, is a slap in the face of the PTP government at a time when it is desperately seeking money to keep their base from rioting.

Sooooo....when they fall over (derail) they will be more pretty?

Soil and changing the sleepers is not going to fix SRT, short term maybe but long term they need to go to standard guage and have deep ballast, the propsed scheme would keep the status quo going until the next time though, you know a quick fix, make do and mend, patch it up.

SRT has been broken so many times if it were your own you would throw it away and get a new one, but, its a revenue stream isnt it.

Someone with balls needs to get SRT into the modern world, going to take time but make a start please, concrete sleepers, deep ballast, standard guage, level tracks. no sharp curves, banked curves, modern signalling and track/points. Big job and a lot of inconvenience anyone up to it? Oh and lost of dosh, sorry farmers no dosh for you either while this upgrade is on the go.

Changing gauge is a major expense which would be very hard to justify, requiring new or modified rolling stock, bridges, overpasses and many stations. Double tracking is desirable from a safety view (though the key system works well) and will increase average speeds, but again is hard to financially justify on tracks with only light usage.

The sleeper replacement and ballast work being done currently is making the ride both smoother and faster.

Soil and changing the sleepers is not going to fix SRT, short term maybe but long term they need to go to standard guage and have deep ballast, the propsed scheme would keep the status quo going until the next time though, you know a quick fix, make do and mend, patch it up.

SRT has been broken so many times if it were your own you would throw it away and get a new one, but, its a revenue stream isnt it.

Someone with balls needs to get SRT into the modern world, going to take time but make a start please, concrete sleepers, deep ballast, standard guage, level tracks. no sharp curves, banked curves, modern signalling and track/points. Big job and a lot of inconvenience anyone up to it? Oh and lost of dosh, sorry farmers no dosh for you either while this upgrade is on the go.

Changing gauge is a major expense which would be very hard to justify, requiring new or modified rolling stock, bridges, overpasses and many stations. Double tracking is desirable from a safety view (though the key system works well) and will increase average speeds, but again is hard to financially justify on tracks with only light usage.

The sleeper replacement and ballast work being done currently is making the ride both smoother and faster.