TDRI proposes dual-track railway project to military junta for approval: Thailand

[webfact]

TDRI proposes dual-track railway project to military junta for approval



BANGKOK: -- Thailand Development and Research Institute is to propose the 118-billion baht dual-track railway project to the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) for approval after seeing its greater advantages to travel and transportation than the 783-billion baht high-speed train project of which its viability is seriously doubted.

The proposal will be raised at the meeting of the National Council for Peace and Order today to discuss investment in transport mega projects.

The dual-track railway project is expected to be highlighted at the meeting.

TDRI researcher Sumet Ongkittikul said he would encourage the military junta to proceed the dual-track project as it is very significant to the country’s transportation and so far there was no progress on it.

He said the project would attract more people to use railway service in travelling, and industries also would turn to it for transportation of cargoes.

He said any restructuring of investment in the railway system needed to take into consideration the present railway organisation and its performance.

He said separate state agency should be established to supervise railway transport , and a railway organisation should also be set up to handle investment.

Railway infrastructure and train operation services must be separated and the private sector should be allowed to play more role in train service.

He said the five dual-track railways with a combined 767 kilometres in length require an investment of over 100 billion baht.

They comprise Lop Buri to Pak Nam Pho in Nakhon Sawan (118 km), Nakhon Pathom to Hua Hin (165 km), Map Ka Bao in Saraburi to Nakhon Ratchasima (132 km), Nakhon Ratchasima to Khon Kaen (185 km), and Prachuap Khiri Khan to Chumphon (167 km).

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/tdri-proposes-dual-track-railway-project-military-junta-approval/


-- Thai PBS 2014-06-12

[boomerangutang]

You mean, with dual track, there could be one train going north and one going south concurrently? Wow, that would be cool.

Next, how about fixing busy road intersections with turn signals, along with designated turn lanes. Then road traffic could keep going both directions (two moving lanes), instead of only one moving lane at any one time, at any Thai intersection.

[bigbamboo]

Now why didn't they come up with this idea when the Shins were in power?

[rametindallas]

This is affordable/doable and is the kind of infrastructure improvement that will draw foreign industry to Thailand. This is a system that even SRT may be able to keep up. It will also bring much needed development to the Northeast and spur industry to move away from Bangkok out into the hinterlands where land is cheaper and labor is available. Businesses need dependable transportation of their raw materials as well as their finished goods. The trucking lobby is against this because they, currently, have a stranglehold on moving most goods around Thailand. This will save highway repairs, highway deaths, and make transportation faster, cheaper, and more reliable.

[chotthee]

If it can return happiness to the Thai people, the Army should approve it.

[ginjag]

Now why didn't they come up with this idea when the Shins were in power?

Early on the government were too busy trying to get Thaksin off the hook near all their energy was focused on this.

[1plumber]

I hope the good General asks them why he would approve a new train system when they can not properly operate the one they currently have?

[CharlesHH]

Go Army !

[rubl]

You mean, with dual track, there could be one train going north and one going south concurrently? Wow, that would be cool.

Next, how about fixing busy road intersections with turn signals, along with designated turn lanes. Then road traffic could keep going both directions (two moving lanes), instead of only one moving lane at any one time, at any Thai intersection.

Every morning passing the Rachawithi railroad crossing it's 50/50 whether the trains wait for the traffic to clear the tracks, or the traffic waiting for the trains to 'race' past at at least 20 - 40 km/h. Dual track as well

[djjamie]

Now why didn't they come up with this idea when the Shins were in power?

They did, but they wanted to bypass parliamentary scrutiny democracy to fund it.

[chainarong]

Are they talking about dual track , standard and narrow gage or two track up and down mainline narrow gage, their current gage, there is a big difference.

[Lakegeneve]

These are not new projects and have nothing to do with who is in power, or not in power. They are part of an ongoing process proposed years ago which is duplicating the whole SRT network. These 5 sections have been delayed for the last 2 years. The money is already allocated from previous budgets.

This article is just rehashing another on this issue from a few days ago. A very common phenomena with Thai media (and on TV).

Answers to any queries most likely are contained in that thread (which also links to other thread from 2012 discussing the exact same 5 lines!!), http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/732096-five-dual-track-railway-lines-proposed-for-quick-construction-thailand/page-4#entry7945295

[ramrod711]

Put it out for tenders and keep a close eye on bidding and construction. This is one of the necessary and beneficial projects.

[Thai at Heart]

This is what was absolutely imperative.

Aside from everything else it should slash transport cost for commodities to market. How the trucking lobby managed to strangle this development for 30 years god knows.

[Ricardo]

The incentive for the trucking-industry should be the construction of efficient container-handling depots, at industrial-centres along/at-the-end of each proposed route, where the containers might be swiftly transferred to trucks for the remainder of their journeys. So that they too benefit from faster/cheaper long-haul shipment ?

There should perhaps also be some study of opportunities to transfer heavy-goods (bulk-rice perhaps ?) to special-trains, from production-areas direct to port-loading facilities, removing even more freight off the busy roads.

Passenger-services should be an add-on, not the sole raison d'etre, as with PTP's 'own' proposals.

Lastly, the junta should encourage the prioritisation of those routes, where the greatest economic-benefits might be obtained the most quickly, this is perhaps stating the obvious but still true !

[HappyinNE]

They need to go to the world standard gauge. The present narrow gauge is unstable for faster trains that make turns. Of course this would require new rolling stock. With new rolling stock they could actually put enough in a tank car to efficiently transport liquids as well as a decent load on other cars.

[GinBoy2]

As others have mentioned, the current plan is just to dual track existing 3ft 3in gauge. This is possibly an even bigger waste of money than the HSR proposal. This gauge is incapable of hauling real freight, and as far a speed, well thats a non starter. A standard gauge dual track system would have allowed freight and relatively high speed passenger traffic. I would rather have seen the HSR proposals than this. But living here for so many years has taught me; often times given a number of options Thai's can always seem to chose the worst possible one, yet somehow pat themselves on the back for it!

[FangFerang]

The proposal completely ignores the glaring white elephant in the room: being -- if they cannot maintain one track without all the maintenance money being bled off by graft (with subsequent derailments well over a hundred in two years alone), how on earth do they hope to maintain two tracks?

Sorry guys and gals, this is the new team proposing the "train scheme"....sort of "rice scheme light".

I am glad they are poop-canning the high speed train at this point (I have trouble seeing a need for it), but those of you that have ridden the trains as they slow to 5 kph on shoddy tracks that make cars the sway from one side to the other from rotted sleepers and eroded substrate know this is ridiculous. The engineers know where the maintenance has failed and slow way down, then speed up when past the dodgy spots. If this is the best they can do with one track, I can't wait for the first collision...

so I can mourn the ramifications of team politics again.

[BillyBobThai]

I think a lot of us really want to see Thailand succeed, but have trouble seeing past what has happened in the past. Because of a certain group lied to the people and stole it seems most of the money, nothing ever really happened. Given time, the general will have a lot, if not all of those thieves, behind bars and proceed to begin to put the house in order.

There has been more good done for Thailand in the last three weeks than the last ten years that I have been here.

Go for it General.

[wandasloan]

Put it out for tenders and keep a close eye on bidding and construction. This is one of the necessary and beneficial projects.

Excellent idea. This has always worked in the past, and is the main reason why corruption is seldom mentioned when these megaprojects go the the bidding stage, because it is so closely watched.

I think a lot of us really want to see Thailand succeed, but have trouble seeing past what has happened in the past. Because of a certain group lied to the people and stole it seems most of the money, nothing ever really happened. Given time, the general will have a lot, if not all of those thieves, behind bars and proceed to begin to put the house in order.

There has been more good done for Thailand in the last three weeks than the last ten years that I have been here.

Go for it General.

Remind me again who it was who signed off on the majority of GT200/Alpha 6 purchases.

.

Edited June 12, 2014 by wandasloan

[Eric Loh]

Isn't this from the original infrastructure plan? Just the locations have been reduced. The original plan is for 4,000 km of dual track and TDRI proposed just 767 km. We have presently only 300 km of dualtrack and additional 767 km seem inadequate and will not improve the logistic cost by much. Cannot understand why Nong Khai not in the proposal as this route is very important to expand the border trade which is growing rapidly. This route also connect Southern China and Laos and link to their railway.

[Thai at Heart]

The proposal completely ignores the glaring white elephant in the room: being -- if they cannot maintain one track without all the maintenance money being bled off by graft (with subsequent derailments well over a hundred in two years alone), how on earth do they hope to maintain two tracks?

Sorry guys and gals, this is the new team proposing the "train scheme"....sort of "rice scheme light".

I am glad they are poop-canning the high speed train at this point (I have trouble seeing a need for it), but those of you that have ridden the trains as they slow to 5 kph on shoddy tracks that make cars the sway from one side to the other from rotted sleepers and eroded substrate know this is ridiculous. The engineers know where the maintenance has failed and slow way down, then speed up when past the dodgy spots. If this is the best they can do with one track, I can't wait for the first collision...

so I can mourn the ramifications of team politics again.

Well indeed. If there anything even more imperative, it is that SRT has absolutely NOTHING to do with any of it.

[rametindallas]

They need to go to the world standard gauge. The present narrow gauge is unstable for faster trains that make turns. Of course this would require new rolling stock. With new rolling stock they could actually put enough in a tank car to efficiently transport liquids as well as a decent load on other cars.

+1 (I'm out of 'likes')

[Thai at Heart]

I think a lot of us really want to see Thailand succeed, but have trouble seeing past what has happened in the past. Because of a certain group lied to the people and stole it seems most of the money, nothing ever really happened. Given time, the general will have a lot, if not all of those thieves, behind bars and proceed to begin to put the house in order.

There has been more good done for Thailand in the last three weeks than the last ten years that I have been here.

Go for it General.

Are you completely delusiuonal. You think the previous bunch were the only ones who have siphoned off money in their time.