First phase of double-track railway to be complete in two years
By Digital Content



BANGKOK, Jan 9 -- Transport Minister Prajin Juntong said Friday he is confident that the first phase of the double-track railway project will be complete within two years, four years earlier than originally scheduled.

Air Chief Marshal Prajin said the first double-track with new 1.435 metre standard gauge tracks able to allow a maximum speed of 180 kilometres per hour running from Nong Khai to Khon Kaen, Keng Khoi, and Map Ta Phut deep sea port could be completed within two years.

Thailand has signed a memorandum of understanding with China to jointly develop the project and, according to ACM Prajin, the first meeting with Chinese officials will be held January 20-22.

Another meeting will take place in February and designs for the project could be drawn immediately afterward, he said. He believed engineering drawings could be ready in August and by then the government would know the actual cost of the project.

The State Railway of Thailand will be responsible for train service and whether it would find a partner in future would depend entirely on the agency, ACM Prajin added. (MCOT online news)


-- TNA 2015-01-09

We're talking about real life-size trains. Not your toy train set!! 2 years? Impossible.

Drawings will in a best case scenario be finished in August!!

Another Thai official talking out of his backside!!

Gets depressing after a while..............................

"... he is confident..."

Difficult to accept this prognosis in a culture where Mai Pen Rai is the motto of the workforce, and they haven't mastered to ability to build a safe and functional two lane highway.

OR perhaps an alternative headline. It is reported that :

Transport Minister Prajin Juntong aka Air Chief Marshal Prajin hopes and prays is desperately hoping that the "First phase of double-track railway to be complete in two years"

Transport Minister Prajin Juntong said Friday had a dream in which he is was confident that the first phase of the double-track railway project will be complete within two years, four years earlier than originally scheduled.

Pass it back to MCOT and let them know I'll charge next time.

Has any construction project every been completed on time?

2 years .... the forgot the 0 ... make it 20 and I will agree

should've gained a spot in the comedy club........

Two clangers in a day by Prajin.

Drawings will in a best case scenario be finished in August!!

Another Thai official talking out of his backside!!

Gets depressing after a while..............................

Exactly. Even if this project were Chinese built (or maybe it will be?) but 2 years wouldn't be enough time even for the Chinese, especially not if it takes 7 months just for some drawings.

How are they able to have this first phase completed in two years when the piddly little light rail line runiing through the center of Phuket won't even be started until 2021?

Nothing has been decided after years of thinking but be confident the project will finished within two years from now...TIT.

OR perhaps an alternative headline. It is reported that :

Transport Minister Prajin Juntong aka Air Chief Marshal Prajin hopes and prays is desperately hoping that the "First phase of double-track railway to be complete in two years"

... even wondering if k. Plodprasop should be recalled to help utilise the rivers and push the baby aircraft carrier loaded with equipment to the right locations in time

Once the committee is convened, they will conclude that it can in fact be done in just 18 months.

Complete total Nonsense , its a bare faced lie not even incompetence. They will be lucky to get 100k in in 2 years

Drawings in August, so if you dont have any drawings which means no alignment either how can you estimate the amount of civils work , viaducts , tunnels , earth works and ground formation. So the 2 year estimate is nonsense. I;d say Nong Khai -Knorat best case 6 years worst 10. Depends a lot on whether they treat the ground properly or not, 2 years sounds like they are going to build it on the same shit its sitting on now

2 Years? Are they serious? Not a chance. My money is on 10 years minimum.

Si tacuisses, philosophus mansisses.....

Speech is silver, but silence is golden.

Can the Air Chief Marshal's train fly from DMK?

He later clarified that the two years he was referring to were 2056 and 2057

Your all barking mad! Of course they will finish the first phase in 2 years. Unbeknownst to you they are already on the job.

First phase is handing out the brown envelopes. That will be done within two years. So just relax everyone, its ok. No one is really interested in building rail lines anyway.

I wonder where the workforce will come from?

Thai mathematics.

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I wonder where the workforce will come from?

Laos and Myanmar would be my guess. For Civils and Rail several thousand people are required, if they want to finish in 2 years then 10s of thousands

I blame the Thai education system. He can't tell the difference between 2 and 10

"First phase of double-track railway to be complete in two years..."

Yeah, and I'm the King of France.

The Chinese already built the Beijing - Shanghai High Speed Railway which is standard gauge, 1,318kms long, in 2years (2008-2010). 130,000 workers were used during construction, track laying only took 4 months. It was handed over for public service the following year, so it is possible. However, the Chinese do not have to put up with Thai political interference and changes of Government. The aim of this Government is to complete the High Speed Railway whilst it is still in power.

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

The Chinese already built the Beijing - Shanghai High Speed Railway which is standard gauge, 1,318kms long, in 2years (2008-2010). 130,000 workers were used during construction, track laying only took 4 months. It was handed over for public service the following year, so it is possible. However, the Chinese do not have to put up with Thai political interference and changes of Government. The aim of this Government is to complete the High Speed Railway whilst it is still in power.

That was the track only , but it was not the civil works ,. The Civil works are 75% of the work

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

The Chinese already built the Beijing - Shanghai High Speed Railway which is standard gauge, 1,318kms long, in 2years (2008-2010). 130,000 workers were used during construction, track laying only took 4 months. It was handed over for public service the following year, so it is possible. However, the Chinese do not have to put up with Thai political interference and changes of Government. The aim of this Government is to complete the High Speed Railway whilst it is still in power.

" There are 244 bridges along the line. The 164-km long Danyang–Kunshan Grand Bridge is the longest bridge in the world,^[15] the 114-km long viaduct bridge between Langfang and Qingxian is the second longest in the world, and the viaduct between Beijing's 4th Ring Road and Langfang is the fifth longest. The line also includes 22 tunnels, totaling 16.1 km. 1,268 km of the length is ballastless."

The speed of the line has been cut to 300kph , with the main service 250Kph

Do not believe the crap coming out of China