Plans for construction of 2 high speed railways to be completed in the next 2 months

[webfact]

Plans for construction of 2 high speed railways to be completed in the next 2 months



BANGKOK, 21 May 2015, (NNT) - The Ministry of Transport has said the plan for the construction of 2 high speed railways linking Bangkok to Pattaya and Bangkok to Hua Hin should be finalized in the next couple of months.

According to the Transport Minister, Air Chief Marshal Prajin Janthong, the details for both railway projects will soon be outlined, finalized and ready to be proposed to the Cabinet in July.

Initially, the construction cost for the Bangkok - Hua Hin route is estimated at 90 billion baht, whereas the Bangkok - Pattaya route will cost approximately 100 billion baht.

Both project would take 2-3 years to complete, said ACM Prajn, adding that both deals would be offered to local contractors first. A few local construction companies have already expressed interest in the deals so far. Foreign companies from Germany, China and Japan have also shown interest in the second projects.


-- NNT 2015-05-21

[Crazy chef 1]

Both project would take 2-3 years to complete, said ACM Prajn, adding that both deals would be offered to local contractors first. A few local construction companies have already expressed interest in the deals so far. Foreign companies from Germany, China and Japan have also shown interest in the second projects.

local construction companies -2-3 years to complete= ain't gonna happen

[JoePai]

Pattaya/BKK - let's see if they are sensible and have a stop at swampy

[Mango Bob]

2 to 3 years my ass. More like 7 to 10 years based on past construction projects.

[CaptHaddock]

What local companies would be qualified to build a bullet train in view of the fact that none of them ever have?

[chainarong]

One wonders what they mean by high Speed, a 180kph rail car would I think be the right one , don't forget it will share with other rail traffic down Hua Hin line, unless it is a dedicated high Speed 500kph, I can't see that happening, either way it has taken about 6 months (Usually 3 years) to draw up the rail plans , I just can't wait to see the end result

[scorecard]

Pattaya/BKK - let's see if they are sensible and have a stop at swampy

Let's see if they are sensible and put a station in the center of Pattaya, convenient and with organized and monitored connections and with plenty of parking.

Hopefully It will depart from a Bkk location which is central and served well by feeder systems.

And hopefully it will also extent to Rayong.

[BigBadGeordie]

Pattaya/BKK - let's see if they are sensible and have a stop at swampy

Let's see if they are sensible and put a station in the center of Pattaya, convenient and with organized and monitored connections and with plenty of parking.

Hopefully It will depart from a Bkk location which is central and served well by feeder systems.

And hopefully it will also extent to Rayong.

I too would like to think that these sound ideas will be included, but I'm not holding my breath!

[ExPratt]

Although High speed on these routes is a bit extravagant having a decent service would be handy enough. I would doubt it will be 300kph Bullet train. Will be interesting to see the type of track and line speed

[Mole]

Looks like they're high speed tracking this proposal in order to cash in the tea money ASAP.

[Lukecan]

There is seriously no need for a high speed rail link between Pattaya and BKK, the highways are decent, only takes 2 hours by car. They should construct one between Bangkok and CM

[Shiver]

Who is John Galt?

Oh, and don't tell the taxi drivers.

When I first read it I said 2 months? BS!!! then I read again and saw that 2 months was to make a plan, not to do the job, and thought 2-3 years? BS!!! Hope I'm still alive when it is proven to be complete. . . .

Don't want to be negative as it would be good for the country, but . . . well, but . . .

[jackinthebox]

Total confusion. Suddenly BKK-HuaHin and BKK-Pattaya? Within 2 years? Weren't they talking about NoongKhai - Rayong or something like that for years now? A part from that: Thaliand has a logic and reasoable rail-grid. The problem is that it is completely rotten (as the trains are). So just modernise the whole system to a standard 1435mm electrified double track grid where you can reach average travel speed of 100kph (instead of actual 50-55 kph) and everythin would be finde. That would be a reachable goal - an save lots of money.

Edited May 21, 2015 by jackinthebox

[BSJ]

Hard to imagine there is a need for high speed trains on these routes. In the long run wouldn't it be cheaper to have a helicopter service from Swampy to Hua Hin and Pattaya? That would be better than a train!

I am sure the friendly Ruskies could organise a fleet deal!

[ExPratt]

Total confusion. Suddenly BKK-HuaHin and BKK-Pattaya? Within 2 years? Weren't they talking about NoongKhai - Rayong or something like that for years now? A part from that: Thaliand has a logic and reasoable rail-grid. The problem is that it is completely rotten (as the trains are). So just modernise the whole system to a standard 1435mm electrified double track grid where you can reach average travel speed of 100kph (instead of actual 50-55 kph) and everythin would be finde. That would be a reachable goal - an save lots of money.

Just a bit of mental arithmetic , looking at 6000k so double track will be 12000k of track. Thats a lot of Machinery a massive amount of manpower . I would imagine they are doing the smaller one first if indeed it happens , to get something finished or well under construction, rather than start on one of the Monster routes for a 8 year grind. Also land acquisition as I mentioned before. Anything outside the ROW will be to be acquired and that takes time. We lost 11 months due to late land acquisitions in Malaysia

[stoli]

Who is John Galt?

Oh, and don't tell the taxi drivers.

When I first read it I said 2 months? BS!!! then I read again and saw that 2 months was to make a plan, not to do the job, and thought 2-3 years? BS!!! Hope I'm still alive when it is proven to be complete. . . .

Don't want to be negative as it would be good for the country, but . . . well, but . . .

No, you want to be negative. I could care less if you are alive or dead when it is complete. I am very happy with the construction of the Skytrain, Subway, and highways in Thailand. I can wait to have to done correctly. Look at the infrastructure in place now. It works pretty well. Go Thailand!

[Bangkok Barry]

'both deals would be offered to local contractors first.' No no no no no no, pleeeese. As for the 2-3 years , it took over five years just to build the 5km BTS extension from On Nut to Bearing. They probably meant 20-30 years.

Edited May 22, 2015 by Bangkok Barry

[wowfactor10]

Sooner or later you can go by high speed trains from Phuket to Chiang ma/Chiang rai.

Not really can see who will be against that...

Thailand hub of the High speed trains

[pinkpanther99]

A new high speed rail network in Thailand would be fantastic for sure.

There's no point in trying to upgrade the existing infrastructure that's already shot.

However, why do they come out with these ridiculous time scales. Like heck it will be built in 2-3 years. Even if they started working on it tonight, there's not a hope in hell if would be finished by 2017/18. It would take that long to clear and survey the land for a start.

The UK's proposed high speed rail network HS2 probably covers about a similar distance, yet the UK govt anticipate construction to take the best past of a decade.

Edited May 22, 2015 by pinkpanther99

[BigBadGeordie]

There is seriously no need for a high speed rail link between Pattaya and BKK, the highways are decent, only takes 2 hours by car. They should construct one between Bangkok and CM

I take it you live in Chiang Mai?

[ExPratt]

I thing they've gone mad. Costs are a bit Consevative

Bangkok ready to shoulder bullet train project risk

HIROSHI KOTANI, Nikkei staff writer

Prajin Juntong

BANGKOK -- The Thai government is willing to lead efforts to adopt Japan's bullet train technology for a high-speed rail project, the transport minister said Tuesday.

Importing the "shinkansen" rail system will entail high costs, Prajin Juntong acknowledged in an exclusive interview with The Nikkei. But the project will have significant value for Thailand, so the government will take on associated risks, he said.

Prajin is scheduled to meet with Japanese counterpart Akihiro Ohta in Tokyo Wednesday, with the two men set to sign a railway cooperation agreement. Plans call for linking the Thai capital to the northern city of Chiang Mai, a tourism destination, with 680km of rail.

Prajin applauded the bullet train technology in the interview, calling it an advanced transport system that involves not only technology but also real estate development along the rail corridor. The shinkansen service is expected to operate in Thailand at 200kph at a minimum, he said, noting that the precise speed will be determined by striking a balance between travel time and cost.

Given that Thailand lacks shinkansen operation expertise, it will ask for Japan's cooperation at the beginning, Prajin said. He also revealed that a task force for hammering out specific development plans by summer 2016 will be launched within the next month with members from both countries.

One issue in Thailand's adoption of a bullet-train system is profitability. While admitting that the project may seem difficult when only economic elements are taken into consideration, Prajin pointed out that it would bring about great benefits overall, such as improving quality of life and buoying tourism.

The project is expected to cost a whopping 430 billion baht ($12.7 billion), according to one estimate. But Prajin declined to comment on the price, saying he will wait until details of the plan are worked out.

The minister did say, however, that the construction cost will be paid by the Thai government and financial support from Japan. He noted that the Japanese government and industry expect Japanese funds to be used for the project -- showing a reluctance to tap the envisioned Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, an institution proposed by China.

[jerojero]

Error! Error! They meant plans with next two years.

[whatawonderfulday]

By 2 to 3 years they mean that is how long it will take to do under the table deals with local contractors , set up offshore accounts, so that a huge chunk of the proposed 90 billion can be skimmed by the General, his cronies and others who supported him.

[JAG]

Sooner or later you can go by high speed trains from Phuket to Chiang ma/Chiang rai.

Not really can see who will be against that...

Thailand hub of the High speed trains

Considering that Chiang Rai has been waiting for its metre guage branch line off the Northern Line since the 1930s, I think it's very much later rather than sooner.

[ExPratt]

Sooner or later you can go by high speed trains from Phuket to Chiang ma/Chiang rai.

Not really can see who will be against that...

Thailand hub of the High speed trains

Considering that Chiang Rai has been waiting for its metre guage branch line off the Northern Line since the 1930s, I think it's very much later rather than sooner.

I recall working in Taiwan from 2002 to 2005 , When I left I had the usual pep talk for the Project Manager "we are starting the Nong khai Bangkok double track in 6 months"