Way clear for joint rail project

[webfact]

CABINET APPROVE
Way clear for joint rail project
Erich Parpart
The Nation


Prajin

BANGKOK: -- The Cabinet yesterday approved a draft memorandum of cooperation (MoC) between Thailand and Japan on the joint development of a high-speed railway from Chiang Mai to Bangkok and a feasibility study for the Mae Sot-Mukdahan railway to connect the eastern and the western economic corridors.

Newly appointed Deputy Government Spokesman Colonel Weerachon Sukhondha-patipak said that under the agreement, Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency would work with their Thai counterparts to develop and upgrade the railway system and connectivity within the Southern Economic Corridor linking Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

The MLIT has also expressed its intention to develop the Bangkok-Rayong railway jointly with Thailand, an offer that is under the study of this country's Transport Ministry.

"There was no mention at the meeting about the cost of the construction or how long the railways would be," Weerachon said, adding that the MoC would be signed by today in Tokyo.

Transport Minister Prajin Juntong told the Nation Multimedia Group this month that the high-speed railway between Bangkok and Chiang Mai would be 715 kilometres long and was scheduled to open in 2019.

He also said trains on the route were expected to be capable of 250km/h and the project's value was estimated at Bt400 billion, thanks to a low-interest loan from Japan. The government hopes that the interest rate will not exceed 1.5 per cent.

The railway project is part of Thailand's strategic transport connectivity plan, linking the mass-transit systems of big cities to small towns and neighbouring countries.

Port expansion

Meanwhile, the Cabinet also approved an investment of Bt1.864 billion by the Port of Authority to expand the Laem Chabang seaport. This will include the expansion of the port's basic infrastructure and investment on major lifting and logistical equipment.

Deputy Spokesman Maj-General Sunsern Kaewkumnerd has said a number of government projects would be open for the public private partnership (PPP) model between 2015 and 2019.

The list of PPP projects includes six opt-out strategies (projects that require private involvement) and 14 opt-in strategies (those that do not require private involvement but are open for the PPP model), for a total of 65 projects worth around Bt1.41 trillion.

The opt-out development projects include urban transport systems (eight projects worth Bt568.157 billion), an urban tollway (one project worth Bt12.805 billion), seaport logistics (seven worth Bt132.155 billion), high-speed rail (two worth Bt233.849 billion), the telecommunication system (two projects worth Bt47.559 billion) and high-speed Internet (one project worth Bt20 billion).

Finance Minister Sommai Phasee said the Cabinet had approved another Bt50 million for the handout scheme for rubber farmers as the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) did not include its Bt15-per-person transaction fees in the original fund.

The one-time cash handout worth no more than Bt15,000 to each of some 850,000 rubber farmers across the country has already cost the government Bt8.5 billion. The Cabinet has negotiated with the BAAC to lower the transaction fee to Bt12 per person.

Budget Bureau director Somsak Chotrattanasiri said his agency and the government were confident that the state budget-disbursement target of 96 per cent would be met by the end of the fiscal year, as the disbursement rate in the first eight months was better than expected.

He said the government had disbursed around 64-65 per cent of its Bt450-billion investment budget so far in fiscal 2015, and if contracts that have already been signed were included, the rate would be around 68 per cent as of May 22.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Way-clear-for-joint-rail-project-30260975.html


-- The Nation 2015-05-27

[Crossy]

So the Chinese are out of the game then?

No chance in he77 that it will be open in 2019. 5 years to build 700+ km of railway, much of which will need to be elevated for safety (imagine a train hitting an elephant at 250 kph), no land acquired yet (SRT's existing alignment is too twisty), no way Somchai.

[BSJ]

The only way for a 2019 completion date is if the Japanese manage the project and they start building at 12 or 15 locations first light tomorrow......oh cr@p! There is no land to build on!

[whatawonderfulday]

And the joint MOU must also have agreed upon the various offshore bank accounts for the 35% skim fund for the General and his cronies for it to have been signed off

[pinkpanther99]

Don't get me wrong, a high speed rail network in Thailand would be brilliant and is much needed given the state of the existing rail infrastructure.

However, there's no chance this will be open by 2019. Why do they come out with such a ridiculous time scale for construction of a project of this magnitude?

They are only setting themselves up for all when it will inevitably run 5 years over schedule.

It would take the best part of four years just to survey and clear the land.

As I said in another thread, HS2, which is the proposed high speed train project in the UK, will take the almost a decade to construct the govt estimates and is only 119km long in Phase 1.

Anyway, here is a photo from BBC Thai of what the high speed train will look like:

[alant]

not in the headline is the small matter of hand outs to rubber farmers. I don't quite get why this is ok and the rice scheme was not but there you go...

[ExPratt]

So the Chinese are out of the game then?

No chance in he77 that it will be open in 2019. 5 years to build 700+ km of railway, much of which will need to be elevated for safety (imagine a train hitting an elephant at 250 kph), no land acquired yet (SRT's existing alignment is too twisty), no way Somchai.

Agree Crossy mate I recon a good 6-7 years from commencement of work , I'd be surprised if it is the exact Shinkansen system if Max speed is only 250kph. 400, 000 billion bt , 12 billion USD looks a low price for that technology

[bra]

The Japanese may find that the cost of labour and working conditions have changed considerably since they built railways in Thailand between 1942 and 1945.

[cloudhopper]

Just another fantasy for the headlines. They can't even get a simple bypass road built on Phuket.

[ExPratt]

The Japanese may find that the cost of labour and working conditions have changed considerably since they built railways in Thailand between 1942 and 1945.

To be honest with amount of illegal foreign workers its probably not gone up that much

[cumgranosalum]

so apart from making a constitution and getting out of the place, they are now going to lumber future governments with their major civil engineering projects?

...or is the current admin here for a while?

[gazzasore]

"thanks to a low-interest loan from Japan. The government hopes that the interest rate will not exceed 1.5 per cent."

​Surely it's a fixed interest rate

[klauskunkel]

very nice..., but more importantly: will there be Som Tam vendors?

[cooked]

I still wonder what 'high speed' means. I would be perfectly happy with a safe and reliable double tracked network with speeds up to maybe 150K/h. The average Thai will not be able to afford these trains and I'm not sure if freight is in the equation, meaning even more road congestion.

Out in the flat bits (Isaan and so on) many kilometres of land have been fenced in over the last year or two and there is plenty of room available.

[cumgranosalum]

I still wonder what 'high speed' means. I would be perfectly happy with a safe and reliable double tracked network with speeds up to maybe 150K/h. The average Thai will not be able to afford these trains and I'm not sure if freight is in the equation, meaning even more road congestion.

Out in the flat bits (Isaan and so on) many kilometres of land have been fenced in over the last year or two and there is plenty of room available.

freight will be the main concern.....the railways are to be the main access to the ports in myanmar etc....

[ExPratt]

I still wonder what 'high speed' means. I would be perfectly happy with a safe and reliable double tracked network with speeds up to maybe 150K/h. The average Thai will not be able to afford these trains and I'm not sure if freight is in the equation, meaning even more road congestion.

Out in the flat bits (Isaan and so on) many kilometres of land have been fenced in over the last year or two and there is plenty of room available.

technically more than 220kph

[ExPratt]

I still wonder what 'high speed' means. I would be perfectly happy with a safe and reliable double tracked network with speeds up to maybe 150K/h. The average Thai will not be able to afford these trains and I'm not sure if freight is in the equation, meaning even more road congestion.

Out in the flat bits (Isaan and so on) many kilometres of land have been fenced in over the last year or two and there is plenty of room available.

freight will be the main concern.....the railways are to be the main access to the ports in myanmar etc....

Freight is also the bigger money maker for Railways. Grey area because if they are going to a built a High speed Shinkansen Railway , you wouldn't want be putting shitty old freight trains over it. Maintenance of wheels is the big issue , they don't do any for Freight trains They should have a "Worn wheel gauge" When I asked for one when I was working in Malaysia , they didn't have one, therefore tearing the track up with out of standard wheel profile

Edited May 27, 2015 by ExPratt

[namatjira]

Wowwe a bullet train.....just for Thailand.....

[bristolgeoff]

Good idea but it will take forever to complete.take a ride on the train and see the work involved

[aslimversgwm]

I say 'pooee' to all you cynics.

I'm going to make sure I live as long as it takes, be it 4 years, 6 years, a decade, or longer.

I love trains and their environmental and economic efficiency - with or without freight.

Just check on the many, many INDEPENDENT studies that show this, excluding those undertaken by the road lobby, truck companies and the car industry.

Good luck to the Japanese and Thais involved in this. You will succeed.

[CNXTim]

Since the Japanese are retiring most of their old Shinkansen on normal lines and replacing them with 400KPH+ mag- lev,
What is the betting these will be second-hand rolling stock and re-used continuous steel lines, ties and infrastructure?

It will still cost a few Baht but nothing like paying full price for new Chinese copies of euro rail kit...

After all the 1st class night train sleeper car from Chiang mai to Bangkok is second-hand Korean kit...

[Kawapete]

With the present train system a normal intercity train service with doubble rails and trains going 120 km/h would be a dream for Thailand. The rest of the budget could finance education upgrades and other good projects that could be a great benefit for Thailand.

[webfact]

Thai-Japanese rail development cooperation endorsed



BANGKOK: -- The cabinet yesterday endorsed a draft memorandum of cooperation (MOC) on Thailand-Japan joint rail development, covering three rail projects in Thailand.

Official signing of the MOC between the two countries is expected to take place in Tokyo on Wednesday.

Deputy government spokesperson Maj-Gen Veerachon Sukhontapatipak said the cabinet has approved the draft MOC during its meeting Tuesday.

The agreement is expected to be signed by the two countries in the Japanese capital today.

He said the MOC covers three rail projects in Thailand namely high speed train project linking Bangkok and the northern province of Chiang Mai, upgrade of a rail route linking Kanchanaburi province and Laem Chabang deep seaport in Chonburi province and development of a rail route between Mae Sot district of Tak province and Mukdaharn province.

Under the Mae Sot-Mukdaharn project, Japan would offer Thailand technical assistance, he said.

Meanwhile, Transport Minister ACM Prajin Juntong said he will lead a Thai delegation to Japan today during which Thailand and Japan will discuss in details about government-to-government cooperation framework and timeframe under the MOC signed.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/thai-japanese-rail-development-cooperation-endorsed


-- Thai PBS 2015-05-27

[OnTheRun]

The Japanese may find that the cost of labour and working conditions have changed considerably since they built railways in Thailand between 1942 and 1945.

I hope the Thais have inserted a clause that all forced labour must be sourced in Japan this time round.

[Toscano]

This is a crazy idea , that I believe Thailand cannot afford , a show piece for the general to say look what I did for Thailand .

Thailand doesn't need a high speed train , that may not compete favourably with the quicker flight and compatible airfare .

Thailand could use a twin track broad gage railway that can serve a reasonably fast passenger service and to carry freight .

As for extending it into China , the Chinese may be numerous as tourists , but are notably ill mannered .

[X pat]

​Oh yea of little faith,they mint just supprize you,...............................................or not.

[DavisH]

Please tell me this will be an elevated railway

[Srikcir]

At the rate that the Prayut regime is borrowing money and supporting populist subsidies one might confuse it with a PTP regime.

But since Prayut can operate without prosecution for abuse of power nor recall by the Thai people, one cannot confuse the Prayut regime with democracy.

[Homeropec]

Business is business... billions of bath.... this explains partly the coup...

[wabothai]

They can't keep planes in the air, can't control traffic. Set your priorities generals, you are in way over your head.

Thailand and a bullit train...............?!?!