Rail projects set to boost Thai economy

[webfact]

Rail projects set to boost economy

BANGKOK, 6 May 2016 (NNT) – Investment in rail lines is expected to contribute to economic growth this year with 3 lines continuing their construction and 2 more set to go to auction within the year.

Deputy Governor of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) Theeraphan Thechasirinukul disclosed that a commission set up under the Public-Private Investment in State Projects Act has completed guidelines for investing in the Kaerai-Minburi Pink Line and Ladprao-Samrong Yellow Line train extensions. It is expected their Terms of Reference will be completed by the Ministry of Transport within May and they will be open for auction before the year’s end.

Currently, there are 3 train lines being constructed; the Bang Sue-Tha Phra Blue Line, Bering-Samut Park Green Line and Mo Chit-Ku Kot extension.

Additionally, high speed rails connecting Bangkok to Rayong and to Hua Hin worth 152 billion baht and 94.6 billion baht respectively, are being reviewed by State Enterprise Policy Office (SEPO) for private involvement through the PPP Fast Track program. Relevant data for the two projects is expected to be submitted for conclusion by June.

-- NNT 2016-05-06

[Pib]

Rail projects will also result in more borrowing/debt by the country...hopefully the benefits will out weigh the costs.

[marcusd]

Consider applications and fast track approvals all you want.

NO ONE is lending you the money

So more hot air from a hot air government

[kalbo123]

Have been hearing about new railways for about a decade now. CM-BKK still 13 hours by train, I believe it when i see it.

[ChrisY1]

The headline made me think for a fleeting moment that the country was moving ahead with fast rail.........but it's just Skytrain extensions.....in BKK......)

[northernboy]

So will they start the rapid transit system for Chiang Mai from the city to the proposed New airport? Seems like it might be better to have it completed by the time the new airport is completed and the new high-speed train station too.

I guess it will not be in my lifetime as I am passed 50 now. 555

[Morakot]

The headline made me think for a fleeting moment that the country was moving ahead with fast rail.........but it's just Skytrain extensions.....in BKK......)

Yes, urban mass transportation run by the Thai railway authority...

[BSJ]

"high speed rails connecting Bangkok to Rayong and to Hua Hin worth 152 billion baht and 94.6 billion baht" Will these new rail projects be named "Graft" and 'Corruption'?

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

Lets look at the figures and discard the emotional pep talks. The rail projects are less than B 2,5 tn in value and will be spend over an eight year period. This is +-B300 bn per year. The normal government budget is B 2,7 tn per year. The effect of these projects will be marginal during the construction phase. After construction the effectiveness of these rail lines will depend on who is managing them. If its the SRT it will make a loss that the tax payers will have to pay on top of the capital repayment. The real reason for these projects are brown envelopes and paying back of past favors.

[Hawk]

Rail projects set to deplete Thai economy.

[rmacee]

High speed rail here just isn't going to happen .. No one will pay the fares that will be more expensive than flying and 4 to 6 times more expensive than by bus ..

Why can't they improve what they got. A 400km trip from Surin to BKK takes 8 hours, one reason is that it is a shared single track ..

Edited May 6, 2016 by rmacee

[gandalf12]

Lets look at the figures and discard the emotional pep talks. The rail projects are less than B 2,5 tn in value and will be spend over an eight year period. This is +-B300 bn per year. The normal government budget is B 2,7 tn per year. The effect of these projects will be marginal during the construction phase. After construction the effectiveness of these rail lines will depend on who is managing them. If its the SRT it will make a loss that the tax payers will have to pay on top of the capital repayment. The real reason for these projects are brown envelopes and paying back of past favors.

Like the channel tunnel between England and France (or chunnel as it is known). That will take a lifetime to just break even forget making money

[mtls2005]

Lets look at the figures and discard the emotional pep talks. The rail projects are less than B 2,5 tn in value and will be spend over an eight year period. This is +-B300 bn per year. The normal government budget is B 2,7 tn per year. The effect of these projects will be marginal during the construction phase. After construction the effectiveness of these rail lines will depend on who is managing them. If its the SRT it will make a loss that the tax payers will have to pay on top of the capital repayment. The real reason for these projects are brown envelopes and paying back of past favors.

Do these figures cover rolling stock, control systems, ticketing systems, stations, crossings, maintenance (just kidding)?

HSR to Hua Hin and Rayong seem interesting (I guess), but unless there is some decent frequency, like 6 - 10 dailies, and centrally located stations, then this is doomed.

What will the fares be? Who will use this service?

[marcusd]

So who is paying for all this as I don't see Japan or China rushing and that has already been 2 or 3 years now. Correct me if I am mistaken,...

[phoenixdoglover]

The government can talk all they want about these "investments" helping the economy, but it isn't investments that do that, it is actual spending for goods and services.

On that score, most of the proposed projects have not reached that stage, and are being recast under the PPP model for lack of G2G investors and lack of Thai government capital.

It remains to be seen whether any of the PPP deals are attractive.

This year? Hardly.

Edited May 6, 2016 by phoenixdoglover

[talayjay]

Lets look at the figures and discard the emotional pep talks. The rail projects are less than B 2,5 tn in value and will be spend over an eight year period. This is +-B300 bn per year. The normal government budget is B 2,7 tn per year. The effect of these projects will be marginal during the construction phase. After construction the effectiveness of these rail lines will depend on who is managing them. If its the SRT it will make a loss that the tax payers will have to pay on top of the capital repayment. The real reason for these projects are brown envelopes and paying back of past favors.

Do these figures cover rolling stock, control systems, ticketing systems, stations, crossings, maintenance (just kidding)?

HSR to Hua Hin and Rayong seem interesting (I guess), but unless there is some decent frequency, like 6 - 10 dailies, and centrally located stations, then this is doomed.

What will the fares be? Who will use this service?

Good questions. Initially, the land (owners) will use the service as they do on every HSR project (in every country) I have been involved with. After that the GP will use a subsidised service which will gradually fade from the headlines.

Edited May 6, 2016 by talayjay

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

Shipping more goods by train in Thailand would save the country money in the long run, but I can't see that the high speed rails will make money here. Even if the local Minivans and busses are death traps, the locals will use them before the trains.

[gemguy]

Ahhhh....The general and his boys are rubbing their hands together and overwhelmed with glee thinking if they can push theses projects through before they have elections and obtain their fair share of the money involved then...Wah Hoo....Bonus money...Big time...Retirement Money...Swiss bank accounts and all....lol

Those projects involve more than 10 billon US dollars total...so crunch the numbers and use your imagination.

Cheers

[gk10002000]

They won't build the infrastructure properly, bridges, elevated track on low level ground subject to flooding etc. The contractors will get incentive fees for rapid progress and do shoddy work

[gemguy]

Shipping more goods by train in Thailand would save the country money in the long run, but I can't see that the high speed rails will make money here. Even if the local Minivans and busses are death traps, the locals will use them before the trains.

I predict you are mistaken in your analyses.

There will be more than enough people using the train services while the current BTS system is a perfect example of a successful enterprise that is now over crowded by all the people using the service...but not totally overcrowded like in Hong Kong and Japan.

I remember the first day the Silom Line opened and I was on the train at the Surasak Station, early in the morning and myself and only 3 or 4 other people were on the train to Siam and picked up several more people along the way.

6 months later the trains were crowded and have been ever since.

I remember they were interviewing Thai people on TV and asking them about their thoughts and opinions on the new BTS system while most of them said it was too expensive or way too expensive and they would not use the system.

It did not matter what they said ...the system is used by more than enough people to make it a profitable affair and you see, all theses years later, huge amounts of people use the system and pay the price for the time saved and the convenience.

Back then I was hoping they would have interviewed me about the service and whether I would use it because I would have told them the service is perfect because:

:The service is conveniently provided to the Golden Triangle area of Bangkok"....Pat Pong ....Nana....and Soi Cowboy...the 3 most important points in Bangkok....lol

Cheers

[tom21]

great when it (if) it happens

[rubl]

The government can talk all they want about these "investments" helping the economy, but it isn't investments that do that, it is actual spending for goods and services.

On that score, most of the proposed projects have not reached that stage, and are being recast under the PPP model for lack of G2G investors and lack of Thai government capital.

It remains to be seen whether any of the PPP deals are attractive.

This year? Hardly.

Actually the 'recasting' was being done more than a year ago already

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/819801-cp-to-invest-in-bangkok-pattaya-rayong-high-speed-train/?hl=%2Brail+%2Bhigh+%2Bspeed+%2Brayong

and in January 2016 even our Sriksir thought it a good idea.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/890081-bangkok-rayong-high-speed-rail-proposed-for-ppp-fast-track-status/#entry10360107

Edited May 8, 2016 by rubl

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

Shipping more goods by train in Thailand would save the country money in the long run, but I can't see that the high speed rails will make money here. Even if the local Minivans and busses are death traps, the locals will use them before the trains.

I predict you are mistaken in your analyses.

There will be more than enough people using the train services while the current BTS system is a perfect example of a successful enterprise that is now over crowded by all the people using the service...but not totally overcrowded like in Hong Kong and Japan.

I remember the first day the Silom Line opened and I was on the train at the Surasak Station, early in the morning and myself and only 3 or 4 other people were on the train to Siam and picked up several more people along the way.

6 months later the trains were crowded and have been ever since.

I remember they were interviewing Thai people on TV and asking them about their thoughts and opinions on the new BTS system while most of them said it was too expensive or way too expensive and they would not use the system.

It did not matter what they said ...the system is used by more than enough people to make it a profitable affair and you see, all theses years later, huge amounts of people use the system and pay the price for the time saved and the convenience.

Back then I was hoping they would have interviewed me about the service and whether I would use it because I would have told them the service is perfect because:

:The service is conveniently provided to the Golden Triangle area of Bangkok"....Pat Pong ....Nana....and Soi Cowboy...the 3 most important points in Bangkok....lol

Cheers

I am talking about the high speed trains connecting Bangkok to Rayong and to Hua Hin worth 152 billion baht and 94.6 billion baht respectively, not the BTS lines.

Edited May 8, 2016 by HiSoLowSoNoSo

[MaiChai]

Seems alot of posters didnt read the article? This is about metro lines around bangkok not the high speed train plans. There was a master plan put together for lots of lines around bangkok and these are the next ones to be implemented.

[jerojero]

And what are these fantastic trains going to transport? Producing more goods and services boosts economies, not just new transportation capacity.

[phoenixdoglover]

Seems alot of posters didnt read the article? This is about metro lines around bangkok not the high speed train plans. There was a master plan put together for lots of lines around bangkok and these are the next ones to be implemented.

The article is about both metro lines and high speed intercity lines.