Rail line across Thailand runs into resistance

Tan Hui Yee Thailand Correspondent In Bangkok

 

BANGKOK: -- Work on a railway line that would link the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea has hit a hurdle after opposition by residents in southern Thailand.

 

The National Environment Board on Monday rejected a proposal on the project after locals complained it had been drawn up without their involvement, as required under the law.

 

Its environmental impact assessment "was conducted without people's participation", local and environmental activist Wichoksak Ronnarongpairee told The Straits Times.

 

Full story: http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/rail-line-across-thailand-runs-into-resistance

 

-- THE STRAITS TIMES 2016-08-03

Number 44 will take care of this.

Push it downstream with boat propellers.

2 hours ago, rkidlad said:

Push it downstream with boat propellers.

 

Interesting comment when you remember that the creator of the boat propellers idea to reduce the floods is none other than the scaly politician who prevented locals from attending environmental hearings and labelled local uneductaed people to be rubbish.

"Officials had touted it as a quicker alternative to container ships now running between Europe and Asia, saving shippers the 1,000km journey around peninsular Malaysia - in other words, a land-based version of an idea to build a canal across the Kra Isthmus.  That idea never took off because of prohibitive costs."

Published in the Straits Times. Why would Singapore welcome an idea that cuts into their raison d'etre.

The idea is sound but there is politics involved as always.

5 hours ago, webfact said:

it had been drawn up without their involvement, as required under the law.

If the 2016 draft charter passes, Thais will lose the ability to sue the government to stop such projects for any reason. Meaningful public participation in governance of the nation currently is not a hallmark of the junta's reforms.

"From a port... to another port".

 

Lazy reporting from the Straits Times. Where exactly is the proposed line? How about a map?

 

4 hours ago, khwaibah said:

Number 44 will take care of this.

Don't waste my time talk to the club. 

2 hours ago, scorecard said:

 

Interesting comment when you remember that the creator of the boat propellers idea to reduce the floods is none other than the scaly politician who prevented locals from attending environmental hearings and labelled local uneductaed people to be rubbish.

Scaly? Did you mean old chubby cheeks?

I was referring to plod......

Most stupid idea in ages.... Lock this idiot up for life !!!

 

How long will it take to unload, transport and load a few thousand containers. 

The 1000 km over sea around the peninsula won't even take 40 hours.

 

It takes longer to disembark 1000 containers. 

Maersk Line only has ships that contain at least 14,500 TEU (20 ft. containers, TEU=Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit).

That takes 1 week to disembark and more that a week to embark !!!

 

So this 1000 km short cut is a waist of time and money. 

It won't change the international routes. Smaller ships can better set sail to Singapore and have their loads changed to an inter continental ship. There is no way that a containership will embark at Thailands west coast. 

 

 

7 minutes ago, FredNL said:

Most stupid idea in ages.... Lock this idiot up for life !!!

 

How long will it take to unload, transport and load a few thousand containers. 

The 1000 km over sea around the peninsula won't even take 40 hours.

 

It takes longer to disembark 1000 containers. 

Maersk Line only has ships that contain at least 14,500 TEU (20 ft. containers, TEU=Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit).

That takes 1 week to disembark and more that a week to embark !!!

 

So this 1000 km short cut is a waist of time and money. 

It won't change the international routes. Smaller ships can better set sail to Singapore and have their loads changed to an inter continental ship. There is no way that a containership will embark at Thailands west coast. 

 

 

 

Absolutely. Not to mention the additional cost of the two docking operations, the loading/unloading, the train transportation, all the paperwork, additional insurance etc. All that just to save 500 miles steady sailing. I don't think anyone has thought this through...

 

4 hours ago, ratcatcher said:

"Officials had touted it as a quicker alternative to container ships now running between Europe and Asia, saving shippers the 1,000km journey around peninsular Malaysia - in other words, a land-based version of an idea to build a canal across the Kra Isthmus.  That idea never took off because of prohibitive costs."

Published in the Straits Times. Why would Singapore welcome an idea that cuts into their raison d'etre.

The idea is sound but there is politics involved as always.

I don' think it would be a go'er.

If the sailing distance is reduced by1000 km, say 36 hours, is that worth docking the ship, unloading the containers, loading them onto a train, hauling them across the isthmus, unloading them from the train and loading them onto another ship. I wouldn't think so.

just another scam to get  tens of million baht to conduct a "feasibility" study. Anybody noticed this type of scam yet? Always amazed how expensive it cost the government to conduct a feasibility study, especially when they always hire local Thais / Thai universities.

On Wednesday, August 03, 2016 at 2:41 PM, ddavidovsky said:

 

Absolutely. Not to mention the additional cost of the two docking operations, the loading/unloading, the train transportation, all the paperwork, additional insurance etc. All that just to save 500 miles steady sailing. I don't think anyone has thought this through...

 

Oh yes we did, we thought about it over lunch. 

On 8/3/2016 at 2:41 PM, ddavidovsky said:

 

Absolutely. Not to mention the additional cost of the two docking operations, the loading/unloading, the train transportation, all the paperwork, additional insurance etc. All that just to save 500 miles steady sailing. I don't think anyone has thought this through...

 

Does anybody here.....ever? The land of "Build it and they will come!" 

Isn't the main raison d'etre that the sea-lanes South past Singapore are so busy as to be close-to-capacity ?

 

And since Laem Chabang is the 22nd-busiest container-port in the world, perhaps Thais have some expertise, in the rapid loading/unloading of containers ?

On 8/3/2016 at 10:12 AM, Srikcir said:

If the 2016 draft charter passes, Thais will lose the ability to sue the government to stop such projects for any reason. Meaningful public participation in governance of the nation currently is not a hallmark of the junta's reforms.

The PM has told parliament that. Free internet and dabate is holding the nation back. Come on, Sirkcir, be reasonble why doncha? ?