Hua Hin High-speed Rail Put on Fast Track

[snoop1130]

Hua Hin High-speed Rail Put on Fast Track

 

 

Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak has sped up the construction of four high-speed railways, pushed for
property development along their routes and pointed at the Bangkok-Rayong railroad as the pilot project.

 

“Many stations along the railroads have potential to develop commercially,” he said after meeting yesterday with Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith on drawing up a plan to make use of land along the rail lines. The move is part of the government’s policy to drive the economy through investment along the East Economic Corridor. The three other lines are BangkokNakhon Ratchasima, Bangkok-Hua Hin and Bangkok-Chiang Mai. The Transport Ministry would study the return on investment of each project and the number of stations with potential for commercial development.

 

“We expect the study’s results within two weeks before submitting it to the premier,” he said. Arkhom said the Transport Ministry expects to propose two high-speed railway projects – Bangkok-Rayong and Bangkok-Hua Hin – to the PPP Committee for consideration this month at the earliest or later next month.

 

The aim is to seek participation from the private sector. For the Bangkok-Rayong commercial development project, the ministry expects to open bidding by the end of this year. In parallel, bidding on the construction and operation of the 193km Bangkok-Rayong and the 211km Bangkok-Hua Hin high-speed railway projects would be pushed to open this year. The Bangkok-Rayong project was estimated at Bt95 billion and the BangkokHua Hin project at Bt152 billion. “Both railroads are waiting for the results of their environment impact assessment, expecting that they should be coming out this month before seeking approval from the Cabinet,” he said. – The Nation

 

Source: http://www.huahintoday.com/local-news/hua-hin-high-speed-rail-put-fast-track/

 

-- Hua Hin Today 2016-09-01

[Cuchulainn]

A Lovely picture, however, don't see any noodle carts, touts or motorbikes on the ramp up to the station.

 

Come on!! Get a grip. What's wrong with you!?

[hansnl]

Two rail systems don't go together.

Better develop the existing lines and services, build some new lines including east-west cross-country, buy new rolling stock, then start to roll out electrification of the main connections.

Resulting in a medium speed

(150 km/u) rail system, suitable for passenger and freight traffic.

Cannot escape the idea this craze about high speed rail is a fad.

[williamgeorgeallen]

dont use a foreign architect. god forbid we have another fiasco like the current tallest building in bangkok. oh the shame of it all.

[williamgeorgeallen]

dont use a foreign architect. god forbid we have another fiasco like the current tallest building in bangkok. oh the shame of it all.

[keskeseksa]

So why does it take 4 years to implement a ferry connection between Hua Hin and Pattaya? No rails to install, and I assume the landings already exist or needs simple modification. 

[Crossy]

2 hours ago, hansnl said:

Two rail systems don't go together.

Better develop the existing lines and services, build some new lines including east-west cross-country, buy new rolling stock, then start to roll out electrification of the main connections.

Resulting in a medium speed

(150 km/u) rail system, suitable for passenger and freight traffic.

Cannot escape the idea this craze about high speed rail is a fad.

 

But that would be sensible Hans.

 

A system that's do-able in a reasonable time scale at a reasonable cost and will actually provide a usable service.

 

But it won't have the perceived kudos of "high speed" and we all know that Thai governments (not just our current one) like kudos.

 

[sahibji]

50 minutes ago, keskeseksa said:

So why does it take 4 years to implement a ferry connection between Hua Hin and Pattaya? No rails to install, and I assume the landings already exist or needs simple modification. 

studies do take a long time.better spend longer time on the studies rather than on the infrastructure which is later found out to be economically not viable.

[sahibji]

2 hours ago, williamgeorgeallen said:

dont use a foreign architect. god forbid we have another fiasco like the current tallest building in bangkok. oh the shame of it all.

ya ya ya

[sahibji]

15 hours ago, Cuchulainn said:

A Lovely picture, however, don't see any noodle carts, touts or motorbikes on the ramp up to the station.

 

Come on!! Get a grip. What's wrong with you!?

must be an artist's impression.

 

[mike324]

Hua Hin line is really not needed at all. The priority should be the Bangkok Rayong and Chiang Mai line.

Rayong line will be beneficial for businesses and tourists.

[swissbie]

22 minutes ago, mike324 said:

Hua Hin line is really not needed at all. The priority should be the Bangkok Rayong and Chiang Mai line.

Rayong line will be beneficial for businesses and tourists.

BKK - Hua Hin (-Surat - Hat Yei - KL - Singapore) makes more sense than a connection to southwest China via Chiengmai.

[juehoe]

2 hours ago, mike324 said:

Hua Hin line is really not needed at all. The priority should be the Bangkok Rayong and Chiang Mai line.

Rayong line will be beneficial for businesses and tourists.

 

There is a belief, that (rich) Bangkok businessmen will live in Hua Hin and commute by a fast train to Bangkok. This maybe could make sense. The consequences would be a rise in property prices here.

 

I don't think that Bangkok Thais would travel for their weekend vacation by train. You need a car in Hua Hin. So they have to send their driver in advance to Hua Hin, without or with car.

 

Foreign tourists may use a high-speed train, but this would not be enough to make it profitable.

 

I assume/fear (hope?), that the project will fail because of corruption and lack of management capabilities. The ferry projects will probably a failure, too.

[PETERTHEEATER]

20 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

“Both railroads are waiting for the results of their environment impact assessment,

The sound of two high speed trains colliding head on?

[Cuchulainn]

3 hours ago, sahibji said:

must be an artist's impression.

 

 

That's who I'm talking to!!

[spidermike007]

Bangkok to Hua Hin is a great start. It is a very popular destination with Thai tourists, and would mean less cars on the road within Bangkok, and on the highway. And it would be a start of a major north-south line, eventually going down to Surat, and further. This train is long overdue. The Yingbat did not spend any money on infrastructure, due to her harebrained pledging schemes, which nearly broke the country, in a pathological desire for relatively illegitimate votes. 

 

Many of us hope the little man follows through with this plan. He is not exactly known as Mr. Follow Up. 

[mike324]

On 9/2/2016 at 0:15 PM, swissbie said:

BKK - Hua Hin (-Surat - Hat Yei - KL - Singapore) makes more sense than a connection to southwest China via Chiengmai.

 

Actually I did not think of the train going down all the way South, main reason is that not many travel that route. More Thais travel upnorth than south, hence the Chiang Mai route actually makes more sense especially if it stops in Korat.

[mike324]

On 9/2/2016 at 2:55 PM, juehoe said:

 

There is a belief, that (rich) Bangkok businessmen will live in Hua Hin and commute by a fast train to Bangkok. This maybe could make sense. The consequences would be a rise in property prices here.

 

I don't think that Bangkok Thais would travel for their weekend vacation by train. You need a car in Hua Hin. So they have to send their driver in advance to Hua Hin, without or with car.

 

Foreign tourists may use a high-speed train, but this would not be enough to make it profitable.

 

I assume/fear (hope?), that the project will fail because of corruption and lack of management capabilities. The ferry projects will probably a failure, too.

 

I agree most Thais will drive instead of taking the train. From Bangkok its only around 2 hour drive, there is just not enough tourist to make Hua Hin route viable in any way.

[wpcoe]

On 9/6/2016 at 5:29 PM, mike324 said:

 

I agree most Thais will drive instead of taking the train. From Bangkok its only around 2 hour drive, there is just not enough tourist to make Hua Hin route viable in any way.

 

"...around 2 hour drive"?  Do you drive like Speed Racer?     Granted, I've never driven it myself but have taken the Bell Travel bus from the airport over a dozen times, and it has never taken less than 3.25 hours.  I've taken a taxi a couple times in the dead of night after a midnight flight arrival and it took just under three hours.

 

That said, the convenience of driving -- especially if you have your own car and there are multiple passengers -- could easily trump even a high-speed train.  The logistics of getting to/from the train stations in both Bangkok and Hua Hin can be significant factors.

 

I'm a train person and actually enjoy the slow pokey "Express" trains, but admittedly the trains themselves are a bit aged and run down.

[geriatrickid]

On 9/2/2016 at 0:16 AM, Crossy said:

 

But that would be sensible Hans.

 

A system that's do-able in a reasonable time scale at a reasonable cost and will actually provide a usable service.

 

But it won't have the perceived kudos of "high speed" and we all know that Thai governments (not just our current one) like kudos.

 

 

I believe you missed a vital aspect of the issue, the current infrastructure really is beyond salvageable. It is more cost effective to start from scratch than to attempt to convert the existing infrastructure. 

 

I don't believe I will be in Thailand if and when there is a high speed rail link to Hua Hin, but if  there ever was a  connection, especially one that linked up with BKK, it would change  tourism for the region. PKK is the last undeveloped beach area of Thailand and it would greatly benefit from high speed rail.

 

I have taken the train once from bangkok and I will never do it again. I forced my Thai friends into it after begging for years to give it a go. They stood for 4 1/2 hours as the diesel rail car chugged to Hua Hin. I have never been allowed to forget my error.

[mike324]

On 9/10/2016 at 11:04 AM, wpcoe said:

 

"...around 2 hour drive"?  Do you drive like Speed Racer?     Granted, I've never driven it myself but have taken the Bell Travel bus from the airport over a dozen times, and it has never taken less than 3.25 hours.  I've taken a taxi a couple times in the dead of night after a midnight flight arrival and it took just under three hours.

 

That said, the convenience of driving -- especially if you have your own car and there are multiple passengers -- could easily trump even a high-speed train.  The logistics of getting to/from the train stations in both Bangkok and Hua Hin can be significant factors.

 

I'm a train person and actually enjoy the slow pokey "Express" trains, but admittedly the trains themselves are a bit aged and run down.

 

If coming from Bangkok downtown and you take the highway, yes it takes around 2 hours going around 100 -120 km/hr for the most part of it. Bangkok to Hua Hin is around 200 km. So not exactly speed racer speed.  If you are taking the bus, yes it takes 3 hours or so.

 

Airport is further away, so it should take around 2.30. Perhaps your taxi driver was driving more careful, so just under 3 hours from the airport is not bad and you should be happy he didn't fall asleep and you arrived safely 

[xkkpafi]

Who will get there first? Men on Mars or the HST. Current odds: MoM 4/6, HST 100/1.

[xkkpafi]

Who will get there first? Men on Mars or the HST. Current odds: MoM 4/6, HST 100/1.