Nong Khai-Satun high-speed rail route revised to bypass Bangkok

According to the original plan, the Thai section of the route was from Nong Khai to Satun's Pak Bara Port via Nakhon Ratchasima and Bangkok. Instead, the route will be from Nong Khai to Laem Chabang Port via Nakhon Ratchasima, without passing through Bangkok.

Deputy Transport Minister Pol Lt-General Chatt Kuldiloke said the government wants to adjust the route of the high-speed train to allow goods from China and neighbouring countries, as well as the Northeast of Thailand, to reach Laem Chabang without having to go through Bangkok.

He also discussed rail width with executives of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) and the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning. They agreed to a plan involving three tracks combining the high-speed train, which will use a standard gauge of 1.435 metres, with an ordinary train gauge of one metre. The SRT will study the technical problems and cost of construction to determine whether the project is feasible. The study would be completed by the end of this month, Chatt said.

SRT Governor Yuthana Thapcharoen said railways in Thailand currently use a one-metre gauge, and there are no tracks with a width of 1.435 metres. The SRT will further study whether conventional trains will be allowed to travel on the same track as the new high-speed train. The SRT needs to look at the whole picture, because goods transported to Bangkok come mostly from the North, Northeast and the South, Yuthana said.

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The Transport Ministry plans the following high-speed rail routes for Thailand: Bangkok-Chiang Mai; Bangkok-Ubon Ratchathani; Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima; Bangkok-Hua Hin-Padang Besar; and Bangkok-Rayong. It is most likely that the public sector will construct the track and other basic infrastructure while the government will ask the private sector to invest in the high-speed rolling stock. A decision on whether the latter investment will be in the form of a joint venture or a concession will be made later.

According to a study by the Transport Ministry, a high-speed rail route from Bangkok to Chiang Mai covering a distance of 745 km will cost Bt230 billion, and from Bangkok to Rayong covering a distance of 221 km will cost Bt60.15 billion. The first phase of the Bangkok-Phitsanulok route, covering a distance of 382 km, will be completed in 2015 along with the Bangkok-Rayong route. The stretches from Bangkok to Nong Khai and from Bangkok to the southernmost provinces will require a gauge of 1.435 metres, allowing trains to travel at up to 200 kph.

A source from the ministry said an MOU on the project that Thailand sent to China has not made any progress, as China is waiting for more details from Thailand's new government before negotiations can proceed. Changing the route for passengers and freight from Nakhon Ratchasima to Laem Chabang without going through Bangkok is one adjustment that needs to be discussed, the source said.