SRT banks on three new units
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) expects its three new business units to support its Bt176.81-billion investment plan over the next five years, Deputy Minister of Transport Pol Lt-General Chatt Kuldiloke said.
According to the framework for construction of double tracks over 873km, acquisition of more than 70 locomotive units and 605 units of transport tracks, the SRT has to restructure its business to support the investment plan and the way to develop the rail system.
The move is expected to reduce logistic costs when the Asean Economic Community (AEC) comes into effect in 2015. The three new business units are – transportation, maintenance, and asset management. They will help the SRT to develop its transportation system to serve the demands of passengers and cargo.
After reorganisation, it is expected that the SRT will be able to increase cargo and container transport from 11 million tonnes in 2010 to 37 million tonnes in 2020; increase the number of passengers from 48 million in 2010 to 71 million in 2020; increase the average speed from 50-60 km per hour at present to 90-100km per hour; and reduce national energy consumption worth Bt20 billion to Bt30 billion as more companies and passengers decide to choose the SRT as their mode of transport, he said.
