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The Transport Ministry plans to table four electric train projects at a Cabinet meeting next month, the National News Bureau of Thailand reported. 
Transport deputy permanent secretary Peraphon Thawornsupacharoen said the projects are for the southern section of the Purple Line between Tao Pun and Rat Burana, the western section of the Orange Line between the Thailand Cultural Centre and Taling Chan, the Yellow Line between Lat Phrao and Samrong and the Pink Line between Khae Rai and Min Buri. 
The proposals are being vetted by the State Enterprise Policy Office and the Attorney-General’s Office. 
If approved, the Transport Ministry will proceed with putting the projects out to bidding. Construction is estimated to take about five to six years for one. 

TOURISM CHIEFS HAIL RISE IN STANDARDS

A rise in tourism standards nationwide is among the top policy achievements of the Tourism Department in the first half of this fiscal year, tourism director-general Wanasiri Morakul said.
Other accomplishments claimed by the department include regulations for tour operators and guides to increase protection for consumers, the training of Chinese- and English-speaking guides for Grand Palace tours and the training of tourism operators on tourism-related laws.
The department also cited the training for young people under the Little Guides project to strengthen local pride and community-based tourism. In the six months to March, the department succeeded in improving service quality and tourist satisfaction, helped by the establishment of a Thai tourism standard and associated regulations.
 
ALIBABA SITE DRAWS DISABLED VENDORS

Taobao, an online platform under the Alibaba Group, has been helping the disabled to set up their own e-commerce businesses, a report shows. 
The report, released by AliResearch and the China Disabled Persons’ Federation, said there were 160,000 Taobao stores operated by people known to have disabilities for the year to March this year. During this period, these stores achieved 12.4 billion yuan (Bt61.6 billion) in sales.
Benefiting from the low start-up costs, disabled people are leveraging Taobao to launch their businesses as Alibaba provides fast-track set-up, discount services and training support, the report says.