Transport Ministry to seek new Cabinet’s nod for 3 Red Line extensions

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2023

The Transport Ministry will ask the new Cabinet to approve three extension projects for the urban Red Line railway that will require a combined budget of 21.754 billion baht, a ministry source said.

Two extensions are from Taling Chan – to Salaya and to Siriraj Hospital – and the other is from Rangsit to Thammasat University’s Rangsit campus, the source said.

The 14.8-kilometre Taling Chan-Salaya extension will require 10.67 billion baht to build. The cost includes railway construction (8.076 billion baht) and power system installation (2.284 billion baht), with the rest going to pay consultants.

The ministry submitted the project for Cabinet deliberation, but the government failed to approve it before House dissolution in March so it was withdrawn.

The source said the ministry is in the process of compiling new information before submitting the project to the new Cabinet by October. If approved, the bidding will be held in the first quarter of next year and construction will take about three years, the source added.

The ministry will ask the Cabinet to approve a budget of 4.616 billion baht for the 5.7km Taling Chan-Siriraj extension.

The cost includes 2.798 billion baht for railway construction and 1.670 billion for system installation, with the rest being spent on consultants.

Transport Ministry to seek new Cabinet’s nod for 3 Red Line extensions The source said the Transport Ministry was asked by the Finance Ministry to explain its budget to the Finance Ministry before the project is submitted to the Cabinet for deliberation.

If approved, the project’s bidding would be held in the first quarter of next year and construction would be completed in three years.

The third extension is an 8.84km railway from Rangsit to Thammasat’s Rangsit campus. It will require a budget of 6.468 billion baht. Railway construction will cost 4.055 billion baht and the system installation cost will be 2.004 billion baht.

The source said the ministry had submitted the project to the Cabinet but it was not approved before House dissolution so it was withdrawn.

The project will be sent to the new Cabinet for approval in October. If approved, its bidding will be held in the first quarter next year and construction will take three years, the source said.