High speed rail: Pattaya to Bangkok in well under an hour - around 300 baht!

[sammieuk1]

Thailand high speed nervous .

[ChouDoufu]

i'd compare this to china's high-speed rail on hainan island.

haikou station to lingshui is about the same distance, about

200 km with 6 stops.  depending on how many stops are

skipped, flight time 1:15 to 1:45.  speeds up to 250 khm.

trains stop max. 3 minutes per station.

 

highly subsidized, 1st class 500 baht, 2nd class 400 baht.

 

completely separate from local traffic.  long sections, including

the part thru haikou city is fully elevated.

 

important note.......trains do NOT do 250 thru haikou.  speed

drops to 50-80 for a 20-km section.  expect the entire route

thru bangkok to the airport to be elevated and speed restricted.

[janclaes47]

27 minutes ago, theusedversion said:

1 hour ago, Pattaya46 said:

Please learn to count. 

No way you can do 220 km in 45 minutes running at 250 km/h,

and even far worse if you have to stop at 7 stations on the way !

It's only 120km from Suvarnabhumi and 165km from Don Mueang to Pattaya.

 

Other than learn to count, it's obvious some have also learn to read, as it clearly says u-tapao to the capital in the OP.

[Daveyh]

I can see a major tragedy brewing here if they are going to use the existing rail track albeit with new high speed rails. It crosses so many unmanned crossings from Utapo to Bangkok & if the signals/barriers fail to stop impatient motorcyclists from crossing during the warning of a train, approaching crossing at 250kph .......... hmmm! I can see real danger here until they get all the traffic laws enforced with heavy fines & jail terms, plus who is going to tackle the "mindset"of drivers? Driving responsibly here just doesn't happen. I don't think Thailand is ready for this. Safety barriers will need to be placed all along the track on both sides where it's possible for motorcycles to cross etc ........ not viable at all. An improved railway system would be more beneficial & definitely a mandatory speed limit. All this speed etc nonsense is a receipe for disaster ............... 

[natway09]

Build it BUT do NOT under any circumstances let the circus SRT run it

[AlQaholic]

Great starting project for improving transport infrastructure in Thailand, hope it takes off. I'm sure it will be profitable as well. It has to be elevated of course, like the high-speed train systems in Malaysia. I was very impressed by Malaysia's train systems.

[8OA8]

1 hour ago, sandrabbit said:

It's a hand drawn wish list map as it shows the final destination right in the city centre of Rayong, doubt they would get planning permission for that (would be nice though) as the previous plan was to have the station on the west side of the city near Map ta Phut.

The land ownership in certain areas may have to change hands before any of the actual stops can be decided 

[ChouDoufu]

1 minute ago, 8OA8 said:

The land ownership in certain areas may have to change hands before any of the actual stops can be decided 

thus ensuring the profitability of the project.

[sahibji]

6 hours ago, Wiggy said:

I hope the trains don't cross any roads. Most people around here can't see a train coming at 50kph, let alone 250.

it will likely be above ground level

 

[Acemaker]

1 hour ago, Xonax said:

Submarines and high-speed trains!!  When will they invest in proper waste and wastewater management, which is long overdue??

Dont forget Soi Dogs.  

[xerostar]

Why not have an under-sea high-speed rail tunnel between Pattaya and Huahin. To save money the public could be invited to help with the design.

Sent from my SM-N915F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[drbrit]

2 hours ago, jerry921 said:

Not that familiar with the place names or the map - does this stop at either airport? Or would you have to get off this somewhere and take another train to get to the airport? (I get that they haven't exactly fixed the route let alone built it, but given the stops that the article listed)

The map says stations at Don Meuang, Suvannabhumi, U-Tapao - all 3 airports.

 

 

[joecoolfrog]

I think most of us will have caught the high speed stairway to heaven before this scheme comes to fruition.

[Cranky]

Just saw it go past my window on the 14th floor, strong smell of bacon came followed it

[Justfine]

What's the hurry to visit Pattaya? I suppose it keeps the lower class tourists away from the better places and moves them on quickly.

[peperobi]

And another monument for someone who likes to be even in the next 100 years present in the people's mind!

[pattayadon]

Reminds me of "The Simpson's" monorail episode!  555

[reargunnerph3]

6 hours ago, Wiggy said:

I hope the trains don't cross any roads. Most people around here can't see a train coming at 50kph, let alone 250.

Just about to write the same thing, rail crossings will be a nightmare. Guaranteed to hit a bike, car, truck, bus or buffalo.

[CLW]

A good idea. But why this sick obsession with high-speed railway? Okay, they don't mention a design speed in the article.
And sometimes in previous news the writers have been confused and providing wrong information about this topic.
A design speed of 160 km/h would be the most economical in terms of construction cost and rolling stock.
And still fast enough to compete with road transport.
I hope some good consulting company opens their eyes.
But then it must be probably from the west which is highly unlikely...

[sandrabbit]

5 minutes ago, CLW said:

A good idea. But why this sick obsession with high-speed railway? Okay, they don't mention a design speed in the article.
And sometimes in previous news the writers have been confused and providing wrong information about this topic.
A design speed of 160 km/h would be the most economical in terms of construction cost and rolling stock.
And still fast enough to compete with road transport.
I hope some good consulting company opens their eyes.
But then it must be probably from the west which is highly unlikely...

I would be happy with a 'normal' speed dual track railway and actually invest in the infrastructure so it stops at Ban Phe, Klaeng, Chantaburi & Trat as well and was cheap enough for ordinary Thais to use so less people need to use the suicide buses.

[peterquixote]

You can not run that train for 300 bahts to Pattaya,

3000 baht and it would still run at a loss.

The high speed trains on the east coast China run at a loss

 with millions of people.

[realenglish1]

For it to keep its speed it will need to go through underpasses where there would normally be train crossings I trust the engineers are smart enough for this

[realenglish1]

The cheaper way is to just build car overpasses so the trains can run under them

[joskeshake]

I hope he has a better time table like the one from Saturday and Sunday.

[saminoz]

2 hours ago, Destiny1990 said:

I like this idea.

I find it as appealing as a Thai built and run nuclear power plant!

[CGW]

3 hours ago, Pattaya46 said:

Please learn to count. 

No way you can do 220 km in 45 minutes running at 250 km/h,

and even far worse if you have to stop at 7 stations on the way !

Where do you get the 220 km from? its around 170 by road if I remember correctly. Not going to be a smooth journey whatever the distance!

[mike324]

1 hour ago, akaika said:

Laem Chebang port covers four tambons one in Bang Lamung district the other three in Sriracha district.  Therefore, most people would consider the port to be "in Sriracha."

The 'stops' question is still convoluted but even when they mention the number of stops, the list includes the terminals so this is not not part of the total time.  And often there are trains that only make the main stops and trains that make all stops so the time could be actually correct for a 'ewer stop train' and this type of system is standard in any Asian country with high speed rail routes (Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan).

 

Seems like most folks have never taken the high speed train. Like you said, high speed trains also divide routes - ones that makes all the stops, or ones that don't stop or only make one stop. The times are achievable.

 

21 minutes ago, peterquixote said:

You can not run that train for 300 bahts to Pattaya,

3000 baht and it would still run at a loss.

The high speed trains on the east coast China run at a loss

 with millions of people.

There are only two bullet train lines that turn a profit in the world, one is in Japan, and one in France. There are countless number of others lines in those countries that are heavy in debt too.  Even in China where it links two cities with a population of 20 million, it still does not generate any profit.

 

The question is if they are building it to bullet train specs that can exceed 300 km/hr, or "high speed" specs that have max speed of 250km/hr. I believe the track system is very different and price wise is also very different.

[fak119]

Aren't they forgetting the Bus- and Taxi mafia?

[bkkgriz]

3 hours ago, Pattaya46 said:

Please learn to count. 

No way you can do 220 km in 45 minutes running at 250 km/h,

and even far worse if you have to stop at 7 stations on the way !

The train will be like a Bangkok bus. It doesn't stop. You have to jump on and off while it is at top speed. Silly farang. 

[Ossy]

2 hours ago, Xonax said:

Submarines and high-speed trains!!  When will they invest in proper waste and wastewater management, which is long overdue??

It's to be hoped they'll have waste-water management on the HS trains . . . and the subs, too, of course . . . yuchhh, the mind boggles. But I can't help thinking this is one of the many projects that the junta have been keen to airbrush themselves with, knowing that they won't need to do anything too committing or disastrous before election day, i.e. before 2020.