High-speed rail project linking three Thai airports to be signed next month

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Airport-rail link project; Map Ta Phut port project to be signed next month

by Tewit Kemtong

 

File photo

 

BANGKOK, 25 June 2019(NNT) - The Eastern Economic Corridor Policy Committee has acknowledged progress in the high-speed rail project to link three airports and the Map Ta Phut industrial port development project. Contracts for both projects are expected to be signed between state firms and private concessionaires next month.

 

The Eastern Economic Corridor Policy Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha, acknowledged approval by the National Environment Board, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan, for an Environmental Impact Assessment study on the high-speed rail project to link three major airports.

 

The State Railway of Thailand and the private concessionaire are expected to sign the construction contract next month. This is the first public-private joint venture of the Eastern Economic Corridor project.

 

The Eastern Economic Corridor Policy Committee also acknowledged progress in Map Ta Phut industrial port’s Phase 3 development project, the contract for which has been scrutinized by the Office of the Attorney General. It is to be resubmitted to the Eastern Economic Corridor Policy Committee by July 1 before being forwarded to the cabinet. The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand and the private concessionaire are expected to sign the contract next month.

 

Source: http://thainews.prd.go.th/en/news/detail/TCATG190625161120000

 

-- © Copyright nnt 2019-06-25

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[seajae]

bet there will be a nice commission for them in this

 

[bangkokfrog]

This is a strange project, given that the "private concessionaires" are a consortium led by none other than CP Group, which seems to have little expertise to offer in the building of railways. As the only wholly Thai engineering company involved appears to be Italian Thai Development, who have some serious PR issues these days, I can only wonder if CP taking the lead role is little more than a smoke screen to make sure that the action is shared among the right families 

[alant]

15 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

by July 1 before being forwarded to the cabinet

is there a cabinet?

[smutcakes]

Who the hell transfers between airports?? Sure in unusual circumstance some people would, or when they screwed up a booking. But generally speaking people dont need to transfer directly between the two on the same day.

[cornishcarlos]

28 minutes ago, alant said:

is there a cabinet?

 

No and that's why he is delaying the formation until all dodgy deals are signed, therefore no accountability in the future...

[VMOMMO]

Wouldn’t it be simpler just to expand Seampy and have one decent airport with sufficient capacity?

[legend49]

The big difference is signing is easy, implementation well that's a big problem.

[BigBadGeordie]

33 minutes ago, smutcakes said:

Who the hell transfers between airports?? Sure in unusual circumstance some people would, or when they screwed up a booking. But generally speaking people dont need to transfer directly between the two on the same day.

Every time I fly out of Thailand, or even simply going to Phuket, I have to transfer between Don Muang and Swampy. A large number of people using internal flights have to do the same.

I am sure this link, if ever completed, will be of great benefit.

[PhonThong]

41 minutes ago, smutcakes said:

Who the hell transfers between airports?? Sure in unusual circumstance some people would, or when they screwed up a booking. But generally speaking people dont need to transfer directly between the two on the same day.

Flying to BKK from Roi et. The only option is to fly into DMK. From there you must take alternate transportation to Suvarnabhumi. IE, taxi, bus. Takes about 45 minutes to an hour.  A high speed rail would be great.   

[smutcakes]

7 minutes ago, BigBadGeordie said:

Every time I fly out of Thailand, or even simply going to Phuket, I have to transfer between Don Muang and Swampy. A large number of people using internal flights have to do the same.

I am sure this link, if ever completed, will be of great benefit.

To be fair i had not considered that, but really i cannot believe the numbers are that high to justify the project.

[leeneeds]

No peak hour traffic to deal with when catching internal flight is a boon, being able to get to and from either airports will be a pleasure non stressful trip,

one service I will look forward to using.

[Assurancetourix]

1 hour ago, smutcakes said:

Who the hell transfers between airports?? Sure in unusual circumstance some people would, or when they screwed up a booking. But generally speaking people dont need to transfer directly between the two on the same day.

Much more than you think;
it is enough to read the questions on some other forums than  thaivisa to realize that many Western travelers who arrive at Souvanaphum (i) have a domestic flight and sometimes even an international flight in continuation but departing from Don Muang;
for the moment it is 1 hour to 2 hours taxi to reach the two airports;
with this train, if one day it exists , it will be maximum 30 minutes.

[essox essox]

1 hour ago, smutcakes said:

Who the hell transfers between airports?? Sure in unusual circumstance some people would, or when they screwed up a booking. But generally speaking people dont need to transfer directly between the two on the same day.

quite true...if i go anywhere it is either swampy or D M, so I would go to my designated airport...and fly out....a total waste of money this proposed project is....money better spent on health care !!

[paulbrow]

Personally I think it is long overdue and should have been implemented when they reopened DM.

[sammieuk1]

I see high speed train hits out of control pickup headline being prepared on day one????

[Jane Dough]

1 hour ago, smutcakes said:

To be fair i had not considered that, but really i cannot believe the numbers are that high to justify the project.

It's not principally about connecting the airports - it's about connecting the airports to Pattaya and elsewhere in the Eastern Seaboard. The thinking behind the scheme is sound and is likely to herald a big rethink on what Pattaya is and what it should become, in my opinion. 

 

Rooster

[newnative]

2 hours ago, smutcakes said:

Who the hell transfers between airports?? Sure in unusual circumstance some people would, or when they screwed up a booking. But generally speaking people dont need to transfer directly between the two on the same day.

   So true.  Why would I fly into a Bangkok airport and then need to go out to U-Tapao?   And, how many tourists are going to take it from Suvarnabumi to get to Pattaya?  Many are on tours and take a tour bus. The rest of us can take the airport shuttle bus that drops us at North Pattaya or Jomtien.  Bell in most cases will drop you right at your condo or hotel. 

    Meanwhile, the high speed train--which, apparently, isn't really very high speed--will have a number of stops and will eventually dump you in the middle of nowhere.  You'll still have to get on the trolley (if it is is ever built) or take a taxi into Pattaya, Jomtien, etc.  With a bus ride that only takes about an hour and a half, I really don't see you saving much time using the train for such a relatively short distance.  Pity all that money wasn't earmarked for better, more worthy, transportation improvements. 

[newnative]

2 hours ago, Assurancetourix said:

Much more than you think;
it is enough to read the questions on some other forums than  thaivisa to realize that many Western travelers who arrive at Souvanaphum (i) have a domestic flight and sometimes even an international flight in continuation but departing from Don Muang;
for the moment it is 1 hour to 2 hours taxi to reach the two airports;
with this train, if one day it exists , it will be maximum 30 minutes.

Maybe a link between the Bangkok airports is needed but I can't see a pressing need to link them to U-Tapao.

[Cadbury]

It is sure to follow the usual pattern of high speed railway development in Thailand.

 

1. First there is the signing of the contracts after envelope sizes and weights have been agreed upon.

2. After some delay there is a "ground breaking ceremony" so the elite and government officials can enjoy some mutual backslapping and a seafood buffet lunch while soaking up the media publicity.

3. Immediately afterward ticket prices are announced.

4. Nothing much happens after than due to delays caused by funding and design disagreements and technical issues.

 

[JESSVANPELT]

3 hours ago, smutcakes said:

Who the hell transfers between airports?? Sure in unusual circumstance some people would, or when they screwed up a booking. But generally speaking people dont need to transfer directly between the two on the same day.

Just about everyone going to Phuket has to go through Don Mueang, amongst other places

[sjaak327]

2 hours ago, Jane Dough said:

It's not principally about connecting the airports - it's about connecting the airports to Pattaya and elsewhere in the Eastern Seaboard. The thinking behind the scheme is sound and is likely to herald a big rethink on what Pattaya is and what it should become, in my opinion. 

 

Rooster

Personally I can see the use of a link between DMK and BKK. Even though the more smarter move would have been to close DMK altogether and expand BKK. But linking BKK to Pattaya ? Ludicrous, it will never be viable. Let's not forget that the ARL between BKK and Payathai is hardly the success it was planned to be, and is for over 80% used by commuters that never boarded or deboarded at BKK. In other words, it is a airport rail link in name only.

[sjaak327]

1 hour ago, JESSVANPELT said:

Just about everyone going to Phuket has to go through Don Mueang, amongst other places

Thai smile flies to Phuket from BKk, if you plan smart, one can easily avoid DMK (at least for Phuket, and most other popular destinations in Thailand). Want to go KOP, yep dmk it is, hardly a tourist route ????

[Traubert]

Freight.

[Jane Dough]

1 hour ago, sjaak327 said:

Personally I can see the use of a link between DMK and BKK. Even though the more smarter move would have been to close DMK altogether and expand BKK. But linking BKK to Pattaya ? Ludicrous, it will never be viable. Let's not forget that the ARL between BKK and Payathai is hardly the success it was planned to be, and is for over 80% used by commuters that never boarded or deboarded at BKK. In other words, it is a airport rail link in name only.

All these things were said before the BTS and the ARL were built. They are now massively oversubscribed. The link to the eastern seaboard is not just about Pattaya but opening up business opportunities along the route and at stations as well as providing convenient links for all many of people. The expected link to the south will also do the same for the area south of Hua Hin that is known as the future Riviera. Links are not made for sudden impacts and profits but long term goals. I think Thailand is heading in the right direction with some of these mega projects as it is showing an unusual and most welcome sense of foresight.

 

Rooster

[CGW]

8 hours ago, VMOMMO said:

Wouldn’t it be simpler just to expand Seampy and have one decent airport with sufficient capacity?

They tried that once - failed!! 

[Lakegeneve]

3 hours ago, sjaak327 said:

Personally I can see the use of a link between DMK and BKK. Even though the more smarter move would have been to close DMK altogether and expand BKK. But linking BKK to Pattaya ? Ludicrous, it will never be viable. Let's not forget that the ARL between BKK and Payathai is hardly the success it was planned to be, and is for over 80% used by commuters that never boarded or deboarded at BKK. In other words, it is a airport rail link in name only.

A couple of points are worth noting.

 

1) The SRTET ARL was always intended to be extended from Phaya Thai via the new Bang Sue terminal to DMK. That was always the plan from the start and indeed the previous govt was going to tender the project in 2014 prior to the junta taking power.

 

Also, the ARL is primarily a commuter line that runs to an airport, it has been very successful as a commuter line- the main problem initially was the Express service was ill concieved given that it didn't run from a city center (such as HK does) and thereafter that as overcrowding became an issue the SRT is so hopeless that they haven't been able to purchase new rolling stock even though a budget was approved in mid 2013 for 7 new 5 car trains!!! (Note: 2 tenders were cancelled due to corruption allegations).

 

2) The Eastern High Speed line (HSR) was first proposed in the mid 90s. When the Dems were in power the Transport Ministry in 2009 came up with the current 4 planned HSR lines with the Eastern being the first. In the 2011 election the Dems promised that they would start construction the following year in 2012 (that wouldn't have happend but 2013 was realistic). However, the Dems lost the election.

 

3) Subsequently, the new PT govt reviewed all HSR line planes but ended up affirming the same plans - they took 2 years to do this! After the coup, the junta govt did their own review and basically affirmed the same 4 lines except that they proposed a change in merging the Eastern HSR line and ARL extension to DMK and instead of running the line direct to Rayong, they would run it via the now expanded Uta-pao airport which the Navy wants to monetise and which the govt wants to further expand given the delays in building T2 & approving T3 at Swampy.

 

(The NE HSR line Phase 1 to Korat will be tendered in the 2nd half of 2019)

 

It is important to note that this line is essentially an extended Eastern HSR line to Utapao which will take over the an extended ARL to DMK with new rolling stock and new track (The ARL will need to be shut down at some point to replace the track as the track is substandard Chinese steel which requires significant grinding). The main delay with this project is that successive govt changes and subsequent reviews have delayed both projects. Then line will be hugely successful one it opens as the pax demand from DMK to the city is large and there are currently a large amount of vans and buses daily running between BKK and Chonburi. As the poster post points out it is also about the Eastern Seaboard.

 

Come back a couple of years after it opens and say "it will never be viable". Gov Samak said the same of the BTS in the first 12 months when pax numbers were much, much smaller than projected. The same has also been said of the MRT Blue Line and the ARL in the early years as pax numbers always take time to build up. What the evidence has shown in BKK and worldwide is that regular and fast mass transit always attracts pax . This will be a no brainer once people can get from Bang Sue/Makksan to Chonburi/Pattaya in 1 hr.

[Lakegeneve]

I'll just add a basic overview.

 

The state of the Thai rail system is appalling as basically from the late 60s to early 2010s no money was invested in upgrading and expanding the system. During this period, the priority was all about new highways and expressways - hardly unique in the world. Thus the dilapidated Thai rail had an average running speed just under 50kmh and most of the national network was single track leading to significant delays. Some track, like the Nam Tok line was so bad that there were derailments on a weekly basis! That's essentially 50 years where the network was run down into the ground.

 

The Transport Ministry had proposed in the early 00s to invest significant amounts to modernise the network by duplicating all lines and doing electrification and standardisation. In the mid 00s the previous Eastern HSR line proposal from the 90s was dusted off with a view to planning a national network. Only when the Dems assumed power did most of the projects start to see policy support in 2009 and funds allocated in 2010. The problem as we all know in Thai politics in that long term planning is rare and govts change as much as the seasons do. Thus, the majority of the 'double tracking' as it is called, new rolling stock and HSR lines were only able to be budgeted for for in the last few years after the junta took some time to review their priorities. 

 

In around 20 years give or take, all of the current metre gauge lines will be duplicated along with some new lines - Chiang Rai, Mukdahan etc.

There will also be 4 HSR lines of various length to Rayong, Nong Khai, South via HH and north to Chiang Mai. 

 

None of this is to say that the decision making, planning and implementation has been, and will be, smooth and efficient, indeed far from it!

[sjaak327]

1 hour ago, Lakegeneve said:

A couple of points are worth noting.

 

1) The SRTET ARL was always intended to be extended from Phaya Thai via the new Bang Sue terminal to DMK. That was always the plan from the start and indeed the previous govt was going to tender the project in 2014 prior to the junta taking power.

 

Also, the ARL is primarily a commuter line that runs to an airport, it has been very successful as a commuter line- the main problem initially was the Express service was ill concieved given that it didn't run from a city center (such as HK does) and thereafter that as overcrowding became an issue the SRT is so hopeless that they haven't been able to purchase new rolling stock even though a budget was approved in mid 2013 for 7 new 5 car trains!!! (Note: 2 tenders were cancelled due to corruption allegations).

 

2) The Eastern High Speed line (HSR) was first proposed in the mid 90s. When the Dems were in power the Transport Ministry in 2009 came up with the current 4 planned HSR lines with the Eastern being the first. In the 2011 election the Dems promised that they would start construction the following year in 2012 (that wouldn't have happend but 2013 was realistic). However, the Dems lost the election.

 

3) Subsequently, the new PT govt reviewed all HSR line planes but ended up affirming the same plans - they took 2 years to do this! After the coup, the junta govt did their own review and basically affirmed the same 4 lines except that they proposed a change in merging the Eastern HSR line and ARL extension to DMK and instead of running the line direct to Rayong, they would run it via the now expanded Uta-pao airport which the Navy wants to monetise and which the govt wants to further expand given the delays in building T2 & approving T3 at Swampy.

 

(The NE HSR line Phase 1 to Korat will be tendered in the 2nd half of 2019)

 

It is important to note that this line is essentially an extended Eastern HSR line to Utapao which will take over the an extended ARL to DMK with new rolling stock and new track (The ARL will need to be shut down at some point to replace the track as the track is substandard Chinese steel which requires significant grinding). The main delay with this project is that successive govt changes and subsequent reviews have delayed both projects. Then line will be hugely successful one it opens as the pax demand from DMK to the city is large and there are currently a large amount of vans and buses daily running between BKK and Chonburi. As the poster post points out it is also about the Eastern Seaboard.

 

Come back a couple of years after it opens and say "it will never be viable". Gov Samak said the same of the BTS in the first 12 months when pax numbers were much, much smaller than projected. The same has also been said of the MRT Blue Line and the ARL in the early years as pax numbers always take time to build up. What the evidence has shown in BKK and worldwide is that regular and fast mass transit always attracts pax . This will be a no brainer once people can get from Bang Sue/Makksan to Chonburi/Pattaya in 1 hr.

I will come back and are happy to be proven wrong, however, I fail to see how the part to Utapao would be successful for tourists, they will continue to use buses and taxis direct. 1 hour to get from Bang sue to Pattaya, not even in your wildest dreams, this is Thailand ! You would be lucky if it eventually takes 90 minutes. Again lets look at the piss poor execution of the ARL to see why I say this. In fact, even the BTS could have been executed so much better, I just refer to the failure of the BTS to solve the ticket vending machine issue, you only need to go to Asoke to understand what I am talking about. 

 

There is a reason why successive governments have taken so long to execute this project. The junta has no checks and balances, they can throw money away without much consequences. 

 

[sjaak327]

3 hours ago, Jane Dough said:

All these things were said before the BTS and the ARL were built. They are now massively oversubscribed. The link to the eastern seaboard is not just about Pattaya but opening up business opportunities along the route and at stations as well as providing convenient links for all many of people. The expected link to the south will also do the same for the area south of Hua Hin that is known as the future Riviera. Links are not made for sudden impacts and profits but long term goals. I think Thailand is heading in the right direction with some of these mega projects as it is showing an unusual and most welcome sense of foresight.

 

Rooster

In that case, it isn't really a high speed line, and it shouldn't be advertised as such. The reason why the ARL is oversubscribed is because it's main usage is the people travelling from Lat Krabang and beyond to the city center. The express line of the ARL has vanished. It was stopped about three-four years ago. The only way for this link to be viable is when it stops at as much places as possible.