High speed train Bangkok - Korat 500 baht/one hour 17 minutes - "no way will it fail"

[impulse]

14 minutes ago, CLW said:

What is this government's obsession with the high speed rail line? I don't understand.

 

Perhaps because one of the investing partners has no laws comparable to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act?  

 

Can you imagine all the zeroes?

 

[GoNavy]

Certainly a lot of 'naysayers' in this blog!  How in the devil do you think mankind makes progress?  There were complainers when the 'horseless carriage' came out.  Sure, accidents happened and people died.  People fell off horses also and buggies went into the ditch throwing Mama into the creek.  Wonder what the gibberish among the folks was when the Wright Brothers took their first run off of Kitty Hawk?  Didn't stop them and look how we fly now!  

 

This all starts somewhere and the longest journey begins with the first step.  There is high speed rail now in the world and Thailand will learn.  Too bad a few other so called 1st world nations don't do the same.  Population is growing exponentially folks.  Streets are clogged now.  People want to and will move.  I say go for it.  

[ChrisY1]

This project has yet to start......if it ever does start,  it should comical at least!

[Blackheart1916]

Monorail, monorail.....

[TSF]

Well good luck to them, I agree with the above poster, it's a step in the right direction for Thailand. Still I can't see that many people needing the service. I don't think many tourists go to Korat, and Thais who live there can travel cheaper on buses. It would make more sense if the rail went all the way from BKK to Nong Khai then it could also serve Khon Kaen & Udon Thain & Nong Khai and folk going to Vientiane. 

[Italian guy]

7 hours ago, ratcatcher said:

              "no way will it fail"

 

                " UNSINKABLE "

[bikerbri]

500 Baht! Thats 4000 Baht for a family of eight. Still cheaper by pick up if you are not in a hurry.

[CantSpell]

5 hours ago, overherebc said:

Half the budget will need to be spent on bolt-cutter proof fencing along its full length.

 

5 hours ago, kevc said:

Its scary to think of high speed trains and slow thinking car drivers at crossings.

Sent from my SM-P901 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Aye, they better consult with Donald and his wall project.... 

 

Or it will be daily slaughter at all railway crossings...

[wvavin]

No way it would fail unless no jumping off tracks, no other vehicles crossing. High speed train crash is no longer the usual rescue teams can handle. It's absolutely disastrous and I am certain these people have not a single clue.

[Bangkok Barry]

7 hours ago, Dave67 said:

Technically the train has to travel at 250kph+ to be called high speed. Granted its a Higher speed than what they have now but if its 200kph its not high speed

 

And it's still far slower than trains in Europe. So how will they handle that loss of face, that Thailand is 15-20 years behind the curve?

[fdch]

i travelled a chinese high speed train before

and there was a sign on the wall in the train

wich i could not read only the digits 300 and 400

i asked my chinese friend for a breef translation

he said : this train can reach a speed up to 400 km /hour

but we only drive 300 km because if faster it will de raile!!!

like all the products of CHINA  cheap and useless copies 

WHAT CAN NOT GO WRONG?

[fdch]

51 minutes ago, TSF said:

Well good luck to them, I agree with the above poster, it's a step in the right direction for Thailand. Still I can't see that many people needing the service. I don't think many tourists go to Korat, and Thais who live there can travel cheaper on buses. It would make more sense if the rail went all the way from BKK to Nong Khai then it could also serve Khon Kaen & Udon Thain & Nong Khai and folk going to Vientiane. 

what about binging the rail way from Ching mai to Chiang rai it still stops here 555

[soalbundy]

5 hours ago, Mansell said:

A high speed train crash is more survivable than a high speed plane crash.

i would use it.....but not the minivans.

In the German high speed train crash there were no survivors if i remember rightly, came of the track due to a broken wheel rim and hit a bridge at 240kmh

[soalbundy]

1 hour ago, yougivemebaby said:

There are no gates or crossings. High speed trains such as this have dedicated lines that zero cars or motorbikes can cross. Have you been living in a cave ?

never underestimate the determination of a Thai to take a short cut

[fdch]

1 hour ago, yougivemebaby said:

There are no gates or crossings. High speed trains such as this have dedicated lines that zero cars or motorbikes can cross. Have you been living in a cave ?

almost the same he lives in thailand. 

[soalbundy]

1 hour ago, CLW said:

That was proven material failure

Yes, the wheels steel 'tyre' ruptured causing the the train to derail, couldn't happen in Thailand because everything would be thoroughly checked. 

[Dave67]

1 minute ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

And it's still far slower than trains in Europe. So how will they handle that loss of face, that Thailand is 15-20 years behind the curve?

Miles behind Europe , Germany, France , Spain even UK.  Malaysia did the right thing by upgrading a decrepit 90 year old railway that was as bad as SRT to a 180kpm narrow gauge railway even that was a leap in technology for them going from semaphore signals and hand throw points to a modern system with signalling and ATP advanced train protection . They had the sense not to leap from what they were to High speed , though KL-Singapore is a high speed is in the pipeline. Thailand will have to import a lot of knowledge from overseas as the Chinese did with the Germans. A lot will also depend on what high speed Track system they choose. 

[amnicoll]

I seem to remember that in  October 2010, the Thai parliament approved initial proposals for a high speed rail (HSR) network. Five lines capable of handling 250 km/h speeds would radiate from Bangkok and also Yingluck Shinawatra promising a new high speed line by the time she left office

 

There is also a proposal to build a rail line to Phuket now if the Thais are serious about building high speed lines  (OK bear with me) then assuming the High Speed line will be 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in)  and not meter gauge then it would be madness to build a new meter gauge line

[Dave67]

1 minute ago, amnicoll said:

I seem to remember that in  October 2010, the Thai parliament approved initial proposals for a high speed rail (HSR) network. Five lines capable of handling 250 km/h speeds would radiate from Bangkok and also Yingluck Shinawatra promising a new high speed line by the time she left office

 

There is also a proposal to build a rail line to Phuket now if the Thais are serious about building high speed lines  (OK bear with me) then assuming the High Speed line will be 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in)  and not meter gauge then it would be madness to build a new meter gauge line

It would be more practical for Thailand to have new metre gauge what they have now on some routes. Speed can be 180kph so a vast improvement . You cannot intergrate high speed and lower speed routes even if the both have 1435 gauge, The tracks are built to a different standard and curves and curve transitions are different due to speed, So unless they build everything high speed they might as well stick with some narrow gauge upgrades

[stephen tracy]

7 hours ago, Blinky62 said:

Scared of modern technology, don't worry you'll get over it , just close your eyes and follow the crowd.


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

In the wrong hands, yes.

[hotchilli]

8 hours ago, tominbkk said:

Well the BTS and the MRT have done alright.  They have to start somewhere.

I agree both services have worked well.

Having said that I do hope a new independant rail-line is laid down that will take the high speed train.
And yes the all important inspection & maintenance programme which prevents any accidents as apposed to a heavy lift crane to clear up the mess afterwards!.

And yes... crossing points will have to be 100% Thai proof !

[wakeupplease]

500b well it will not open next week or next year will it so 500b is like so much else that comes out of this neck of the woods Bull>>>> Try I am dreaming of a?

[sotonowl]

8 hours ago, MichaelJohn said:

Yes, it's good value but ..... when you need a car in Korat you'll drive and I guess most people will not be doing business near the station.

 

Korat is on the up.

 

[aslimversgwm]

5 hours ago, moe666 said:

Here we go again a great Thai bashing thread. Give them a chance boys it is barely out of the planning stage. When the BTS opened in 2000 many people were saying will not ride for one year too see how it works. Now it hauls thousands of people every day.

Exactly. I am looking forward to a multitude of HS  railways all across Thailand. One of the best things this government has pursued. Glad section 44 is being used in this particular regard. The Chinese have an admirable record with their own country's network so I am confident it will be both safe and reliable. Well done Thailand. 

[novo58]

Ill believe this when I see the first train leave the station ( and arrive safely  at its destination). In way of comparison ......they have been talking about building a high speed train link between Sydney and Melbourne ( via Canberra) in Australia for over 15 years that I know of ....and still havent acquired the land for it .

 

Anyone thought about how long it will take to actually build this thing..................

[seaninkorat]

9 hours ago, ratcatcher said:

              "no way will it fail"

 

 

                " UNSINKABLE "

NICE WORK RAT CATCHER! (The slow train was part of the charm that I am leaving all behind this year): Bye Bye TH

[Golden Triangle]

I remember my last journey on the BKK to Korat line, 3rd class, wooden seats, hardly any fans working, Doors and windows that didn't close, absolutely marvelous, plus as we went around the huge reservoir a humongous storm blew in over the water, it came sideways through the carriage I kid you not, the bird I was with at the time (well over 7 or 8 years ago)   had to go and hide in the toilet to stay dry. I will really miss the old SRT when it has been sanitized and everything is A/C, no open windows and no sitting on the steps of the open doors or at the back of the train having a crafty smoke. Happy days.   

[seaninkorat]

That's right Golden Triangle! -

[Ricardo]

2 hours ago, Blackheart1916 said:

Monorail, monorail.....

 

Ideal for people with a one-track mind ?

 

 

1 hour ago, fdch said:

what about binging the rail way from Ching mai to Chiang rai it still stops here 555

 

The Den-Chai to Chiang Rai line (single-track meter-gauge)  is trotted-out as an election-promise every time, and has been for over 50-years, I believe !

 

But to be fair, there is a vague notion of a second Chinese-Thai medium-speed heavy-freight route via Chiang Khong, in the far-distant future when the first route is approaching capacity.

 

3 hours ago, CLW said:

It would be much better and economic to upgrade the existing rail system to 2 tracks and average speed 160km/h.

 

 

The SRT's current 20-year-plan for track-dualling has been underway for about a decade, so they're slowly getting there despite being under-funded, for example it's now dual-track from Chachoengsao into Laem Chabang Port, I think that was completed about 5-years-ago ?

[Dave67]

45 minutes ago, novo58 said:

Ill believe this when I see the first train leave the station ( and arrive safely  at its destination). In way of comparison ......they have been talking about building a high speed train link between Sydney and Melbourne ( via Canberra) in Australia for over 15 years that I know of ....and still havent acquired the land for it .

 

Anyone thought about how long it will take to actually build this thing..................

Apparently 2019 .Depends where they are with Survey and planned route alignment design . How many tunnels , and length of Viaducts , land Viaduct and areas of Track formation do they need, Also 250km railway is 500km+ Track which with requires a rate of 1.4km a day to complete in a year. You would probably need 6 work fronts doing around 250m a day which is going some. Depending on what track system is used you would need anything from 150 to 50 workers per site , probably a nightshift as well. Thats just the Track still need Civils , Signalling and Power to install