Thailand's high-speed train project underway

[Dannie Boy]

Technical compliance might feature in the vendor selection, but most important will be the size of the brown envelope the bid is submitted in!!

[PeteC]

http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opin ... -the-rails

This venture is off the rails

.....The public, and for good reason, has no discernible confidence that the current management and setup of the SRT can properly oversee a modern rejuvenation of a railway on the brink of final disaster."

[oakdale160]

May as well keep this thread short, it will never happen in te lifetimeof ant HHAD poster, if at all.
The ONLY waynit could work is to bring in a totally new agency--Chinese or Singaporean--to build it for them.

[Bristolian]

Bangkok Post
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews ... -the-cards
New stations for high-speed rail

New stations will be built for the 209-kilometre, high-speed railway project from Bangkok to Hua Hin district of Prachuap Khiri Khan province, says the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning.
They include a new station in tambon Khu Bua sub-district of Ratchaburi province and a new station in tambon Thong Chai sub-district of Phetchaburi province. The section of the track between both stations will run parallel with Phetkasem Highway while other parts of the route will be next to the existing railway track.

The fare between Bangkok and Hua Hin is set at 550 baht based on a rate of two baht per kilometre. The economic internal rate of return of the Bangkok-Hua Hin route is estimated at 8.11%. When the route is extended to Padang Besar, the rate is anticipated at 12.76%.

[Lung Per]

Bangkok Post
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews ... -the-cards
New stations for high-speed rail

New stations will be built for the 209-kilometre, high-speed railway project from Bangkok to Hua Hin district of Prachuap Khiri Khan province, says the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning.
They include a new station in tambon Khu Bua sub-district of Ratchaburi province and a new station in tambon Thong Chai sub-district of Phetchaburi province. The section of the track between both stations will run parallel with Phetkasem Highway while other parts of the route will be next to the existing railway track.

The fare between Bangkok and Hua Hin is set at 550 baht based on a rate of two baht per kilometre. The economic internal rate of return of the Bangkok-Hua Hin route is estimated at 8.11%. When the route is extended to Padang Besar, the rate is anticipated at 12.76%.

The town of Hua Hin is just too small for an influx of expected Bangkokians of such magnitude.
Must expand Hua Hin, and build feeder tracks from outskirts into Soi Hoi.
Excellent opportunities for the building and construction trade. Hury, hurry!!!

[oakdale160]

Lung per, your statement about the accident rate for the HST in China. There was a nasty one in the first month, but. I think that their record has been good since then.
If they do get the contract, their is no group that is more likely to deliver on time. One factor against this is. A general feeling that China is embarking on a program to dominate the economies of the northern SE Asian countries.

[StevePIraq]

I don't know why so many think this will go to a foreign contractor, even if it does most of the work will be subcontracted to local companies as this is the standard practice.

Extract from Thailand Construction news follows:
http://www.thailand-construction.com/ne ... -port.html

Mozambique picks Thai firm to build coal railway, port
Monday, 09 December 2013 17:43 |

Mozambique picks Thai firm to build coal railway, port

Mozambique has picked a Thai construction firm as the preferred developer of a $3 billion railway and port project to boost coal exports, a senior government official told Reuters.

Bangkok-based Italian-Thai Development Pcl will construct the 525 km (325 mile) rail line from Tete province to Macuse in Mozambique's Zambezia province and a port able to handle 25 million tonnes of cargo per year, the official said.

[usual suspect]

Richard this week came up with IMO the best solution so far..run the new line alongside the bypass 10kms out of town.
Somewhere near the Amphur building build a small station..then lay a line to run in down Soi 112, & curl North into the old station..with the idea of using a shuttle-train to service the main line.
THEN..rip up the track thu' HH & lay down a big new road to ease traffic on Petkasem right thru'.

Well done Sire..

[StevePIraq]

I really can't see that being a workable solution, even the authorities understand that there is no way to have a 250kph train running at ground level in Thailand. Can you just imagine all the idiots crossing in front of a 250kph train.

[usual suspect]

I think Richard's idea Steve was to keep the new H.S.rail-line out of HH, with a simple feed-shuttle from a stop/station on the raised line out near the Pranburi to Cha-Am by-pass.

As for idiots crossing the H.S. line?..Oh yes, they'll be heaps of 'em..how long after the rail is operational will the locals be busy tipping 6-wheeler loads of soil alongside to make access-ramps for their motorbikes etc..?? T.i.T.

[oakdale160]

It is 217k from shanghai to Suzhou, the shanghai to Beijing train goes thru Suzhou. There are 4 intermediate stops, but the doors are open for either 1 or 2 mins only. Generally the G trains take about 1h 25mins, even with 4 stops.

[richard]

Richard this week came up with IMO the best solution so far..run the new line alongside the bypass 10kms out of town.
Somewhere near the Amphur building build a small station..then lay a line to run in down Soi 112, & curl North into the old station..with the idea of using a shuttle-train to service the main line.
THEN..rip up the track thu' HH & lay down a big new road to ease traffic on Petkasem right thru'.

Well done Sire..

Makes sense but it's way too sensible for Thai thinking.

1) A high speed train is needed. All the way from China to Singapore
2) Use rural land as cheaper and less disruptive
3) Provide feeder links (train, bus, taxi or buffalo) to town centres
4) Use the existing rail bed for an inner ring roads to alleviate congestion in town centres

[StevePIraq]

Richard this week came up with IMO the best solution so far..run the new line alongside the bypass 10kms out of town.
Somewhere near the Amphur building build a small station..then lay a line to run in down Soi 112, & curl North into the old station..with the idea of using a shuttle-train to service the main line.
THEN..rip up the track thu' HH & lay down a big new road to ease traffic on Petkasem right thru'.

Well done Sire..

Makes sense but it's way too sensible for Thai thinking.

1) A high speed train is needed. All the way from China to Singapore
2) Use rural land as cheaper and less disruptive
3) Provide feeder links (train, bus, taxi or buffalo) to town centres
4) Use the existing rail bed for an inner ring roads to alleviate congestion in town centres

Building on the existing line route as has been selected means that minimal land has to be procured as following the existing line route means using land which is already owned by the authorities, regardless of what anyone proposes the route will not change as the feasibility study was completed a long time ago, social and environmental studies have already been done and approved so it is pointless discussing alternatives and no Thai authority will listen anyway. We are Farang's and the rail system is not being developed for Farangs so really why give a sh*t what Thai's end up with.

[oakdale160]

I agree, anything that asks for an innovative imaginative solution is not going to happen.will they give the contract to the Chinese, Japanese or S'porians, I doubt it. I am sure our children or grandchildren will find out how it finished up.

[StevePIraq]

When people say this project will take forever I think they are forgetting that there will be 13 contracts awarded for rail construction excluding supply of trains. There will not be one contract for rail construction from Malaysia all the way to BKK. It is quite feasible to do this within a few years.

I work in the construction industry and while some durations are extremely challenging it is amazing what can be accomplished if all stakeholders come together with a common goal in mind. And Thailand is by no means he most challenging location in the world.