Hua Hin dual-track rail project to go ahead

[hhinner]

The picture in BB's post here: viewtopic.php?p=461245#p461245 shows the cross section of the project at Soi 88. Elevated track and ground level tracks are side by side. Total width between the fences approx 40m.

[Nereus]

There seems to be several threads about new rail lines, very confusing. This is actually about the Bang Sue Mega Station and high speed trains, but has been moved to here.
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From Bangkok to Beijing

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... to-beijing

'Trans-Asean' bullet train plan to link Thailand with Laos and China

Construction of Bang Sue Grand Station is underway, with service scheduled to begin in 2021. (State Railway of Thailand photo)

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Bangkokians may find it hard to imagine that their next trip to Beijing could begin in Bang Sue.

The district, which has garnered less fame than its neighbour, Chatuchak, the city's hub for travel to the North, is set to become part of the "Trans-Asean Line" -- the government's ambitious plan to build a rail network linking Thailand to other countries as far away as Singapore and China.

"Thais will be able to take high-speed trains to the Chinese capital and Singapore from a railway station in Bang Sue in the future," said Deputy Transport Minister Pailin Chuchottaworn.

That will be possible once the construction of four routes for Shinkansen, or bullet trains, is completed.

High-speed railways in the pipeline

Under the state's plan to make Thailand the logistics hub of Asean, officials have agreed that high-speed trains will be at the heart of the country's much-needed new infrastructure system. It will be the first time that Thailand will have such a modern transport network, which will cover 3,193 kilometres at a cost of about 2.07 trillion baht.

The rail route will link Bang Sue with Chiang Mai in the North, Laos in the Northeast, Cambodia in the East and Malaysia in the South.

But this plan isn't just on paper. The government has already begun the construction of some routes and will "keep calling bids" for the project, Mr Pailin said.

The routes will make transport more convenient and are expected to drive the national economy forward in the long term, he said.

Faster trips to Laos and China

The first route, a Thai-Sino project linking Bangkok and Nong Khai in the far Northeast, is now under construction and is scheduled to be completed by 2023.

The line, which will cover 608km, will serve as the main transport system to Laos, which is next to Nong Khai. From the border line, another rail route will take passengers to the Lao capital of Vientiane, and the last leg will take travellers to Mohan, a border town in China's southern province.

A 414 km link between Vientiane and Mohan is now 55% complete, according to a Lao official who asked not to be named. The Lao government is also in the process of building another rail section connecting its capital with Nong Khai.

"This is a project to transform us from a landlocked to a land-linked country," the official said. Currently, people have to spend up to two days travelling from Vientiane to Mohan, but with high-speed trains, travellers will "only need three hours", he said.

Cash prospects of Asean rail network

Like Thailand, Laos intends to use this international route to help boost its economy. The official expected this line will draw between 10 and 20 million Chinese tourists to the country each year.

The line will also benefit Thailand economically as Thai authorities are planning to link Nong Khai with the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), the state's much-touted project to make the East an industrial hub for modern and smart production.

The province, together with Rayong and Chachoengsao, make the the EEC zone, which covers 30,000 rai of land.
Ratthaphum Parichatpricha, the chief engineer at the Engineering Institute of Thailand, said Asean can change from a user to a developer of the [high-speed rail] technology if the bloc continues to support rail transport and the related businesses.

The government is preparing a new agreement on railway industry standards with Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia, as they are also spending a huge amount of money building various modes of train transport, from high-speed systems to subways, he said.

These countries are currently able to manufacture some railway-related products, but a lack of standardisation makes them unable to export the products globally like Japan, Germany and China. An agreement can also reduce the overall costs of railway construction and maintenance, he said.

New look of Bang Sue

For commuters, nothing will be better than faster and more convenient trips from Bangkok to the countryside, and to surrounding countries.

Bang Sue will be the gateway to this new convenience. This is not just a new central railway station, but a "grand station", expected to be the largest in Asean, according to State Railway of Thailand governor Worawut Mala.

The four-storey station will cover an area of 300,000 square metres and is planned to be surrounded by commercial areas.

The station will also be connected with the city's Blue Line, Airport Rail Link, and rail routes to upcountry provinces.

Treasure prosperity with care

Aksornsri Phanishsarn, an associate professor at Thammasat University's Faculty of Economics and director of the Thai-Chinese Strategic Research Centre, said rail projects will elevate Thailand's presence in the region.

The railway is part of the Belt and Road Initiative of China, she said. It will also increase Thailand's competitiveness and connectivity with neighbouring countries. The concerns, however, mainly lie in the security of the software and the systems, she said.

Other obstacles are "high con­struction and expropriation costs" that can delay the project, she said. Looking forward, Thailand should also negotiate wisely when deciding to buy Chinese technologies.

"As the project is very important and the cost is very high, the government should carefully negotiate with China and look into the benefits and conditions that will follow. In the long run, we will need to be able to take care of the trains by ourselves without having to depend on China," she said.

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[thecolonel]

Serious Q's

1.What is the point of(or the idea behind) this massive investment into the railway infrastructure from BKK to Hua Hin and beyond?

2. When, according to my taxi lady(from cha am) she says Thai people don't use trains much at all. She too is baffled by it.

3. OK, it will be dual track but is that necessary? Seems to cope OK now with single track

4. Who's paying for it all... China?





Sent from my Redmi Note 4 using Tapatalk

[Dannie Boy]

Serious Q's

1.What is the point of(or the idea behind) this massive investment into the railway infrastructure from BKK to Hua Hin and beyond?

2. When, according to my taxi lady(from cha am) she says Thai people don't use trains much at all. She too is baffled by it.

3. OK, it will be dual track but is that necessary? Seems to cope OK now with single track

4. Who's paying for it all... China?

Sent from my Redmi Note 4 using Tapatalk

Regarding point 2, if it was a fast-track dual track system then I’m sure a lot of people who currently use car/taxi/bus will be willing to try it, but if it’s the same rolling stock then there will be little time saved and hence I’d agree it’s somewhat baffling.

Regarding point 3, this is linked to point 2, if it’s merely a dual track slow service then there will be little gained.

Regarding point 4, China gives nothing for free!!

[Big Boy]

Serious A's in red

Serious Q's

1.What is the point of(or the idea behind) this massive investment into the railway infrastructure from BKK to Hua Hin and beyond?
To increase the capacity to move people and goods North to South and back again much faster and at times that suit.

2. When, according to my taxi lady(from cha am) she says Thai people don't use trains much at all. She too is baffled by it.
A taxi driver will always tell you that. I've caught quite a few trains, and they've always been very busy. However, because of the current restrictive infrastructure the basic rule is if you want to travel to Bangkok, you have to travel early morning, and return travel is after midday. I've often considered travel by train, but would need to stay in Bangkok for at least 12 hours before getting my connecting train. With a dual track, travel in either direction will be possible at any time of the day.

3. OK, it will be dual track but is that necessary? Seems to cope OK now with single track
It does not cope now. Have you wondered why trains are often running at least 1 hour late? The last train I caught was 3 hours late - that is not coping.

4. Who's paying for it all... China?
No idea.

[hhinner]

Regarding who's paying for the dual tracking of the existing network, I think Thailand is.

As regards high speed I think also Thailand, ultimately.

Thailand had been trying to get foreign investment into high speed rail but hasn't been too successful. The Japanese were supposed to be interested in the link to Chiang Mai, but after due diligence they decided there would be no return on investment.

The Chinese are involved in the Nong Khai line, but so far only a 3km test stretch has been built. Funding for the rest has been tied up in how Chinese loans should be set up; based on USD, Baht, or Yuan, and what the interest rates should be.

[HHTel]

PeteC wrote: ↑Wed Jul 15, 2020 6:59 am

Are the preparations for the high speed line linked to this? Has that even started yet, and will it run along the same right of way?

There are no 'preparations for the high speed line'. It's still in the 'proposal stage'. A further study is required which could take another 18 months.
If you're young enough, you may just survive long enough to see the project approved. High speed trains to Hua Hin are not coming any time soon.

The project underway is for dual line rail, period. It has nothing to do with any future proposal for High Speed rail.

[Dannie Boy]

However, this is claimed to be a much faster service than currently provided

New dual track train line to slash travel time between Bangkok, Hua Hin and southern Thailand

Thailand’s new dual track train line is set to transform travel between Bangkok, Hua Hin, Chumphon and the deep south.

The new line, which is currently under construction and will replace the existing single track line, will be a boon for business, tourism and will help to reduce travel time for passengers, SRT acting governor Worawut Mala told the media this weekend.

Once all phases are completed, the new dual track will enable passengers to travel from the new Bang Sue station in Bangkok to destinations such as Nakhon Pathom, Ratchaburi, Phetchaburi, Hua Hin, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Bang Saphan Noi, Chumphon, Surat Thani, Songkhla and then onto Padang Besar on the Malaysian border.

Trains will travel at 160 km/h, meaning passengers leaving Bangkok can be in Hua Hin in just two or three hours, Mr Worawut said, adding that it can often take the best part of four to five hours to complete the same journey by car.

Mr Worawut also said that tourists will be among the biggest beneficiaries of the new train line. He said that foreign tourists account for a whopping 90 percent of passengers travelling by train between Bangkok and Chumphon.

He said that it currently takes around nine hours to travel by train between Bangkok and Chumphon but once the upgrade is completed journey time will be just five hours.

The Nakhon Pathom-Hua Hin and Hua Hin-Prachuap Khiri Khan sections of the upgrade are around 30 percent complete, while the southern phase from Prachuap Khiri Khan-Chumphon is 19 percent complete.

The new dual track between Bangkok and Padang Besar will cost 90 billion baht will be fully operational by 2022.

[buksida]

He said that foreign tourists account for a whopping 90 percent of passengers travelling by train between Bangkok and Chumphon.

Well, that one is now 0% since foreign tourists are no longer allowed in Chumphon province.

Five hours from BKK to Hua Hin by road? I did Kanchanaburi to Bangsaphan in less than 4.5 hrs last month ... but it was on two wheels.

[Dannie Boy]

The article was a year old so that’s why they were able to refer to tourists. Of course the exaggerated 4-5 hours by car (although I have suffered such a fate) is of course to help justify their investment, however if they do have trains capable of 160 kph then it should be a good service.

[Big Boy]

He said that foreign tourists account for a whopping 90 percent of passengers travelling by train between Bangkok and Chumphon.

Well, that one is now 0% since foreign tourists are no longer allowed in Chumphon province.

Five hours from BKK to Hua Hin by road? I did Kanchanaburi to Bangsaphan in less than 4.5 hrs last month ... but it was on two wheels.

From my 'limited' experience, I would say that is probably true on the little 3 carriage sprinter that goes through Hua Hin at about 11am Southbound. The rest of the trains I've been on are largely Thai. The cost of that little sprinter is highly inflated also.

[derek60]

Interesting video on this subject (facts in it are unverified by me)

[Big Boy]

A very misleading title - nothing to do with the High Speed Rail Link.

[HHTel]

Yeh. Strange video with a picture of a 'bullet' train at the head.
This is from a private blogger who described the building of the dual track over Hua Hin but kept calling it High Speed!!
Ignoring the 'High Speed' element, everything else is good.

[Jim]

My understanding was that China was funding the northern link (ie BKK to Lao). The southern link (HH and down to Singapore) is funded by Japan.