THAILAND | Railways

[chornedsnorkack]

Originally Posted by napoleon

Bullet-train committee focused on investment details

THE NATION Published on December 21, 2010


Thailand has yet to conduct a study on the possible macroeconomic impact of the planned high-speed-rail project to be jointly developed with China, a Transport Ministry source said.

Parliament recently approved in principle a framework for negotiations between the Royal Thai Government and the Republic of China on the rail project.

Is Royal Thai Government negotiating with Republic of China, or with People´s Republic of China?

[napoleon]

Sino-Thai rail JV planned

THE NATION Published on December 22, 2010


The Finance Ministry has proposed a joint venture between the Royal Thai Government and the People's Republic of China for construction of the Thailand-China high-speed-rail project and that the venture subsequently set up a subsidiary for operation of the system.

The Thai government is expected to finalise the proposal on December 27 next Monday before discussing it with China, said Chula Sukmanop, inspector-general of the Transport Ministry.

Chula, who is also chairman of a subcommittee on preparing a memorandum of understanding on the Thailand-China deal, said a meeting of the body on December 20 this Monday agreed on the establishment of a joint venture between the two countries to cooperate on construction of the project as proposed by the Finance Ministry.

Eventually, the high-speed-rail project is to comprise five routes. The first to be established is expected to link Bangkok and Nong Khai, which will extend into Laos, connecting with the city of Kunming in southern China's Yunnan province.

Chula said Thailand would hold 51 per cent of the joint venture and the Chinese government 49 per cent.

The subcommittee will also hold a meeting on December 27 next Monday to conclude the details of the draft MoU and propose Supoth Sublom, permanent secretary of the Transport Ministry, before discussing it with the Chinese government. Supoth is also chairman of the Transport committee planning the cooperation between Thailand and China on the high-speed-rail project.

"Representatives of the two countries will discuss their MoU [proposals] to work out a complete MoU, for which approval will later be sought from the Thai Parliament House and a formal signing agreement, respectively," Chula said.

He said the joint venture as an enterprise set up for the country's infrastructure development proposed by the Finance Ministry would not conflict with legal limitations, especially the Act of Private Participation in State Undertaking, BE 2535 (1992) or the Public Private Participation (PPP) law.

In addition, the joint venture would set up a subsidiary to run the high-speed-rail routes, he said.

Transport permanent secretary Supoth Sublom said there would be an exchange of MoUs between the two nations before meeting. The discussion between Thai and Chinese governments would have two levels - ministers and officials. The two sides are expected to meet once or twice before the end of January. After that, the ministry will submit a proposal to the Cabinet to consider before seeking approval from Parliament in February, respectively.

THESE PARAS IN TWICE: In addition, the joint venture will be then setting up a subsidiary to run the routing operation, said he.

Supoth said that there would an exchange of MoU between the two nations before meeting. The discussion between Thai and Chinese governments would have two levels, ministers and officials. The meeting between the two sides is expected to hold for one for two times, ending within January next year. After that, the ministry would submit the proposal to the Cabinet to consider before seeking an approval from the Parliament House in February, respectively.

"If the complete MoU is approved by Parliament, the government is expected to sign an agreement with the Chinese government in March or April," Supoth said. "After that, the two sides will work altogether, starting with a feasibility study of the project, survey and design. The survey and design process of is expected take about one year and construction is expected to be completed in four years. The high-speed train is expected to begin service in 2015."

Initially, China wants to develop the routes from Bangkok to Nong Khai on the Laotian border and to Padang Besar on the Malaysian border

[napoleon]

Transport body proposes Thailand-China JV for high-speed rail

The Nation Published on December 28, 2010


The subcommittee preparing the memorandum of understanding on the Thailand-China high-speed-rail project yesterday concluded that the two countries would set up a joint venture, of which Thailand would own the majority share, to run the project.

Transport Ministry inspector-general Chula Sukmanop, who chairs the subcommittee, said the joint venture would have authority to construct the project and hold the right to provide the service for 30 years, with automatic renewal of the service contract for another 20 years.

"The company will have authority to build the project and will own the right to provide the service and can utilise the rail asset to add value. The company will also set up a subsidiary to operate the train service, details of which will be discussed later," he said.

The subcommittee will make the proposal to Supoth Sublom, the ministry's permanent secretary, who chairs the project working committee, either next week or after New Year's for his consideration. Then Thailand put the details forward for discussion with China. If both agree, the ministry will propose it for Parliament's consideration. If Parliament approves it, Thailand and China are expected to sign the MoU in March or April.

The project will include one year for the study of economic and engineering aspects and four years for construction. The high-speed railway is expected to begin operation in 2015.

[napoleon]

Rail brings opportunities

Bangkokpost Published: 28/12/2010 at 12:00 AM


The Treasury Department is ready to expand property development to accommodate the government's logistics development plan, saying it plans to develop a distribution network to link with the planned high-speed train routes.

The department, one of the country's biggest property holders with 12.5 million rai nationwide, sees high potential in developing property projects in the provinces, particularly those where the government's high-speed train routes cut through its land, said director-general Vinai Vithavaskarnvej.

"We have conducted a preliminary survey and found that there are possibilities in most of the provinces on the high-speed train routes. Since the government hopes the new train project will help improve the country's logistic network, I think distribution centres and goods depots are the kinds of projects we could develop to support the government's plan," said Mr Vinai.

The high-potential projects, he added, would likely be on the 754-kilometre Bangkok-Chiang Mai and the 220-km Bangkok-Rayong routes.

The train projects are expected to start construction by the end of next year or early 2012 if the government is still in power.

As for its other projects, Mr Vinai said one of them is an office building located on five rai on Phahon Yothin road.

The 2.2-billion-baht project targets state agencies as its main clients, with a feasibility study conducted by Chulalongkorn University.

Based on green architecture design, the 24-storey building with 75,000 square metres in usable space will start construction in early 2011.

The department has also hired Thammasat University to conduct a feasibility study on a condominium project in the Phahon Yothin area.

For the government complex in Chaeng Watthana, managed by the department's property development arm Dhanarak Asset Development, a bid will be called for the management and operation of a hotel, with 204 rooms and 38 conference rooms, at the centre.

[napoleon]

[khoojyh]

its a good to heard Thailand started to import High Speed Train. most probably, Japanese train will get involve to bid this project.

If Bangkok - Padang Besar High Speed Rail is build, i think there is a very high chance to Singapore - Kuala Lumpur - Bangkok high speed rail.

Once China successfully obtain Thai high speed rail, i think the subsequent high speed rail in SEA will be dominate by China.

[napoleon]

High-speed rail has potential to benefit both Thailand and China

The Nation Published on January 7, 2011


The Sino-Thai bullet-train project should advance the interests of both countries, observers say.

A Transport Ministry source notes that the attempt of Thailand to make the project happen soon could bring unwelcome consequences to the country. No evaluation has been conducted yet on all the economic impacts of the project on the country.

However, the government has pushed ahead with the project with considerable enthusiasm, as the high-speed railway will help save energy, will boost trade between Thailand and China and could help bring prosperity to Thailand's densely populated Northeast, which has low per capita income.

The railway will link Thailand, China, Laos, Malaysia and Singapore.

Chinese Ambassador Guan Mu has said the project can be divided into the eastern route linking China with Vietnam and Cambodia; the western route connecting China with Burma, India and Bangladesh; and the central route passing through Thailand, Laos and Malaysia to Singapore.

Recently the subcommittee preparing the memorandum of understanding for the project recommended that the two countries set up a joint venture, with Thailand holding the majority share of 51 per cent, to run the project.

The JV would have the right to construct the project and provide the service for 30 years, with automatic renewal for 20 years. The company will set up a subsidiary to operate the train service.

The subcommittee will make the proposal to Supoth Sublom, the ministry's permanent secretary, who chairs the project working committee, for his consideration. Then Thailand will forward the details for discussion with China. If both sides agree, the ministry will propose it for Parliament's approval so the two parties can sign the MoU in March or April.

The project will take one year for an economic and engineering study and four years for construction. The super-express trains are expected to start running in 2015.

The progress on the project by the two countries has been remarkable. In June 2009 Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and Chinese President Hu Jintao discussed collaborating on regional economic development, especially between northern Thailand and southern China.

Parliament has also approved the framework of the MoU, which has led to the talks on the details of the project.

Thailand has also tried to reduce the obstacles to their joint investment. The Finance Ministry is now seeking an amendment to the Private Participation in State Undertaking Act to cut the approval process from 48 months to 12-18 months.

Supoth has said that in the initial talks, China wanted to see the development of three main routes, especially Kunming-Vientiane-Nong Khai, totalling 580 kilometres. This route is expected to take four years to complete. Its feasibility study is expected to be ready in the first half of this year.

Another ministry source pointed out that one of the project's benefits was that it would turn Thailand into China's gateway to trade with India and Europe. Since the pro forma internal rate of return is only 13 per cent, the project is not attractive enough to draw investors, which are interested only in the train project itself.

Beijing has long planned to position Thailand as the route linking southern China to the Andaman Sea and beyond to South Asia and Europe.

The source said it remained to be seen whether the government could see the MoU inked before Parliament is dissolved.

[napoleon]

Panel okays framework for China train link

The Nation Published on January 19, 2011


The Thai-China joint committee has agreed on the framework of the Thai-Sino high-speed train project, in which Thailand will hold 51 per cent and China will hold 49 per cent.

The framework agreed by the joint committee of the two countries is expected to come up for approval from the Transport Ministry and the Cabinet, before negotiations begin with China.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) is expected to be signed in April, Supoth Sublom, Transport permanent secretary said yesterday.

The project will be a joint venture with the right of routing operation for 30 years and automatic renewable for another 20 years.

Transport Ministry inspector-general Chula Sukmanop said earlier that after signing the MoU, both sides would take one year to conduct feasibility studies, covering economics, engineering, survey and designs, and another four years for construction. The service is expected to open in 2015.

This high-speed train project consists of five main lines: Bangkok-Chiang Mai; Bangkok-Nong Khai; Bangkok-Ubon Ratchathani; Bangkok-Padang Besar and Bangkok-Chachoengsao. China has also signed an MoU with Laos for the Kunming-Vientiane route.
China also has a plan to connect its route to Nong Khai province where it connects with Malaysia.

[Restless]

Repost

Originally Posted by Restless

Integrating South-East Asia

China coming down the tracks

A railway boom promises to tie South-East Asia together—and boost China’s sway
Jan 20th 2011 | BANGKOK | from PRINT EDITION



THE rapid expansion of its high-speed railways has got China plenty of attention. Yet ambitions do not stop at the border. On its southern flank China is renewing a push to lay tracks to mainland South-East Asia. The region’s leaders have dreamed since the 1990s of seamless rail travel between Singapore and Kunming, capital of the south-western Chinese province of Yunnan. South-East Asia’s existing network of railways is creaking, patchy and underfunded. Most goods move about the region by lorry and ship. But that creates choke points while running up fuel bills. An integrated rail system could be just the ticket.

Enter China, chequebook in hand. It has recently signed agreements to build new lines in Laos and Thailand, while it extends its network from Kunming to the China-Laos border. These lines are meant to be ready by 2015. The benefits may be huge. Most countries along the route have already hitched their wagons to China’s outsize economy and are eager for more trade. China’s free-trade agreement with the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), which took effect a year ago, has cut tariffs on most traded goods. The region still has natural resources, which China is keen to strip.

Empire-builders love railways. Most of South-East Asia’s were laid during colonial rule, as Britain and France pushed inland. In a region with American leanings, China wants to bind its neighbours into an economic sphere with strategic weight. Laying lines into Myanmar, with a large but decrepit network, would add a coveted Indian Ocean port. More regional trade with its centre in Yunnan spreads wealth inland, another Chinese objective. Trains already shuttle between China and Vietnam, which has a north-south railway. This linkage opens up the possibility of a circuitous eastern route into South-East Asia, via Cambodia and Thailand. Both countries belong to the Greater Mekong Subregion, a grouping fostered by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) that also includes Vietnam, China, Laos and Myanmar. According to the ADB, it would cost $1.1 billion to build the missing links along this route, making it the cheapest way to connect the region. Some $7 billion more would be needed to upgrade existing lines and rolling-stock. By 2014, once this route is operating, it would carry almost 7m tonnes of cargo among Greater Mekong countries, rising to 26m tonnes by 2025, the ADB reckons. Greater Mekong countries duly backed the plan in August.



Yet China quickly upended this consensus. In December Laos said China would build a $7 billion high-speed railway from the border to its capital, Vientiane. Construction is set to begin in April. Meanwhile, Thailand is negotiating with China to build a connecting north-south line to Bangkok, using concessionary Chinese loans. ADB officials are left scratching their heads over what this means for the Vietnam-Cambodia route, including a long stretch that China had been expected to build but which now appears to be on the back burner.

On paper, the Laos-Thailand route is more direct, but it is also far more mountainous, with 190 kilometres (120 miles) of tunnels in Laos and countless bridges. Remote areas of Laos are also littered with unexploded bombs from the Vietnam war. None of this is likely to stop a country that laid a railway up to the Tibetan plateau.

In Thailand the hazards are more political. To get around the mighty, hidebound state operator, the Thai government proposes a new line using Chinese technology to run parallel to the existing one. A Thai-Chinese entity would rent the land from the state operator and build its own signals and stations. Handily, the route would pass through Thailand’s poor and politically disaffected north-east, giving a shot in the arm to the local economy.

Thailand says that fast passenger trains would reach speeds of 200 kilometres an hour, streets ahead of what currently pass for express trains. Tourists could ride luxury carriages to exotic destinations. A fast train, says Korbsak Sabhavasu, the government’s chief negotiator, is something Thailand needed 20 years ago. But Thailand’s treacherous politics may yet intrude, as any final agreement with China needs the nod from parliament. In an election year, this is no certainty.

Tourists and trainspotters may be tickled by a fast train to China. Yet the real point of modernising the railways is cargo. Intra-ASEAN trade is growing much faster than exports to developed markets. Nearly a quarter of Thailand’s exports go to South-East Asia, with another 11% (and rising) to China. Trains are more efficient and less polluting than lorries on all but the shortest routes. Peter Broch of the ADB estimates that a rail service from Bangkok to Phnom Penh would cut the price of moving a container by two-thirds compared with moving it by ship and lorry, as now.

Even without a railway network, the region is tying itself together. Roads have been upgraded, and customs procedures are less tape-bound than they were before. When Wang Er-Chern began trading agricultural produce in northern Thailand in the early 1990s, it took two weeks to send goods by road and ship via Laos to his native Yunnan. Today the journey has been shaved to two days. Mr Wang, prominent in the Thai Yunnan Commerce Association, says a fast rail link to Kunming would be nice. But he grumbles that business has already become less profitable as more Chinese traders have got in on the act. A trainload more may soon be on the way.

from PRINT EDITION | Asia

[napoleon]

Credit : Adithep Jaruwan

[napoleon]

Private investors sought

Bangkokpost Published: 29/01/2011 at 03:38 AM


A state-owned Sino-Thai joint venture to develop a rail line from Nong Khai in northeastern Thailand to Padang Besar on the Malaysian border may be open to Thai private investors.

The Thailand-China Economic Relations Committee chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban yesterday approved the first stage of the standard-gauge rail line, linking Nong Khai and Bangkok.

Supoj Sublom, the permanent secretary for the Transport Ministry said officials were considering ways to allow the private sector to have equity partnerships. Private-sector participation would not only be help make operations more flexible but also would help speed up development, he said.

The Finance Ministry is considering the shareholding structure of the venture between the Thai and Chinese governments, while the Transport Ministry will decide whether to develop a single- or dual-track rail route. A single-track line would cost 40% less than two tracks.

A Transport Ministry study suggests a dual-track line linking Nong Khai and Bangkok would cost 180 billion baht, and the link from Bangkok to Padang Besar another 300 billion. Construction will start early next year and the first stage would take four years to complete.

A study by the National Economic and Social Development Board estimated that the entire Nong Khai-Bangkok-Padang Besar line covering 1,597 kilometres would cost 247.9 billion baht.

It projected that 41,000 passengers per day would use the line in 2017.

[napoleon]

Thailand, China To Ink Pact On THB150 Billion Rail Project In April


BANGKOK -(Dow Jones 16/02/2011)- Thailand expects to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese government in April to co-develop a THB150 billion ($4.89 billion) high-speed rail project, Permanent Secretary for Transport Suphoth Sublom said late Wednesday.

Under the drafted MOU, The 620-kilometer high-speed railway project linking Nong Kai in the northeast and the capital Bangkok will be run by a joint venture to be set up by the Thai and Chinese governments, he told reporters.

The Thai government will own a majority of the planned joint venture, which will have an initial registered capital of around THB1 billion to THB2 billion. Around 70% of the project is expected to be funded by debt, which could come from Chinese financiers, he said.

Construction is expected to kick off next year and the rail project is expected to start commercial operations in 2016, Suphoth said.

[napoleon]

Originally Posted by trewut

..

[psychology]

express train no.67 (Bangkok - Ubon rachathani)

[Codename B]

Originally Posted by psychology

VIP train in Thailand.

...

[Codename B]

Originally Posted by psychology

...

[napoleon]

Thai-Chinese rail pact delayed

Published: 22/04/2011 at 12:00 AM

Thailand and China are unlikely to sign an agreement for the joint development of a standard-gauge rail line between Nong Khai and Bangkok by May because negotiations have not been completed.

The agreement is now expected to be put on hold until a new government is formed after elections at midyear.

The Transport Ministry had hoped to conclude talks this month for the two countries to establish a joint-venture company to develop the project. The cabinet would then need to seek parliamentary approval of the memorandum of understanding before it could be signed.

However, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told ministers on Wednesday that the current government would have only two cabinet meetings left before the House is dissolved in early may ahead of a general election.

Korbsak Sabhavasu, a member of the Thai-China rail development committee, said it was quite certain that the governments could not sign the agreement before the house dissolution.

He said the negotiations had been slow because of the absence of high-ranking officials in the process.

However, Mr Korbsak believes that no matter which political party forms the next government, it would continue to pursue the project.

He said the Democrat Party, if elected, would look to move ahead as soon as possible with the first phase between Nong Khai and Bangkok and the second between Bangkok and the southern provinces to support tourism and logistics.

The Transport Ministry has proposed that Thailand hold 51% of the joint venture and China 49%. Each side would be expected to arrange financing in a ratio of 70% loans and 30% cash. The joint-venture company would then call bids for contractors by late this year or early next year.

Mr Abhisit met yesterday with Zhang Zhjun, the Vice Foreign Minister of China, and told him the next government would continue the development because it benefits to the country, said government spokesman Panitan Watayagorn.

The two governments have agreed to establish a sub-committee to monitor and promote trade and investment cooperation with each province in China.

Chinese investors from Zhousan joining the trade mission also met Kiat Sittheeamorn, chairman of the Thai Trade Representative, and encouraged Thai investors to invest in their province which recorded 14% economic growth last year.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/...l-pact-delayed

[hkhui]

At least the Chinese have started their part of the railway, and also the Laotian part.

Kunming-Singapore High-Speed Railway begins construction
14:57, April 25, 2011

The Kunming-Singapore High-Speed Railway began construction on April 25. The railway will shorten the travel time between Kunming and Singapore to only a little more than 10 hours in the future.

The Chinese government expects the railway to be put into operation by 2020. The line, starting from Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province; passes Mohan, a border town with Laos; and Wangrong, a popular Chinese tourist city; and ends in Vientiane, capital of Laos. Construction of the Mohan Railway Logistics Center has already started.

According to the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Trans-Asian Railway Network, the Kunming-Singapore High-Speed Railway, which is in fact the central line of the southeast part of the Trans-Asian Railway Network, will also pass Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, and end in Singapore, with a total distance of 3,900 kilometers. Once completed, it will take passengers a little more than 10 hours to travel between Kunming and Singapore by train.

Chen Tiejun, a researcher at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies under the Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, said that the Trans-Asian Railway Network has a far-reaching impact on countries in the Greater Mekong Sub-region.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) occupies an increasingly important strategic position due to the acceleration of ASEAN integration. The ASEAN-China Free Trade Area has removed man-made trade barriers, but the removal of natural barriers will require the construction of the Trans-Asian Railway Network and other infrastructure.

After the Trans-Asian Railway Network is completed, Vietnam and Cambodia will be linked with Thailand and Myanmar by train, and China will have a closer political and economic relationship with countries in the Mekong River Basin where the total population has reached 300 million people.

Furthermore, energy and goods that Japan and South Korea need can also be transported to both countries through this railway network of global significance.

The railway network will facilitate the movement of goods and people, improve the efficiency of economic activities, and help create a more peaceful and stable geopolitical environment.

By People's Daily Online

[chornedsnorkack]

Originally Posted by hkhui

At least the Chinese have started their part of the railway, and also the Laotian part.

Originally Posted by People's Daily Online

According to the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Trans-Asian Railway Network, the Kunming-Singapore High-Speed Railway, which is in fact the central line of the southeast part of the Trans-Asian Railway Network, will also pass Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, and end in Singapore, with a total distance of 3,900 kilometers. Once completed, it will take passengers a little more than 10 hours to travel between Kunming and Singapore by train.

What shall be the maximum speed between Kunming and Vientiane: 200 km/h, 250 km/h, 300 km/h, 350 km/h, 380 km/h or faster than 380 km/h?

[hkhui]

Originally Posted by chornedsnorkack

What shall be the maximum speed between Kunming and Vientiane: 200 km/h, 250 km/h, 300 km/h, 350 km/h, 380 km/h or faster than 380 km/h?

Well, I don't know, but I measured the distance from Kunming to Singapore in straight lines (not realistic), passing through Vientiane and Bangkok, and got 2900km. Perhaps People's Daily meant 2900km and not 3900km.

I doubt the Kunming-Singapore line would only take 10 hours to cover a 3900km long line.. that would imply an average speed of 390km/h.

I guess 300 km/h, if the travel time of 10h between Kunming and Singapore is correct.