SRT to buy 20 electric locomotives in 2015

BANGKOK, June 14 (TNA) - State Railway of Thailand (SRT) plans to initially buy 20 electric locomotives in an attempt to cut its losses, said SRT governor Wuthichart Kalayanamitra. SRT board during a meeting on Saturday considered on seven restructuring plans of the agency and agreed that there are needs to boost efficiency of the train services, restructuring the agency for administration of six dual rail tracks and to use an information technology system for use in its work, said Mr. Wuthichart. He said SRT plans to conduct a study on which routes that the electric train would run in line with the policy laid out by the cabinet and worth the investment in long-term. It is expected that services to be given by electric train would start in 2017 and full services on every route are projected in 2032, he said. Diesel-electric locomotives will continue to serve on minor routes in order to save costs. (TNA)