Thailand finalises on high-speed railway

BANGKOK, May 13 (TNA) - The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) will study the Bangkok-Rayong high-speed railway project and plans to stage a bidding contest for its construction next year. SRT governor Prapat Chongsanguan said he proposed the project to the cabinet through the Transport Ministry. Earlier, the eastern high-speed railway was planned to reach only Pattaya City but under the 2-trillion-baht transport development scheme of the government, the eastern link will further reach Rayong province. The SRT governor said the SRT would study the detailed project of the Bangkok-Rayong high-speed railway by itself, while the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP) would study three other high-speed railway routes from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Nong Khai and Padang Besar and would let the SRT organize bidding contests for the construction of the projects. Mr Prapat said the high-speed railway on the Bangkok-Rayong route would be construction along the existing eastern railway, so the SRT would not have to expropriate land for the development. The SRT will finish the study in six months and organize the bidding contest in 2014. Previously the OTP studied the Bangkok-Rayong high-speed railway. It was planned to stretch 221 kilometers long from Suvarnabhumi airport through Chon Buri and Pattaya to Rayong. The construction cost was estimated at 100,631 million baht. (TNA)