Japan-Thailand rail development office opened in Bangkok

BANGKOK, June 3 (TNA) - A new office to develop cargo transport on railways has been opened in Bangkok in accordance with a Thai-Japanese railway cooperation framework. Opening the office on June 2, Thai Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said the new official will facilitate cargo transport plans for Japanese-Thai railway development projects. The minister stated that the office will initially work on the development of a railway, linking Kanchanaburi in the Thai West with Laem Chabang, Aranyaprathet in the Thai East via Bangkok. Besides, Tokyo and Bangkok will set up a joint venture within this year to formulate business plans for cargo transport on railways. Meanwhile, State Railway of Thailand (SRT) Governor Wuthichart Kalyanamitra told journalists that the new office will play important roles in developing railway transport in the ASEAN Community (AC) and a southern economic corridor. According to the SRT chief, the newly-opened office will present cargo transport plans to the Thai government in either August or September 2016. Earlier in February, Japan and Thailand experimented on transporting 12-foot containers on southern, northern and northeastern railways and both sides plan to further study the feasibility of the project. (TNA)