Thailand launches new dual rail route

BANGKOK, January 12 (TNA) - A new dual rail route, stretching on a distance of 78 kilometres from Chachoengsao Province to Laem Chabang area in Chon Buri Province, both in the Thai East, was launched on Thursday to serve public transport and to boost the country's logistics. Thai Deputy Transport Minister Police Lieutenant General Chatt Kuldiloke presided over a ceremony to inaugurate the 5.85-billion-baht eastern twin rail tracks, from the Chachoengsao Railway Interchange Station to the Laem Chabang Railway Station, passing through Chon Buri, Bang Phra and Sri Racha Interchange Station. The Ministry of Transport and the State Railway of Thailand or SRT have targeted that the new dual rail route will mainly support operations of the SRT's inland container depot in Bangkok's Lat Krabang District, where about 400,000 containers have been handled annually so far. After the launch of the new dual railroad, the number of containers at the Lat Krabang depot is expected to double to some 800,000 this year and to some one million annually over the next few years, beneficial to the country's cargo services and several industrial estates, namely the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate in the eastern Rayong Province. The Thai Transport Ministry is also speeding up the construction of more dual railroads on other routes, including the one linking Chachoengsao with Kaeng Khoi in the central Saraburi Province. On the same occasion, the deputy transport minister also introduced an SRT prototype carriage for people with disabilities (PWD) and the elderly who use wheelchairs, as part of the Thai government's policy on improving quality of life of the local PWDs. (TNA)