Rail plan sped up to meet deadline

Govt eye 2027 complete for a dual-track program

When the double-track train system project, which will provide the region’s fresh Singapore-Kunming route, is finished by 2027, the government hopes to transform Thailand into a local cargo and passenger rail transportation hub.

According to Department of Rail Transport director-general Pichet Kunathammarak, the new system will connect the local road that connects Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, and China.

Thailand needs to speed up the second phase of its double-track railroad and the new Thai-Lao friendship bridge in order to open this new local road link by 2027, he said.

According to Mr. Pichet, the initial stage of the new train system will be completed next year, when the entire length of its double-track railway will have been increased to 627 km.

According to Mr. Pichet, the next phase’s plans call for the construction of 168 kilometers from Chumphon to Surat Thani, 57 billion baht for a 321 km section, and around 6.6 b h o t u s v e d i n g p c r y m f w l k q/ j – x.’ 68 km to Hat Yai

In order to make the planned connection of the double-track rail services through Thailand easier, the construction of these three — of seven — sections in the second phase, which span a total length of 1, 479 km, will need to be accelerated.

He stated that construction on the Hat Yai-Padang Besar section will start first, and later this month, the State Railway of Thailand( SRT ) will request cabinet approval for this sub-project.

According to Mr. Pichet, the Department of Highways has finished researching the possibility of constructing a second Thai-Lao connection bridge in Nong Khai and is currently preparing to layout the new bridge to accommodate the double-track rail.

The study concluded that since the northeast province’s first Thai-Lao bridge can also satisfy the demand for car transportation across the Mekong River, the new bridge may be constructed to serve transnational double-track rail services.

According to him, the new bridge’s construction is anticipated to take about three years and should start by first 2025 so that it can be inaugurated by the beginning of 2028.

According to him, it will be made to fit the typical trail measure of 1.435 meters.