Bangkok-Pattaya high speed rail link gets "green light"

[Jun]

the road toll has been a problem for so long that everyone is just blase about it - everyone knows how bad it is, everyone knows the risk factors (alcohol, speed, fatigue, poor driver training, unsafe practices - no seat belts, people in pickup trays, no helmets), any time anyone tries to do something about it it doesn't make any difference because the effort is half-hearted and this is the way we have always done it and/or it is expensive to change, and everyone thinks it is not a problem for them today - they will not have an accident today if they do something unsafe

That's nicely summarized & I agree entirely.
It's entirely irrational for the government to screw the economy to stop Covid, yet they do almost nothing to stop the appalling road toll death rate, when fixing this problem instead would have less impact on the economy & result in fewer deaths (and a lot fewer lost years of life).

The reason for this irrationality is, as you say, largely down to the fact that Covid's a new problem.
By this time next year, I reckon people will be more used to the idea.
There will be a lot less restrictions, either due to people getting used to the idea of living with Covid, or a vaccine.

OK yes the economic effect may cause problems in the longer term, and yes on-going compliance relaxes over time as well, but why are you so surprised at this "inconsistency"?

I'm not actually surprised, but am intending to draw attention to this point. Sometimes I like to state the obvious.

Steering the debate back to the topic, infrastructure projects are ideal for kick starting the economy after Covid. The infection risk for outdoor construction is going to be pretty low and then, by the time it's completed, Thailand will probably be trying to welcome tourists back into the country.

[Gaybutton]

Between trams, high speed rail links, plans, maps, and a lot of talk, usually that's as far as any of it gets. Here's the latest, but I'm not holding my breath.
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Good news on eastern corridor high-speed railway

June 23, 2024

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin is vowing to push for a high-speed railway project linking three main airports to ensure the success of the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) and he expects good news to revive the long-delayed railway project next month.

The prime minister voiced support for the 224-billion-baht railway project during his visit to U-Tapao airport in Ban Chang district of this eastern province on Sunday. U-Tapao is one of three main airports that the high-speed railway project will link. The high-speed railway project was originally expected to start service this year.

The very important project was seriously delayed and thus he paid the visit to speed it up, Mr Srettha said.

"If delay continues with the high-speed railway project linking three airports, how can we make the private sector confident? This project will be surely implemented. Otherwise, it would affect investment in the EEC," the prime minister said.

After officials concerned briefed him on the project, Mr Srettha said that he expected good news on its resumption by the end of next month.

"I insist that it is the megaproject that is crucial to our economy... Concerts and festivals will happen in the Eastern Seaboard... If we have the high-speed railway, visitors will be confident," he said.

According to the prime minister, the high-speed railway will facilitate transport between the East and Bangkok and distribute development and tourists from the capital to provinces in the EEC.

Deputy government spokeswoman Radklao Intawong said the construction of the railway project should have been accelerated in 2019 but Covid-19 had obstructed it. In addition, she said, the behavioural changes of consumers and tourists after the pandemic affected the finance of the project.

"Negotiations are underway for fairness," she said.

Asia Era One, a Charoen Pokphand Group-led consortium, won the bidding to build the rail system in 2018. The State Railway of Thailand and the Office of the EEC have negotiated with the firm over changing parts of the contract to ensure the project is completed.

Under the original contract, in which the rail system is to be developed under a public-private partnership scheme, the government committed to investing about 111.9 billion baht. It would pay 3.57 billion baht for land appropriation and start paying the remaining 108.33 baht in the sixth year or after trains start running.

However, Asia Era One has asked the government to pay the company for ongoing construction work. The consortium comprises CP, Bangkok Expressway and Metro Plc, China Railway Construction Corporation, Ch Karnchang Plc and Italian-Thai Development Plc.

The consortium has a 50-year licence to commercialise land at stations and under the rail route.

The high-speed railway linking Greater Bangkok's Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi airports with U-Tapao airport in Rayong was originally scheduled to be launched commercially in 2024 as part of plans to develop the government's flagship Eastern Economic Corridor high-tech investment hub scheme.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... ed-railway

[Jun]

Still no sign of a detailed route map ?
To pull in the customers, not only do you need high speed trains, but the stations need to be in the right place and the onward public transport needs to be good.
Victorian era capitalists understood this. Where the government didn't allow them to build railways in the city centre, they even came up with the cunning plan of putting rail lines underground to circumvent those rules.

Governments in places like Thailand and Laos seem to like putting stations in the wrong place.

[Gaybutton]

Still no sign of a detailed route map ?

I won't be surprised if they spend the next three years arguing and debating about it - while zero actually gets done.

[Jun]

I won't be surprised if they spend the next three years arguing and debating about it - while zero actually gets done.

They have been upgrading the lines to Nong Khai and the southern line for several years.
Some parts are complete, but I'm still not aware of a proper high speed service anywhere.