Thai Gov’t Greenlights $7B High-Speed Rail Project To Connect 3 Int’l Airports, Serve EEC Scheme

Bangkok will soon become mere several minutes away from select remote areas of Thailand following the approval of the high-speed railway project that will also interlink three of the nation’s international airports. The billion dollars undertaking is slated to commence operations in 2023 at the earliest.

The Thai government, according to The Bangkok Post, has officially authorised the provision of state funds that will accelerate the delivery of the program. Bangkok will inject an estimated THB 111.9 billion, roughly $3.6 billion, into the ambitious project or more than half of the projected total cost that will reach THB 225 billion or around $7 billion.

In the same report, it was indicated that the project will be realised “under the public-private partnership scheme.” Initially, the national government will spend THB 3.57 billion to jumpstart the project and the balanced of the committed funds will be gradually released over the next 10 years after the railway becomes operational.

For the entities that will participate in the project, Bangkok promises concession deals that will last 50 years.

“The private partners will be tasked with investing in civil works, signalling systems, trains, property development and maintenance,” the local publication said.

Project’s Forecasted Benefits

The plan is seen to interconnect Thailand’s three main airports – Don Mueang, Suvarnabhumi and U-tapao. In turn, the created network will support Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) scheme, which is the central government’s flagship economic program spanning the region.

When completed, the whole stretch of the high-speed railway will cover 220 kilometres of modern tracks that the bullet trains will travel on packing a top speed of 250 kilometres per hour. To put into perspective how fast the journey will be, the one way ride from Bangkok going to U-tapao will only take 45 minutes.

Passengers will only need to pay THB 330 for taking the trip, highlighting the fact that the project will bring efficiency, convenience and savings in equal terms.

Travellers heading to Bang Saray, for instance, will get great benefits from the planned high-speed railway system. With network in place, Bang Saray will be just 20 minutes away from U-tapao.