High speed Rail Link

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parrot
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High speed Rail Link

Post by parrot » June 18, 2016, 6:07 pm

I've now no doubt that I'll get to witness driverless cars, albeit maybe not in Thailand, before I see any hint of a high speed railroad in Thailand. Sigh!
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/transpo ... se-leaders
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stattointhailand
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High speed Rail Link

Post by stattointhailand » June 18, 2016, 10:32 pm

Parrot, you have seen driverless cars in Thailand for years ......... well LEGAL driverless anyway :-"

And it's just a matter of time until the train brakes fail on a downhill section before we get a high speed train service :-&

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Re: High speed Rail Link

Post by parrot » July 22, 2018, 1:33 pm

Interesting article in today's BP about the rail plans/progress
https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/specia ... il-dilemma

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Re: High speed Rail Link

Post by the-monk » July 22, 2018, 2:02 pm

Interesting. Thanks Mr Parrot.
BUT BUT ...Don t rush into buying your ticket. I am train fan but i don t expect that i will enjoy riding the Pan Asia train during this lifetime.

From Parrot s link
''
Talks are still ongoing between Laos, China and Thailand on whether the link between Nong Khai and the Laos capital will be built.
"
From Nikkei Asia Weekly
https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Busine ... en-exports
''
Malaysia high-speed rail cancellation a blow to Japan's 'shinkansen' exports

''

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Re: High speed Rail Link

Post by FrazeeDK » July 22, 2018, 3:19 pm

well with the Kunming to Vientiane railway at 33% completion I'm still predicting that the Thais will get it in gear to build their side (with Chinese companies involved) in perhaps mid 2019 or a bit later.. Imagine the lost face if the railway stops at the Mekong on the Lao side.. That's what seems to count a lot... The Thai portion of any extended line from Nong Khai to Bangkok is far far less complicated from an engineering standpoint than the one being built in Laos now and with a full effort could probably be built completely in less than three years..
Dave

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Re: High speed Rail Link

Post by arjay » July 22, 2018, 4:21 pm

Yes, I would think that the loss of face for the Thais if they didn't have a completed link from Vientiane to and through Nong Khai to the south would be a major factor. Though after reading the Bangkok Post article, the likely influx of Chinese migrants must also be a major concern. They (the Chinese) are so very evident in Laos and Vientiane. Methinks Laos has very much mortgaged its future to China.

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Re: High speed Rail Link

Post by parrot » July 22, 2018, 4:27 pm

Call me skeptical. If the military government can't negotiate the deal, seems that's either a sign that the military isn't good at such things (my guess) or that there's regional political motives standing in the way (my other guess).

Today while at the Tesco Nadee foodcourt, I watched three young women transfer data from one written spreadsheet to another. There were hundreds of pages of data to transfer. When I see things like that, I could envision a train arriving at the Mekong, off-loading to trucks or barges that cross the river, and then uploaded to another train or trucks in Thailand. Meanwhile, the construction of the Industrial Park just off the KK Hwy continues full steam ahead!

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Re: High speed Rail Link

Post by FrazeeDK » July 23, 2018, 7:11 pm

well a change gauge container site would definitely be needed if the Thais don't build the Standard gauge system.. Of course, if SRT doesn't modernize its engines and freight carriages as well as complete their ongoing double tracking project they'll continue to suffer from a lack of rail space/transport time segments and freight via rail won't be practical. That would mean a massive fleet of container carrying trucks on Rte 2 heading both north and south.. argghhh!! As for the projected business park near Non Soong, remember it was initially planned and partially built back around 1998 or so. In the intervening 20 years the only "development" in that area has been people building homes in the erstwhile business park. Yes, in the last couple of years the land area has been recleared, a road network installed and high tension lines established. But, on the east side of the tracks I see no factories yet and.. more importantly, see no activity by SRT to build any sidings or spur rails there. That means anything going by rail will have to be trucked a few kilometers to Nong Takai railhead which has multiple sidings but no fixed cargo handling cranes or freight docks.. SRT has been woefully non-forward looking when it comes to expanding their services and infrastructure..
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Re: High speed Rail Link

Post by parrot » July 23, 2018, 8:03 pm

Back when the first Taksin was PM, there were moves afoot to make the SRT a public company. I think TOT actually became a Public Company....perhaps in name only, but it was a start.
When those proposals were being made, SRT folks were balking at losing a plateful of benefits as balance sheets would become public knowledge. I don't know how the SRT works, but I was told back then that it was a dream job....much like working for Thai Air.
Unless it modernizes, I'll guess it'll go the way of the Panamanian Railway....before they finally privatized in 2001.

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Re: High speed Rail Link

Post by Laan Yaa Mo » July 23, 2018, 8:48 pm

arjay wrote:
July 22, 2018, 4:21 pm
Yes, I would think that the loss of face for the Thais if they didn't have a completed link from Vientiane to and through Nong Khai to the south would be a major factor. Though after reading the Bangkok Post article, the likely influx of Chinese migrants must also be a major concern. They (the Chinese) are so very evident in Laos and Vientiane. Methinks Laos has very much mortgaged its future to China.
Chinese migrants have been part of this area since the days of the Ayutthaya government. Bangkok itself is run economically by Sino-Thais and the Thai government and its top military leaders are all Sino-Thais.

As far as Laos mortgaging its future to China, this may prove to be the case, but this is what was said about the Burmese government too about 15-20 years ago, but it did not happen. So, let's wait and see.
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Re: High speed Rail Link

Post by FrazeeDK » July 25, 2018, 3:11 pm

Yes, because the Burmese military junta was smart enough (after having gotten control of nearly every company in Burma) to see that they'd make far more money by granting democratic "reforms" getting trade sanctions dropped by the west and opening up to a flood of western money.. The Chinese are still there but not the only player in town now... The Lao always were the "little cousins" of the Vietnamese after the war with Viet advisers at every level of government. That's faded away as the entrenched Lao leadership (and their extended families) have become a plutocracy.. The Chinese have zero compunctions about adding graft overhead onto any project so long as they end up running it and it meets their long term geopolitical needs...
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Re: High speed Rail Link

Post by FrazeeDK » July 25, 2018, 3:12 pm

as for Chinese "migrants" just visit the Bobei clothing market here in Udon beside Global House on the Ring Road. The back side has a large number of Chinese run/staffed shops known as Talad Jin..
Dave

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Re: High speed Rail Link

Post by parrot » July 25, 2018, 4:02 pm

FrazeeDK wrote:
July 25, 2018, 3:12 pm
as for Chinese "migrants" just visit the Bobei clothing market here in Udon beside Global House on the Ring Road. The back side has a large number of Chinese run/staffed shops known as Talad Jin..
Not to derail the thread......but a year or so after Bo Bai opened, my wife and I went to the furniture store that was in the same area....butted up against Global, but in the same parking lot as BoBai. While my wife was yakking with one of the staff, I noticed a young boy working on his homework. When I approached, I noticed he was writing Chinese characters. I thought.....'wow, this kid can really write Chinese!'. I spoke to him (in Thai) to try to engage him in conversation. He continued with his homework. His mother then explained that the boy didn't know how to speak Thai. My fuzzy memory cells tell me immigration police raided Bo Bai a few years after they opened as a number of the workers there were ?working? illegally.

Anyway, back on track, https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/genera ... ed-railway

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Re: High speed Rail Link

Post by the-monk » July 25, 2018, 8:13 pm

Losses predicted for high-speed railway

The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) is worried that the planned Shinkansen-like Thai-Japanese high-speed railway from Bangkok to Chiang Mai will run at a loss when it opens, citing a 66% drop in predicted...


https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/genera ... ed-railway

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Re: High speed Rail Link

Post by FrazeeDK » July 26, 2018, 10:30 am

on your hazy memory of Immigration raiding Bobei many years ago, yes, you're right. The Immo's did raid the place and arrested dozens of Chinese for illegally working and/or being in-country without a proper visa. I recall the Chinese embassy intervened quite loudly and that, was the end of that...
Dave

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Re: High speed Rail Link

Post by FrazeeDK » July 26, 2018, 10:34 am

well, here's something I haven't seen in the Thai English language media.. An actual construction schedule for pieces of the Thai high speed rail https://eng.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/qwyw/rdxw/60968.htm
Dave

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Re: High speed Rail Link

Post by the-monk » July 30, 2018, 8:57 am

PAN ASIAN RAILWAY..... Great overview of the present situation.

<< "I am sure that the Lao people will be able to see this railway before the Thai people even make a decision (on the line) from Nong Khai to Nakhon Ratchasima," she said. >>

Source:
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/ne ... tightening

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Re: High speed Rail Link

Post by FrazeeDK » July 30, 2018, 7:08 pm

guess we'll have to wait and see. From an engineering standpoint the link from Bangkok to Khorat coming up onto the Khorat Plateau is a tougher build than the leg from Khorat to Nong Khai... I think they'll get it done quickly once they get their act together..
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Re: High speed Rail Link

Post by Drunk Monkey » July 30, 2018, 9:13 pm

FrazeeDK wrote:
July 30, 2018, 7:08 pm
guess we'll have to wait and see. From an engineering standpoint the link from Bangkok to Khorat coming up onto the Khorat Plateau is a tougher build than the leg from Khorat to Nong Khai... I think they'll get it done quickly once they get their act together..
The raised stretch from Korat to Sarburi to Bkk is really moving fast now , approx 70-80 kms solid road works , thousands of machines n personal its massive feet of engineering and for sure will be the most difficult due the landscape, im seeing a big difference in progress every time i drive thru. I have changed my travel times to suit going over night now as its pretty quiet , day time does get choked up and can add a good hour or two on the journey.

From Korat to Nong Khai is underway around KK thru to Phon and should be a lot swifter than K-S-BKK ... nasty roadworks now just South of KK but the main of the work is well away the main highway No 2.
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Re: High speed Rail Link

Post by the-monk » July 31, 2018, 9:11 am

Kunming carrier set for Korat flights .

Competition .......

""
Direct flights between Kunming and the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima are expected to be launched by Chinese-carrier Kunming Airlines by this October. ""

Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/genera ... at-flights

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