"The company is in talks with many local firms to jointly establish a business alliance, but whom we will be participating with has not been concluded yet," he said, adding that it would depend on the bidding conditions from the government.

Herrmann is confident that the extension of the electric-rail projects will go ahead, because Bangkok is a big city in which convenient mass-transit systems are needed. Considered one of the world's leading international suppliers to the railway industry, Siemens is ready to support the projects.

Herrmann said the company had supplied electric-train facilities to other projects in Bangkok, such as the Skytrain and the subway, as well as the Airport Rail Link project expected to open over the next few years.

He said Siemens was also studying the feasibility of constructing an electric-train-carrier assembly plant in Thailand.

"If the company won the bidding for any electric-rail route project, it would still be interested in setting up an electric-train-carrier assembly plant in Thailand. This is aimed at using some of the local raw materials in the country, " said Herrmann.

In addition, he said the company had invested in training 400 staff in repair and maintenance of transport systems. "In the future, Siemens will invest more in technology transfer," he said.

Herrmann said it was possible to have an electric-train-carrier assembly plant in Thailand, depending on support from the government, as well as business allies and favourable returns. "If all factors are favourable, the company will make a decision to invest," he said.

He commented that choosing only one supplier to provide electric-system facilities would help integrate the existing system of mass-transit networks and electric-rail routes and thus promote greater efficiency in terms of management and cost savings. However, it depends on participants' needs and which types of system they would like to see.

"Siemens, though, is ready to compete with other suppliers," said Herrmann. He also answered concerns over a Siemens monopoly, which could lead to higher prices if there were only one supplier.

He explained that Siemens' purchase orders for transport systems worldwide last year had a total value of ¤6.2 billion (Bt287 billion), up 35 per cent from 2005. "This figure shows that the company's products are not higher than the others," said Herrmann. He said the company was also ready to disclose any information about the techniques of electric-train systems at a seminar on the subject to be held next Thursday.

For the progress of the Airport Rail Link project, Herrmann said Siemens was responsible for various systems, including rolling stock, signalling, railway electrification via overhead lines, depot workshop equipment and platform screen doors.

Herrmann said two out of the total nine train carriers had been completed. He expected all carriers would be completed and ready for delivery by year-end, as stated in the contract.

Watcharapong

 Thongrung

 The Nation