Rail link sparks corruption fears

"The golden goose is not the |rail link operation but the Mak-kasan main passenger terminal, as the subsidiary will have to manage the commercial space there for |leasing and advertising," the source said.

"It will have full authority over space management, not the SRT or Transport Ministry."

Politicians might try to find some way to appoint their men to run the SRT subsidiary, the source said.

The SRT's board will appoint the subsidiary's board and the subsidiary will hire professionals outside the SRT as its chief executive officer, chief operating officer and chief financial officer.

The rail link will connect Suvarnabhumi Airport with the |City Air Terminal in downtown Bangkok.

The creation of the subsidiary |is part of the debt-ridden SRT's rehabilitation plan. The Finance Ministry will budget Bt500 mil-|lion for the subsidiary's start-up costs.

The Transport Ministry will submit the SRT rehabilitation plan for Cabinet approval at next Tuesday's meeting.

Once it gets the green light, the state enterprise could immediately establish the subsidiary.

The SRT will hire German train operator Deutsche Bahn Inter-national to operate the rail link and train the SRT subsidiary staff on an outsourcing basis for Bt90 million until the subsidiary is ready to manage the system itself.

Besides running the airport rail system, the subsidiary might be allowed to take over some commercial rail routes so it can generate sufficient revenue for the SRT.

The new rail link will begin trial operations on August 12, with full service scheduled by the end of this year or early next yesterday.