The dual-track railways development plan is aimed at enhancing a multi-modal shift from road to rail transport in a bid to reduce the overall logistics cost to compete with other countries, the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP) has said.
To implement the plan, the government has suggested investing Bt263.24 billion for building a dual-track railway with a length of 3,039 kilometres over 15 years.
The plan, which is part of the Railways Development Master Plan, includes hi-speed railways, express railways and railway track development plans, and will be implemented in three phases, from 2010-2024.
The last phase of the master plan would focus on developing the rail lines that link to neighbouring countries such as Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and China. The Chachoengsao-Aranyaprathet railway line development was suggested to link the Poipet-Srisophon rail line in Cambodia, completing the Singapore-Khunming line that will connect southern China and Singapore via Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia.
The rail line in the North was also suggested to extend from Denchai to Chiang Khong via Chiang Rai to serve shipments from China's southern area via land road to the North-South economic corridor, the so-called R3E route.
Meanwhile, the Buayai-Khonkaen-Mukdahan-Nokhon Phanom section in the Northeast will be able to link Laos and Vietnam.
Thailand's shipments are concentrated on road transport, representing 82 per cent, while rail transport accounts for only 2 per cent. As a result, the government has tried to shift the transport emphasis from road to railway. This is not just for time or cost savings, but also an environmental measure.
Compared in terms of cost per unit, rail transport is better than road though more time consuming.
Besides mass transits, shipments by rail tend to increase, logging 12.87 million tonnes in 2008 despite many obstacles. The railways operation does not offer the best of services, especially for shipments, due to out-of-date technology, old rail tracks and shortage of locomotives and equipment.
"Only 14.2 per cent of total shipments were by rail, which ran at an average of 35 km per hour," said the study.
Though inland road networks are given more importance due to the rising number of goods and products traded among Asean plus China, the railways system is still needed to connect with the roads to enhance multi-modal shifts among rail, road, air and sea transport.
Following the study, the urgent plan (2010-2014) also suggested investments on a priority towards improving rail tracks, implementing the first phase of the dual-track development, building part of the express railway and developing new rail lines, and infrastructure development for multi-modal transport shifts. The plan would require an overall investment of Bt295.85 billion.
