A railway route linking Bangkok and Nong Khai may feature Thailand's first high-speed train, if Thailand chooses to construct a track to standards set in China for fast rail services joining Thailand and northern Malaysia to all parts of China.
The Bangkok-Nong Khai route, with a distance of 580 kilometres, is part of two proposed high-speed train routes. The first stage would stretch 1,600km from Nong Khai through Bangkok to Padang Besar in northern Malaysia, and a second stage would cover 200km between Bangkok and Rayong.
Development of the services has been proposed as a joint venture between Thai and Chinese state agencies. The Nong Khai-Bangkok section would also extend from Vientiane in Laos to southern China.
The cost of construction depends on speed and location. If Thailand follows China's proposal, it will need to invest the equivalent of 85 million yuan (Bt390.44 million) per kilometre, on average, if the train is to travel at 160 kilometres per hour.
From China's viewpoint, high-speed trains are aimed at meeting demand for transport between the country's many cities. Not only can the trains help to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, but they are also seen as a means of maintaining a harmonious society. In addition, developing the high-speed services is stimulating the world's second-largest economy, through related industries such as contractors and property. Capital and bond markets are also among the beneficiaries.
The head of research in China for financial-services group CLSA, Manop Sangiambut, said the keys to the success of China's high-speed train developments since 2004 were grand vision and big budget.
China's Railway Ministry has allocated 700 billion yuan for building railways and stations this year, up from 600 billion yuan last year. China is expected to maintain annual spending on railway development at this level over the next few years.
Manop said China had set a target for extending its railway network to 120,000km by 2015, up from 90,000km at present. The plan has also been moved up by five years from the previous target of 2020. Of the country's total rail network last year, about 13 per cent used high-speed trains over a total of 4,000km. This is expected to grow by 25 per cent to 5,000km this year.
Of China's 600 cities, 50 of them have a population of more than 3 million and are able to develop subway networks to connect with intercity high-speed services by asking for central-government funding. At present, 25 Chinese cities are constructing subway systems, including Shanghai.
Current high-speed train projects in China are reaching out over 15,000km. Four of 21 current projects are main routes, such as the 1,318-km Beijing-Shanghai route; the 995-km link between Wuhan and Guangzhou; the 457-km Zhengzhou-Xian line, and the 906-km Habin-Dalian route.
The Habin-Dalian link will be operational in 2012 and will be a strategic route in China's northeastern industrial zone.
Manop said the special requirements of high-speed rail links, compared with conventional railways, were more elevated structures and bridges, larger tunnels, more complex signalling systems due to longer braking distances and the consumption of more concrete and steel.
He said the high-speed train network in China aimed to meet demand for intercity transport and also to integrate with subway networks in various cities.
Manop said the cost of travel on a high-speed train was competitive with other modes of transport, such as airlines. For example, travelling from Wuhan to Guangzhou - a distance of 995km - costs 469 yuan for economy class and 880 yuan for business class on a high-speed train, and takes three hours and 50 minutes. Travelling by air costs about 1,000 yuan and takes one hour and 40 minutes.
Manop said the Chinese government had a policy of transferring technologies from foreign partners to further develop its own expertise. It has selected the best technology from foreign partners to construct its high-speed train services. Participants in the high-speed projects are mostly state-owned bodies such as contractors, locomotive and train-carriage producers and operators.
Funding for the high-speed trains has boosted China's capital market for three to four years. There are now more than 11 listed companies related to the high-speed train development, led by China Railway Group and China Railway Construction, each with market capitalisation of between US$15 and $17 billion, on the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock markets.
The director of commercial affairs for the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Shanghai, Phaichit Viboontanasarn, said last week that trains for transport logistics services were not solely proposed as a link between the Thai and Chinese economies, but also encompassed the Asean grouping.
"The government's recent railway-improvement and development plan will be positive, rather than negative, for the country," he said.