Thailand is preparing to sit for talks with Malaysia to discuss an ambitious initiative to build a new high-speed train system linking Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.
The planned meeting follows interest expressed earlier by the Malaysian transport minister, which drew an enthusiastic response from Thai transport officials who are thinking about an alternative to planes, appropriate train routes and the number of prospective passengers.
The State Railway of Thailand has been instructed to hold initial talks with Malaysian transport officials to pave the way for high-level meetings between ministers of the two countries, Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said yesterday.
This is an international route, so authorities need to plan carefully from the beginning and decide whether the countries will jointly study the whole route or look into sections of the rail tracks in each country separately, he said.
Thailand is pushing ahead with the 165km Bangkok-Hua Hin high-speed rail route.
The route is worth about 94.6 billion baht, so "we have to think about whether we'll add a rail extension [from Hua Hin in the South to Kuala Lumpur] or build a new route from Bangkok", Mr Arkhom said.
Mr Arkhom said he supports the extension option which will see a section of the rail line running from Hua Hin resort town to Padang Besar in Songkhla, which borders Malaysia. After the initial talks between Thai and Malaysian officials, they will seek experts to conduct a feasibility study.
At this stage, Japan and China are interested in carrying out the study, said deputy permanent secretary for transport Phiraphon Thawonsuphacharoen.
According to an initial estimation, the Bangkok-Kuala Lumpur line will be 1,400km long, of which more than half of the track will be built in Thailand.
The train will travel at a maximum speed of 250km per hour, requiring between five and six hours to travel between the two capitals.
The train, which will mainly serve passengers rather than goods, is expected to "partly substitute" planes in the same manner as the rail systems in Europe have done, but its success will also depend on the number of passengers in the future, said Mr Phiraphon.
The project is also part of a rail extension plan by Malaysia to build a high-speed train system between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
If the Bangkok-Kuala Lumpur line comes about, the three countries will be connected by a convenient international rail route with a possible linkage with Laos and China in the future, he said.
Thailand has the potential to be a hub of transportation in Southeast Asia and Germany also wants to support that, German ambassador to Thailand Peter Prügel said yesterday as he signed the Joint Declaration of Intent on the Further Development of the Cooperation in the Field of Railways.
The Thai government can decide between importing trains from foreign countries, which is costly, or building assembling plants here, he said.