Re: ''Cut can't end rice ills, Nipon says'' (BP, June 24).
Some are not convinced we are getting the full story, or even half of the story, on the economics of the rice scheme _ not from academics, not from the government and not from the media.
Why were profits-to-costs higher for farmers in years gone by, thus not requiring any pledging schemes?
How many ''middle men'' are there in the process after farmers sell their rice, and how much influence do they have in keeping the sale prices and profits low for farmers?
In other words, how many fingers are there in the Thai rice pie, and why is almost everyone so tight-lipped about the subject?
If you want transparency, then the transparency of gross manipulation is quite obvious.
GUY BAKER
BTS brass planned closure
Re ''Saphan Taksin takes a stroll into the future'' (Opinion, June 21).
Ploenpote Atthakor wrote the BMA and the BTS failed to foresee the extension of the rail system to Thon Buri when the BTS launched its service in 1999.
However, I used to work for a transport consultant company and I remember that Saphan Taksin station was meant to be demolished from the start because of a lack of space for a double track at the station.
That wasn't much of a problem when it was the last station on the line, but now it makes for an obstruction during rush hour.
The problem will only get worse if we continue to add to the Silom Line but keep Saphan Taksin station in place.
You may notice that during rush hour on the Sukhumvit line the trains arrive every two minutes, while on the Silom line the trains arrive every four minutes.
People at the BMA and BTSC (which is the company that runs the BTS) are well aware that Saphan Taksin station was meant to be gone by now. After the extension, there will not be enough passengers to justify keeping this station.
PENJAI (JINNY JANE)
Station axing ludicrous
If the BMA proceeds to close the BTS Saphan Taksin station, it will be nothing less than an act of crass stupidity.
Thousands of tourists, hotel guests, residents and commuters from along the river will be hugely inconvenienced if they have to walk from Saphan Taksin, a mere 710 metres to Surasak, to connect to the skytrain system. There must surely be a massive protest against this ludicrous proposal.
Understandably, the BTS wants to increase the passenger flow rate from Thon Buri to the city, limited at present to a frequency of one train every four minutes due to the single track at Saphan Taksin station.
But the capacity of the line could be increased by a massive 50% if the skytrain management were to run six-car trains instead of four. All the stations on the BTS system are built to accommodate six-car train sets.
Knowing there were to be four new stations beyond Wong Wian Yai, the BTS reportedly ordered five new Chinese-made four-car train sets in September 2011 to maintain the existing frequency of service.
But the management utterly failed to realise larger trains would be necessary to cater to the extra passengers travelling from the Thon Buri area.
Had the BTS ordered six-car trains in 2011, and an additional two cars for each of the existing sets on the Silom Line, there would be no need to close Saphan Taksin or to spend a huge sum of money on a sky-walk to connect the river to Surasak station.
SIMON
Krung Thonburi
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