A Japanese team will be sent to conduct a route survey for the construction of a high-speed railway linking Bangkok to Chiang Mai next month, according to the Transport Ministry.
Arkhom: Japan urges route safety
Deputy Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said Japan would send experts to join the Thai team for route survey work on the 672km high-speed railway project next month.
The survey could take about one year, he added.
Mr Arkhom was speaking after a meeting of state agencies Tuesday to follow up on the memorandum of cooperation signed between the Thai and Japanese governments for the rail development partnership.
The deal was signed by Transport Minister Prajin Juntong and Akihiro Ota, the Japanese Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, in May.
The high-speed train is aimed at boosting the economy and tourism, according to Mr Arkhom.
The deal covers the construction of the route for high-speed trains from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and 574km of one metre-gauge, double-track rail routes, including a Kanchanaburi-Bangkok-Chachoengsao-Aranyaprathet link at the Cambodian border, linking up with the country's key industrial zone on the eastern seaboard.
A working plan for the high-speed train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai is now complete, Mr Arkhom said.
Once a report on the route survey, which is expected next June, is complete, the Ministry of Transport will submit a plan with details of the high-speed train to the cabinet for consideration, he added.
The cabinet will be asked to approve the project in principle at that stage.
Cabinet approval will pave the way for the two governments to sign a memorandum of understanding on the project's development.
The Transport Ministry would again seek cabinet approval for construction next year so the work can begin by 2018, Mr Arkhom said.
The Japanese-designed rail system places great emphasis on safety, he noted.
The Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning has conducted a route survey but the Japanese team hired a consultant to carry out a comprehensive study of its own to ensure safety, he said.
The details of the project's investment plan will be completed by 2017 and the process of land appropriation would start in the same year.
The Ministry of Transport will hold talks on Aug 24-27 with Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to discuss the project's progress, Mr Arkhom said.
Meanwhile, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) will hold an information session next month for those who want to invest in its plan to develop Bang Sue central station to become the city's new railway hub.
No details were to hand on how much the SRT hopes to raise.
The session will be held on Aug 5, from 9am to 1.30pm, at the Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at Centralworld on Ratchadamri Road, according to SRT governor Wuthichart Kalyanamitra.
The SRT will relocate the central station from Hua Lamphong to Bang Sue in Chatuchak district in 2019.
Bang Sue central station, which is more than 218 rai in size, sits in a strategic location that links several railway services including the BTS skytrain and Airport Rail Link, Mr Wuthichart said.
This means it would be an ideal location for a new rail hub, he said.
He said his organisation wants to optimise the way the land is used so it brings in more income.