Officials come up with 20-year plan for Bt2.7 trillion worth of railway projects

The massive investment would result in an estimated economic return of Bt400 billion annually with big savings in transport costs, time and less pollution, the OTP said.
Chayatham Phomsorn, the deputy OTP director, told a seminar yesterday that multiple rail projects are designed to support special economic zones, tourism and other national development plans between now and 2036 with a focus on linking passenger and cargo transport lines.
The programme covers 16 double-tracked rail routes with a total length of 2,777 kilometres. The projects will increase transport efficiency by removing bottlenecks at the existing Chaserngsao-Khaeng Khoi, Jira-Khon Kaen, Hua Hin-Prachuab Kiri Khan sections, among others.
The programme includes 14 new routes of one-metre-gauge railways with a total length of 2,352km. Among these projects are the Den Chai-Chiang Khong and Ban Phai-Nakhon Phanom routes.

High-speed projects
There are also eight standard-gauge railway projects with a total length of 2,457km, including high-speed train routes from Bangkok to Rayong, Bangkok to Nakorn Ratchasima, Bangkok to Hua Hin, and Bangkok to Phitsanulok.
The programme includes construction of container yards at select locations such as Wa Kor and Nong Pla Duk to support distribution of goods and other logistic operations. It also aims to implement electrification of existing railway systems.
To fund these projects, the government would be responsible for a combined investment of Bt1.97 trillion out of the overall Bt2.7-trillion investment, while the private sector is expected to invest a combined Bt729 billion.
Annually, the government’s share of total investment is projected to be Bt98 billion while the private sector’s share is Bt36 billion.
The economic return on investment is estimated to be Bt408 billion per year, including a combined savings of Bt158 billion in transportation costs and a time savings equivalent to Bt94 billion.