SPV mulled for high-speed rail

Japan's JR Group held out as example

Published: 4 Feb 2013 at 00.00
Newspaper section: Business

A special-purpose vehicle (SPV) is needed for oversight and management of the high-speed rail project to maximise use and profits, says the Strategic Committee for Reconstruction and Future Development (SCRF).

Tourists chat in front of a billboard display of high-speed trains at Hua Lamphong railway station in Bangkok last March. APICHART JINAKUL

Chairman Virabongsa Ramangkura said the SPV should mirror how the Japan Railways (JR) Group manages that country's network of high-speed lines.

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davidh
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Discussion 3 : 04 Feb 2013 at 10.543
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The enormous cost of developing and operating a high speed railway network through Thailand means there is no hope of any profit on the horizon. If Japan with its high income society cannot make a profit from its high speed train then how on earth can Thailand, with the impoverishment of a large chunk of Citizens, can fares be fixed to the level of profitability?

Most Tourists will not pay the necessary high fare levels - they travel around on buses, planes and subsidised trains because they are cheap.

Look at the Airport Express Train as a model for the proposed network , now operating with a handful of passengers on each service.
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pquinlan
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Discussion 2 : 04 Feb 2013 at 07.112
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I agree, an SPV is just what is needed to make sure that those at the top get their cut too.
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aussiedoug
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Discussion 1 : 04 Feb 2013 at 05.451
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Japan Hi Speed rail runs at a significant loss, so no need to emulate them, but the idae of somehow keeping stupidity out of the planning and tendering stages would be welcome so long as it does not turn into another level of corruption to be fed by the country's taxpayers.
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SPV mulled for high-speed rail | Bangkok Post: business