Cabinet approves two new city train lines worth B44bn

Cabinet approves two new city train lines worth B44bn

Construction of the Red Line from Bang Sue to Rangsit is underway. Two more train lines approved by the cabinet on Tuesday will link with the route. (Photo by Wichan Charoenkiatpakul)
Construction of the Red Line from Bang Sue to Rangsit is underway. Two more train lines approved by the cabinet on Tuesday will link with the route. (Photo by Wichan Charoenkiatpakul)

The cabinet approved construction of two railway lines at a cost of 44.16 billion baht on Tuesday, part of a larger infrastructure initiative by the government as it seeks to revive the sluggish economy.

The Light Red and Dark Red lines are the responsibility of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT). They are among about 20 infrastructure projects costing an estimated 1.4 trillion baht that the government hopes to get underway before 2018.

The SRT is expected to call bids for the projects in August and construction is planned to start in February, Kobsak Pootrakool, vice minister at the Prime Minister's Office, told reporters.

Deputy Transport Minister Ormsin Chivapruck said the SRT had already drafted the terms of reference for the two projects, which will be forwarded to Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak and a panel tracking government spending next month.

The Light Red route will run from Bang Sue to Hua Mark and the Dark Red Line from Bang Sue to Hua Lamphong.

The 26km lines will connect northern Bangkok to the city's eastern suburbs and to the city centre.

"Once this project is completed, it will change the lives of people in Bangkok,"  Mr Kobsak said.

The two routes will take about three years to build and should be ready for passengers by 2020, he added.

The two new routes will link with another line from Bang Sue to Rangsit and Taling Chan, also under the SRT, at Bang Sue.

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