More than 50 locations along 10 electric rail routes in Bangkok and surrounding provinces will be turned into car parks for commuters, Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith says.
A meeting of a national administration committee, chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, on Monday touched on ways of tackling traffic congestion in Bangkok and other provinces, Mr Arkhom said Tuesday.
The committee comprises several cabinet members -- a so-called mini-cabinet.
The prime minister has assigned the Transport Ministry to look for car park locations to ease traffic, Mr Arkhom said, adding the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP) was instructed to conduct a study.
Mr Arkhom said two zones should be set aside for car parks in Bangkok and surrounding provinces.
The first zone would be along 10 electric rail routes under the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) and 54 locations can be developed as car parks, which should accommodate around 89,000 vehicles.
The other would be locations owned by the private sector along electric rail lines, such as shopping malls. There are eight potential locations with a capacity to accommodate 13,855 vehicles, the minister said.
The government is also looking at rail projects in six other provinces to address traffic congestion, he said. They are Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, Nakhon Ratchasima, Phuket, Phitsanulok and Songkhla.
Mr Arkhom said Phuket, Chiang Mai and Songkhla would be targeted first since they have the heaviest traffic.
In Phuket, the OTP is in the process of drafting the details of a light rail project and it is nearly complete, he said.
The 60km line, worth 23.49 billion baht, will run from Tha Noon in Phangnga to Chalong intersection in Muang district and would have 23 stations.
Trains would run at a maximum speed of 100kph and slow to 20-40kph in urban areas.
Around 68,000 passengers would be expected to use the service in the first year after its launch, he said.
A light railway is also planned for Chiang Mai and a study is now under way.
In Songkhla, a 18.7km monorail project with 15 stations is planned. Mass-transit systems in Khon Kaen, Nakhon Ratchasima and Phitsanulok are also being worked out, Mr Arkhom said.
Meanwhile, the Bangkok Metropolitan Council is expected to decide today whether to approve a City Hall payment of 60.81 billion baht to take over the running of two Green Line skytrain extensions -- the southern section from Soi Bearing to Samut Prakan and the northern route from Mo Chit to Khu Khot in Pathum Thani.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is required by the Commission for the Management of Land Traffic to pay the sum to the MRTA as part of a deal allowing City Hall to take over the extensions. The sum is to pay for MRTA costs on land ownership transfers, consultants, and to cover various fees in the project's construction.
MRTA assistant governor, Surachet Laophulsuk, said if there is a snag regarding the BMA payment, the MRTA's board will be asked to find a solution at a meeting on Feb 6.
The MRTA is ready to operate the extension itself, he insisted. Under the deal, the BMA has to pay up by April 1 this year.
A MRTA source said if City Hall backs away from the deal, it is possible the MRTA would turn to Bangkok Mass Transit System Plc, which handles the BTS skytrain lines, to operate the extensions. This would be done under rules stipulated in the 2013 Private Investment in State Undertaking Act.