Rail commuters will have to wait at least four years to travel on the Red Line because construction of the electric rail route is being held up by technical and financial difficulties, the Transport Ministry has said.
Following an inspection of the Bang Sue-Rangsit section of the line by Transport Minister Prajin Juntong this week, the estimated completion date of the project will probably be at the end of 2018, one year later than planned, the ministry said.
The Red Line has so far undergone changes in construction plans, faced problems with relocating water pipes and electrical lines, and has a limited state budget to acquire trains.
The train carriage purchase plan, which is the third of three contracts made with private companies, has made little progress because officials have had to negotiate with the bid winner, MHSC Consortium, to settle a price disagreement.
The government had set a median price of 29 billion baht for the purchase, but the consortium — Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, Hitachi Co and Sumitomo Corp — bid 49 billion baht for the deal, ACM Prajin said.
"We are negotiating with them to reduce the price to around 30 billion baht," said Omsin Chiwaphruek, board chairman of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT).
He expects the negotiations to produce a result by Dec 25.
If the two sides can agree on a new price, the Transport Ministry will forward it to the cabinet for final approval.
But if the talks fail, the government might have to call a new round of bidding.
That will put the third contract in limbo because it will take about six months to hold the bid and find a winner, Mr Omsin said
The 26-kilometre Bang Sue-Rangsit section has already faced delays.
Slow progress in building Bang Sue station under the first contract and lining work under the second has put the whole construction project behind schedule, ACM Prajin said.
This section forms part of the 60-km Red Line.
It is intended that Bang Sue will be become a new transport hub with railroads linking Rangsit in northern Bangkok, Taling Chan in the west of the capital and the Makkasan and Hua Mak areas.
Meanwhile, the SRT has sent a proposal to clear its debts to ACM Prajin. Among them is a plan for the SRT to operate the Red Line service so that it will become a new and profitable source of revenue, according to a SRT source.
The SRT also wants the government to consider revoking a 1998 cabinet resolution that prevents the SRT recruiting more employees.
Extra employees would allow the organisation to boost productivity, augmenting its revenue, the source said.
ACM Prajin is looking to discuss plans to boost the financial status of the SRT with the State Enterprise Policy Commission, known as the "superboard". The commission is chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
The plans also aim at preparing the SRT for new projects, including the construction of twin 1.435-metre gauge rail tracks.
ACM Prajin expects the SRT may need to hire about 2,000 to 4,000 new employees as part of this in the engineering department.