An academic is being put forward to be the next chair of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) board, after all seven members resigned to clear the way for a shake up requested by Transport Minister Chadchat Suttipunt.
The minister said he would back Boonsom Lerdhirunwong, dean of the Faculty of Engineering at Chulalongkorn University, to be the new chairman of the board.
Mr Chadchat will consult Yingluck Shinawatra on the plan, but said he expected the prime minister to approve the appointment, because Mr Boonsom was a former board member with the relevant qualifications to oversee the SRT.
A list of the proposed new board is expected to be tabled for discussion by the cabinet at a meeting next Tuesday.
The change to the board's membership comes after all seven SRT board members led by Soithip Trisuddhi, the deputy permanent secretary for transport, stepped down on July 26.
Mr Chadchat said the resignations were not politically motivated, but said the changes were intended to improve the efficiency of the SRT.
The SRT largely involves structural work and it needs a professional engineer to aid the agency, he added.
"The change is designed to put the right person in the right job. There is no personal conflict," the minister said, praising the former board chairwoman for her work in the role.
A candidate to join Mr Boonsom on the new board is Chula Sukmanop, director-general of the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning, because he is already in charge of transport blueprints, the minister added.
The new board members will restructure the SRT to boost its efficiency, adjust revenue-generating schemes and develop plans to build the mass transit line and the double tracks across the country, he added.
Mrs Soithip said the mass resignation was not unusual and would clear the way for an entirely new group of board members.
Transport Minister Chadchat Suttipunt is an alma mater of the Faculty of Engineering at Chulalongkorn University.