The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) plans to ask the Finance Ministry to help shoulder more than half of its 100-billion-baht debt, its board chairman Omsin Chiwaphruek said yesterday.
Speaking after an SRT board meeting, Mr Omsin said the SRT will hold an informal meeting with the Finance Ministry, asking it to help with 60 billion baht of the debt.
The SRT has had to invest in infrastructure projects and subsidise rail services, for which train fares have been kept in check, he said.
The debt reduction plan, if agreed to by the Finance Ministry, could help the SRT reduce its interest payments from 3 billion baht to 1 billion a year, he said.
According to Mr Omsin, upgrades to train services will take 10 years, which will involve investment in dual-track railways along with the purchase of new locomotives and passenger carriages. Referring to its plan to boost revenue, he said the SRT may seek to raise revenue from advertisements placed on carriages and from a rail tour programme for Chinese tourists in cooperation with the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
The initial rehabilitation plan will be sent to permanent secretary for transport Soithip Traisuth on Monday, he said.
Meanwhile, Ms Soithip yesterday attended a ground-breaking ceremony in Cambodia's Poipet for the reconstruction of a railway bridge between Sa Kaeo's Khlong Luek and Poipet.
The 43-metre railway bridge has stood abandoned for almost 40 years.
She was greeted by Cambodian Public Works and Transport Deputy Minister Guang Sun, along with army, police and civil officers.
The SRT also plans to repair and reconstruct the rail line from Khlong Sib Kao station in Chachoengsao to Khlong Luek railway bridge in Aranyaprathet district of Sa Kaeo, stretching more than 176km, at a cost of 2.8 billion baht.
The railway bridge is expected to facilitate freight transport and tourism between the two countries, as well as act as a gateway for the 2015 Asean Economic Community, through which goods can be transported to Cambodia, Vietnam and China.
Meanwhile, the SRT plans to go ahead with the Chachoengsao-Khlong Sib Kao-Kaeng Khoi (Saraburi) dual-track railway as the first project among six urgent routes.
SRT caretaker governor Prasert Attanan said the 106km dual-track project, costing 11.3 billion baht, will be opened for electronic auctions as soon as the state budget monitoring and scrutinising committee approves it.
According to the Mr Prasert, six private companies have passed the qualification examination and will take part in the bidding.