A leading Federation of Thai Industries member has urged the government to provide full details of its dual-track railroad project designed to benefit cargo transport.
FTI committee member Pakorn Visananusidhi said the business sector had doubts about the government’s plan to build dual-track railroads to link logistics centres in Thailand.
He was speaking at an Engineering Institute of Thailand seminar on Saturday called “Railway Track System for Thailand’s Future Transportation”.
Mr Pakorn said the project was designed more as a public transport service than for cargo. He called on the government to give more details of the project and said he would like to see a dedicated track for cargo shipments.
Mr Pakorn said he proposed the specially-designed cargo track after learning that railway usage had been increasing every year because of the volume of foreign investment in Thailand.
He also questioned the advantages of dual-track railways.
This comes after the cabinet recently approved a draft memorandum of understanding with the Chinese government to construct railroads between national logistic centres.
The proposed standard-gauge route would run from Nong Khai, the northernmost border province in the Northeast, through Nakhon Ratchasima’s provincial capital and Saraburi’s Kaeng Khoi district to Map Ta Phut port in Rayong province.
Thailand can now transport about 800 million tonnes of products a year, Mr Pakorn said. “We will see much more cargo from now on if the government invests more in special cargo tracks.”
However, Yu Jienyoenyongpong, chairman of the Land Transportation Federation of Thailand, said the government should urgently speed up the dual-track system as it will help save production costs. There is no time for focusing on secondary choices, which might delay the project, Mr Yu said.
He cited a study done by the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board which stated that shipping by train costs 0.92 baht per kilogramme, compared with 1.70 baht/kg by land.
Deputy Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said the government is going ahead with the dual-track project.
The government will next year invest more than 68 billion baht in logistics, of which over 21.5 billion baht will go towards double track construction, Mr Arkhom said.