Prajin: Japan still in rail picture

Prajin: Japan still in rail picture

Thailand is still talking to Japan with a view to building three more rail routes, Transport Minister Prajin Junthong said on Saturday.

The government wants three new lines connecting Bangkok with centres in the east, west, north and northeast and Japan has expressed interest in undertaking the work, Reuters quoted ACM Prajin as saying.

His announcement came a day after the government signed a memorandum of understanding with China to construct two separate standard-gauge rail lines totalling 867 kilometres starting in 2016.

The signing was witnessed by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, the highest-profile leader to visit Thailand since the May 22 coup.

"We're still in the process of talks [with Japan]. It will be clearer after the Japanese government has finished its election and discussion will be made with both sides," ACM Prajin said on on the sidelines of the Greater Mekong Subregion summit in Bangkok.

Japan has been eager to take part in helping Thailand upgrade its ageing track network and slow trains. It also hopes to create a new market for its high-speed train technology, if the military government opts for such trains in the future.

Just as importantly, however, Tokyo wants to assert itself more in Southeast Asia to counterbalance the growing economic and political influence of China. Japan has long been the largest foreign investor in Thailand, led by its automotive, electrical and electronic industries.

Thailand has proposed that Japan build two separate east-west lines, one from Mae Sot ot the Myanmar border to Mukdahan near the border with Laos, and another connecting Kanchanaburi with Rayong. A third route would run from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, the minister said.

The three routes combined would cover roughly 1,500 kilometres.

Under the agreement signed on Friday, China will build the country's first standard-gauge tracks on two routes. The first will run from Nong Khai province to the Map Ta Phut deep-sea port in Rayong province via Nakhon Ratchasima province and Kaeng Khoi district in Saraburi for 734 kilometres. A second 133-kilometre line will run from Kaeng Khoi to Bangkok.

The lines will consist of 1.435-metre tracks that will enable trains to run at speeds up to 180 kilometres per hour, and can accommodate high-speed trains up to 250km/h in the future. The State Railway of Thailand currently uses the 1-metre gauge system.

Construction could start in 2016 and be completed in 2022, according to the agreement.

China plans to build another line from its southern border to Vientiane in Laos which will connect to the Thai line in Nong Khai.

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