The bidding for a contract to build three extensions of the Red Line electric rail system, plus two missing links, at a total cost of 63 billion baht will take place in two months and the work should begin later this year, according to the Transport Ministry.
Already approved by the cabinet, the project consists of the 1.02-billion-baht Taling Chan-Salaya extension, the 6.57-billion-baht Rangsit-Thammasat extension, the 6.64-billion-baht Taling Chan-Siriraj extension and two 40-billion-baht missing links, said Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith.
The missing links are the Light Red Line (Bang Sue-Phaya Thai-Makkasan-Hua Mak) and the Dark Red Line (Bang Sue-Hua Lamphong), he said.
All these Red Line extensions and missing pieces are expected to be built at the same time and should be operational by 2022, he said.
The Red Line's Bang Sue-Rangsit main section, meanwhile, is due to begin operating next year, he said.
The company contracted to supply electric trains for this route is producing those that have been ordered and is due to deliver them for a test run in July of next year, he added.
On the subject of the railway signalling system, Mitsubishi Heavy Industrial Co and Sumitomo Corporation Co, already contracted to supply the system to the Red Line, will secure another contract to install the same signalling system for the Red Line's extensions without any new bidding required, Mr Arkhom said.
The chosen signalling system will allow a maximum frequency of one train every six minutes on the Taling Chan-Salaya section, one train every 15 minutes on the Taling Chan-Siriraj section, and one train every 23 minutes on the Rangsit-Thammasat section, he said.
When asked for this thoughts on a plan to develop train station areas for commercial purposes, he said the matter should be considerably clearer after a sister company of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) has been set up chiefly to handle the SRT's assets.