The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) board has approved a 10.5-billion-baht plan to equip trains with new air-conditioned carriages to upgrade its ageing fleet, in what could be the largest procurement project ever made by the state agency.
SRT governor Weerit Amrapal said on Friday that the board approval on Thursday cleared the way for the proposal to be sent to the Ministry of Transport. The final decision after that will rest with the cabinet.
The plan is the largest procurement of new carriages in a decade and is believed to be the largest in the 134-year history of the state agency, which began life in 1890 as Royal State Railways of Siam.
In 2014, the SRT purchased 115 sleeper cars from China worth 4.6 billion baht for special express trains. They entered into service three years later.
This time, the plan includes first- and second-class air-conditioned seat and sleeping carriages and spare parts. They would be assigned to express and special express trains from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Ubon Ratchathani, Sungai Kolok, Trang and Nakhon Si Thammarat.
Mr Weerit said he hoped that new cars would attract more passengers amid a growing appetite for train travel by local residents and foreign tourists alike.
The SRT posted a loss of 17.8 billion baht last year, according to information published by the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC). The perennially money-losing state enterprise also has an accumulated debt of about 300 billion baht. It is hoping that development of its large land holdings will help it improve its financial health.
The SRT expects bidding for the new train cars would be completed by 2026, with deliveries to begin in 2028.