The committee overseeing the Thai-Chinese high-speed railway between Bangkok and Nakhon Ratchasima, will meet from Wednesday until Friday to discuss key issues surrounding the project.
Chaiwat Thongkhamkhun, permanent secretary for transport, said the main issues to be discussed include a contract dealing with the project's electrical system, the rail track system, the procurement of new trains to be operated on the route and the training of staff who will be responsible for operating the service.
This particular contract requires 53 billion baht in funding, he said.
Another important issue that needs to be sorted out by those at the meeting is the Chinese side's specification of a total sum of costs, which is likely deemed a violation of Thailand's procurement law, he said.
Under the law, every project is required to provide their budget details to ensure transparency in the project's spending, he said.
The first section of the Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima high-speed train project's first phase, a 3.5-kilometre railway from Klang Dong and Pang Asok, is being built while the bidding for construction contracts of other sections is being prepared, he said.
The construction plan for the project has also been changed from lining the entire railway with stone to lining only certain parts of it, said Mr Chaiwat.
In future, third parties such as private cargo transport operators may be allowed to use the Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima high-speed railway, he said.
The railway is expected to serve at most 100 trains a day by then, he added.
Another option will be that the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) may form new affiliations to operate cargo transport services on the Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima high-speed railway, he said.
A bill on rail transport is being drafted and a decision will be made as to whether private cargo transport companies will be granted permission to use the SRT's railways, he added.