An image of a Swiss high-speed train has appeared on a big banner of a train project to Chiang Rai, although Switzerland has nothing to do with it.
A banner showing a Swiss train with the image of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha rising triumphantly above leaves Swiss media bemused. (Photo captured from www.blick.ch website)
Blick posted a photo of a poster in Chiang Rai thanking Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha for approving a new railway line from Den Chai district in Phrae to Chiang Khon district in Chiang Rai.
The image shows Gen Prayut gesturing as he appears to ride atop a train - a Swiss high-speed train.
The cabinet on July 31 approved a dual track line running north from Denchai station to Chiang Kong, a 323-kilometre route through Phrae, part of Lampang and Phayao.
The 85-billion-baht project of the State Railway of Thailand was first mooted in 1962 and took more than five decades to be approved. It is expected to be completed in 2023 and the government hopes it will boost trade between Thailand and China through northern Laos.
The high-speed train on the poster was made by Stadler, a Swiss company that has no connection with the Thai project whatsoever, it told Blick.