Khon Kaen rail gets S Korean guidance

The Khon Kaen Smart Mobility plan, a blueprint for the light rail city train, is one of 12 projects where the South Korean government will offer consultation to help bring it in line with global transport city standards.

With construction most likely to begin next year, the Khon Kaen Light Rail Transit project (Samran-Tha Phra) will be 26 kilometres in length, with a total of 18 stations.

"The project will be developed by Digital Economy Promotion Agency, Khon Kaen University and South Korea government through a technical study of Khon Kaen Light Rail Transit project (Samran-Tha Phra)," Khon Kaen provincial governor Somsak Jangtrakul said yesterday after conducting a video conference with Chaekyo Jung, director of Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

South Korea launched the K-City Global Collaboration Program and selected the Khon Kaen Smart Mobility Plan to make Khon Kaen a global standard transport city, he said. The Thai government has submitted the Khon Kaen project, which, along with 11 other towns, was selected from of 80 competitors.

Mr Somsak said the project was scheduled to be presented in Busan, South Korea seven months ago but was postponed after the Covid-19 pandemic. The first meeting was held yesterday via video conference and officials from Thailand and South Korea covered key topics for creating quality transport systems, such as proper land survey preparation, train design and fare pricing.