The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) plans to introduce the four Kiha 183-series passenger train carriages donated by Japan to promote tourism in mid-year.
Ekkarat Sriarayanpong, director of SRT's Public Relations Centre, said the SRT has completed modifying 17 second-hand carriages to fit Thailand's one-metre gauge tracks and moved them to Bangkok's Makkasan maintenance yard for repainting.
The Kiha 183 carriages, donated by JR Hokkaido after being in service along Japan Railway's Hokkaido Line, arrived at Laem Chabang port in Chon Buri in the middle of last month.
Mr Ekkarat said the used carriages are in working condition and key systems, including the engine, transmission and air conditioning, will be adjusted, while the interiors will be refurbished for rail tourism.
The carriages are divided into four sets, comprising four cars each, with one spare car, he said, adding the work will be carried out on one set at a time.
The modification and renovation work of all 17 cars is expected to take about two years, and the carriages can be used for at least 50 years, he said.
Mr Ekkarat said the work on the first four carriages is expected to be completed in the middle of this year, and they will be used for short tourism excursion routes to Ayutthaya or Chachoengsao.
The trains, which have 216 seats and a maximum speed of 100 kilometres per hour, will be fully equipped to cater to tourists, he said.
He said another 10 second-hand carriages donated by JR Hokkaido in 2016 are earmarked for two tourism routes: Lampang-Chiang Mai and Bangkok-Soi Yok Noi waterfalls in Kanchanaburi.