
The Transport Ministry has instructed relevant agencies to speed up efforts to resolve a raft of issues that have delayed the construction of the 179.41-billion-baht Thai-Sino high-speed rail system.
Deputy transport permanent secretary Sorapong Paitoonpong said the project has faced delays due to a number of challenges arising from land surveys, a study on how historic sites in Ayutthaya might be impacted, and assorted issues concerning possible infrastructure overlap.
He said a shortage of officials to survey the expropriated land has contributed to the delay and the ministry is working closely with the Land Department to address this problem.
A Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) on the design for the elevated rail track at the Ayutthaya station about 2 kilometres away from the province's historic sites has also held back progress, he said.
According to the original design layout, the multi-storey train station will serve long-haul trains, with the high-speed line itself operating on the top storey.
This is despite, in 2021, the National Committee of the World Heritage Convention agreeing that a tunnel should be built for trains to pass underneath the area, or else be relocated. The committee also instructed the State of Railway of Thailand to conduct an HIA report.
However, Mr Sorapong said the laying of the rail tracks covering the 13.3-kilometre Ban Pho-Phra Kaeo section is likely to proceed in October this year and the draft contract for the construction work is being reviewed by the Office of the Attorney General.
With regard to claims the line will result in some areas being overserved -- a section of the track will overlap with that of the high-speed rail linking the three airports of Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang and U-Tapao in Rayong. The overlapping section is between the Don Muang and Bang Sue areas.
Mr Sorapong said the Department of Rail Transport will invite the operators of the two projects to hold talks to determine who will be responsible for the construction of this section of railway.
A Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group- led consortium won the bid to build the rail network to connect the airports.
The Thai-Sino high-speed train project covers 253 kilometres from Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima in the Northeast with the project divided into 14 contracts that deal with the laying of tracks, installation of the high-speed train signalling system and procurement of the high-speed trains. Trains are expected to run at a speed of up to 250km per hour.