The Transport Ministry will ask the cabinet to approve its proposals to further expand the State Railway of Thailand's (SRT) Red Line electric commuter rail network, says Transport Deputy Minister Surapong Piyachote.
Mr Surapong said the ministry will submit the proposals for the construction of three extensions this week, namely the Taling Chan-Salaya extension, Rangsit-Thammasat University, Rangsit Campus extension and the Taling Chan-Siriraj extension.
The proposals will be presented after the ministry receives responses from the Finance Ministry, Budget Bureau and the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council, he said.
The first extension will see tracks laid to connect Taling Chan and Salaya, a distance of 14.8 kilometres.
Six stations are planned along the route, namely Rama VI, Bang Kruai-Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, Ban Chimphi, Kanchanaphisek, Sala Thammasop and Salaya. The extension is expected to cost about 10.67 billion baht to build.
The second extension is the Rangsit-Thammasat University Rangsit Campus extension, which covers a distance of 8.84km.
The route will feature four stations, namely Khlong Nueng, Bangkok University, Chiang Rak and Thammasat University Rangsit Campus. The project will cost about 6.47 billion baht to construct.
The third, planned extension is the Taling Chan-Siriraj extension, which spans 5.7km.
Three stations are planned along this extension, namely Taling Chan Floating Market, Charan Sanitwong and Thon Buri-Siriraj. This extension is expected to cost 4.6 billion baht.
Bidding for the three projects will take place this year, and the construction should take 35 months, from 2025 to 2028, to complete. Services are expected to begin along the extensions in 2028, Mr Surapong said.
Mr Surapong said he is pushing for seven more double-track railway upgrades. One of the projects, the 167-kilometre Khon Kaen-Nong Khai railway, has been approved by the cabinet, and allocated a budget of 29.7 billion baht.
Bidding for the project is underway, and construction is expected to start later this year.
Recently, SRT's board has approved three other projects, comprising the 281-km Pak Nam Pho-Den Chai railway upgrade, worth 81.14 billion baht; the 308-km Thanon Jira-Ubon Ratchathani railway upgrade, worth 44.10 billion baht; and the 45-km Hat Yai Junction-Padang Besar railway upgrade, worth 7.9 billion baht.
The remaining projects will be presented to the cabinet this year.