Veeris Ammarapala, 49, the new State Railway of Thailand (SRT) governor, has vowed to make Thailand a railway service hub of Asean during his four-year term.
He said he is ready to begin his duties as the 20th governor as he is well aware of the importance of the role and mission of the SRT, the country's largest state-owned transportation enterprise.
Currently, the SRT is tasked with a number of urgent missions. Chief among them is the continuation and initiation of new projects that are in line with the policies of the Ministry of Transport to promote investment in rail transport infrastructure.
Veeris: Will raise SRT's revenue
This includes the construction of double-track railways across the country and the Thai-Chinese high-speed railway project that will link Bangkok with Nong Khai in the Northeast.
"I will also focus on growing the rail service and increasing its capacity in order to swiftly establish Thailand as the hub of rail transportation in Asean," Mr Veeris said.
He added that he would also speed up the settlement of SRT's 230-billion-baht debt and allow the private sector to invest in SRT projects.
Moreover, he has vowed to find partners that are state enterprises to lease the use of tracks, which could help reduce the cost of transporting goods within the country.
Mr Veeris said he intends to develop SRT properties to increase revenue.
He said the SRT will investigate the potential for revenue-generating land development along the railways. "I will increase the SRT's revenue, reduce its debt and improve the service efficiency and [level of customer] satisfaction."
In addition, he said he intends to approach the Ministry of Finance for support with the size of the debt, as part of it originated from an obligation to offer social rail services to the underprivileged at no cost.
The amount of money that the government will subsidise annually, including debt consolidation and restructuring, will also be discussed, he noted. The SRT's debt will be lowered right away if this portion can be completed, Mr Veeris contended.
Asked if he was able to land the job due to his close ties with Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit, he denied this and said he had gained valuable experience working in many organisations that have led to national development.
When he found out the position was open, he said he just applied, and that nobody had instructed him to do so. "My goal is to improve the railway service even further so that it becomes the main means of transportation in the country and attracts a lot of people, especially younger people, to use it frequently. The rail transit system will also help reduce carbon emissions compared to private cars," he said.