Thailand and Germany have renewed an agreement on rail development, a long-term commitment to address several key problems with an efficient and environmentally friendly rail transport system.
The original agreement between Thailand’s Ministry of Transport and Germany’s Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport was signed on Nov 23, 2016, and has been renewed twice. It was renewed again on Monday in Bangkok for another two years, Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit said on Wednesday.
“This has demonstrated both nations’ dedication to jointly promoting new rail system technology as a means for sustaining environmental protection,” he said.
After nearly a decade of maintaining this important bilateral cooperation, Thailand and Germany are now committed to working side-by-side to achieve the goal of sustaining their current rail transport systems, an important step towards “future mobility”, said Ernst Reichel, the German ambassador to Thailand, who represented the German government at the signing ceremony.
The ambassador described the cooperation as an example of how two nations can join hands to tackle major world problems such as climate change, traffic congestion and inefficient resource management.
“This is a potential way of working to secure a flexible and sustainable future for later generations,” he said.
The German-Thai Railway Association (GTRA) will continue playing a key role in facilitating rail transport development cooperation and ensure its continuity in the future, he said.
The GTRA is made up of members from various industries, rail operators, consultants, service providers, educators and students.
Under the joint declaration of intent, as the agreement is formally known, Germany has been supplying Thailand with technical support for the continuing development of its rail transport system and upgrades to transport infrastructure, said Mr Suriya.
German technical support has helped Thailand work more efficiently in cutting carbon emissions and bringing about new choices which are more environmentally friendly when it comes to transport, he said.
Several innovations have been adopted under this Thai-German deal for use in several Thai rail transport projects, namely the Blue Line electric rail system, Airport Rail Link and Suvarnabhumi airport’s Automated People Mover (APM), the minister added.