Thailand to seek dual track assistance from Japan

BANGKOK, June 16 (TNA) - Thailand will seek advice from Japan on new double track railway and on high-speed train systems. Thai Deputy Transport Minister Chadchart Sittipunt told journalists of the plan following his Friday’s talks with visiting Akihiko Tamura, Senior Deputy Director-General of Railway Bureau under the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Chadchart acknowledged that three categories of assistance will be sought from Japan, including the technical field specifying the speed limit of high-speed trains and the management of passenger and cargo trains, the restructuring of agencies supervising the rail business, especially on solving debts incurred by the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), and financial sources of which the Thai government prefers to borrow from domestic sources. The minister said that Japan has shown interest in investing in Thailand's new high-speed train system and he has assured the Japanese senior official that the Thai government will make it transparent by allowing every country interested in the Thai project to compete in an open bidding, admitting that both China and Japan gain advantages in the project, as they have already studied them. According to the deputy transport minister, a preliminary study by Japan on a high-speed train for the Bangkok- Chiang Mai route has found that it is not feasible financially but it is worth economically, as it offers returns at between 12-17 per cent. (TNA)