Cabinet gives nod to hiring consultants for eastern railway development

0
1421

Bangkok – The Cabinet has set aside a budget for hiring a consulting firm for two railway projects in the eastern region, with an aim of pushing forward infrastructure development in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC).

During its meeting on Tuesday, the Cabinet agreed to allocate over 145 million baht to be spent on consulting service for projects to raise the capacity of the Hua Mak-Chachoengsao-Si Racha railway system and to construct the Si Racha-Map Ta Phut double-track rail line, both of which will be undertaken by the State Railway of Thailand (SRT).

In addition to the three existing train lines on the Hua Mak-Chachoengsao-Si Racha route, one new line is set to be built, linking with the Laem Chabang-Kaeng Khoi and the Chachoengsao-Nong Khai double-track systems. This will require the SRT to first conclude all technical details of the project and carry out a feasibility study and an environmental impact assessment.

For the Si Racha-Map Ta Phut double-track railway, the SRT is currently in the planning and design stage. The system is expected to help raise the efficiency of rail transport to and from the three major ports of the EEC, namely Laem Chabang, Sattahip and Map Ta Phut.