Thailand to link Bangkok with China via high-speed train

Thailand will be connected with China via a high-speed railway running through northern Laos within the next seven years, Thai Transport Minister Chadchart Sittipunt said. Delivering a key-note speech at a seminar and exhibition entitled "Thailand 2020" in the Thai northeastern province of Nakorn Ratchasima, the transport minister said the government has planned to build a 625 km rail system to link Bangkok with the northeastern border province of Nong Khai, across Mekong River from the Lao capital of Vientiane while Chinese high- speed trains will arrive from southern China. During the initial stage of a 730-billion-US-dollar rail and logistical program, designed for reconstruction of major rail routes in all regions of Thailand, a 250 km Bangkok-Nakorn Ratchasima route will be built first. Then, the next phase will see a 375 km Nakorn Ratchasima-Nong Khai route built up for the Thai high-speed train to shuttle passengers and cargoes, especially including fruits and vegetables, between Thailand and Laos, which will be connected via the high- speed train with southern China, Chadchart said. Given such a modernized rail system, Thai food will be delivered fresh and daily to China, according to the transport minister. Thailand will have one rail system for all high-speed trains to run throughout the country, including the Bangkok-Phitsanuloak- Chiang Mai route to the North, the Bangkok-Hua Hin route to the South and the Bangkok-Pattaya-Rayong route to the East and the Bangkok-Nakorn Ratchasima-Nong Khai route to the Northeast. Besides, the Thai government will build motorways to accommodate prompt logistics and transportation between Bangkok's outlying areas and major provinces, including a Nonthaburi- Kanchanaburi motorway and an Ayudhya-Nakorn Ratchasima motorway.