Thailand
– Railways
The railway network of Thailand is managed and
operated by the State Railway of Thailand (SRT).
History
of Thailand Railways –
Interest in rail transport in Thailand can be traced to
when King Rama IV was given a gift of a model
railway from Queen Victoria in 1855. The first railway line,
20 km in length, named the Paknam
Railway between Bangkok–Samut Prakan began construction in July
1891 under a 50-year concession with a Danish company. Paknam Railway opened in
1894. This railway line was electrified in 1925, made it into the first
electric railway service of Southeast Asia. This railway line was
decommissioned on 1 January 1957.
Royal State Railways of Siam (RSR) was found in 1890
at the same time with a construction of the Bangkok-Ayutthaya railway
(71 km or 44 mi), the first part of the Northern Line, was started in
1891 and opened on 26 March 1895. The Thonburi-Phetchaburi line (150 km
or 93 mi), later the Southern Line, opened on 19 June 1903.
The Northern Line was originally built
as 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard
gauge, but in September 1919 it was decided to standardize
on 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) metre gauge and
the Northern Line was regauged during the next ten years. On 1 July
1951, RSR changed its name to the present State Railway of
Thailand (SRT).
In 2005 SRT had 4,070 km (2,530 mi) of track,
all of it metre gauge. Nearly all is single-track, although some important
sections around Bangkok are double or triple-tracked and there are plans to
extend this.
On 21 March 2015 Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha
said that Thailand and China had signed a memorandum of
understanding (MoU) in late-2014 on joint railway construction furthering
Thailand's seven-year strategy on the development of transportation from
2015-2022. The MoU stipulates that a joint Thai-Chinese 1.435 metre
standard-gauge rail network project bear fruit in 2018. Thailand is to be
responsible for conducting environmental impact assessments and land
expropriations. China is responsible for project design and construction. The
project includes four routes: 133 km between Bangkok and Kaeng Khoi;
246.5 km between Kaeng Khoi and Map Ta Phut; 138.5 km between Kaeng
Khoi and Nakhon Ratchasima; and 355 km from Nakhon Ratchasima to Nong
Khai.
Current
Senerio -
There are about 450 railway stations and about 1,000
bridges. Also there are 7 tunnels in Thailand, amounting to a total length of
3.63 kms.
Thailand has 4,431 kilometres of metre gauge railway
tracks not including mass transit lines in Bangkok. All national rail services
are managed by the State Railway of Thailand. The four main lines are the
Northern Line, which terminates in Chiang Mai, the Northeastern Line,
which terminates at Ubon Ratchathani and the Lao border in Nong Khai
Province, the Eastern Line, which terminates at the Cambodian border in Sa
Kaeo Province, and the Southern Line, which terminates at the Malaysian border
in Songkhla and Narathiwat Provinces.
Most existing State Railway of Thailand (SRT) lines
use metre gauge, although standard gauge is used of rapid
transit lines. As of 2013, approximately 4,346 km (2,700 mi) of track
was in use throughout Thailand.
4,346 km (2,700 mi) metre gauge
(1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in));
80.55 km (50.05 mi) standard gauge
(1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in))