Railways need a remake

Thailand’ state railway may need to buy new rolling stock rather than invest in reconditioning old carriages and diesel engines, Dr Yongyuth Maiyalap, of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO)’s public relations unit reported late last week.
He was quoted by the National News Bureau as saying it would make “more economic sense” to buy new carriages.
He confirmed that 20 diesel trains that were purchased and are being checked for quality and efficiency.
The State Railway of Thailand is also looking at the procurement of passenger carriages, but the SRT was told to review all costs and terms of references before presenting a revised costing to the NCPO.
SRT is a popular form of chill-out travel for backpackers. Although cheap and safe compared with national bus services, the railways fall short in service standards and cleanliness. They are also very slow averaging no more thn 50 kmph and taking more than 12 hours to cover the distance between Bangkok and Chiang Mai, compared to eight hours by bus.
On improving railway infrastructure, no plans have been presented to the NCPO, but the project to build dual railway tracks was still in the pipeline. So far, high-speed trains have not figured in discussions at NCPO level concerning railway improvements.

Sourced: ttrweekly