First section of Sino-Thai railway in smooth progress

Civil engineering work on the initial section of the Sino-Thai railway’s first phase is progressing smoothly. The lessons learned during this stage will be applied to the construction of other sections, said Thanin Somboon, Director General of the Department of Highways at the Ministry of Transport of Thailand. He made this comment at a construction site in Pak Chong, Nakhon Ratchasima, on March 22.

The construction site in Pak Chong on March 22

Mr. Thanin said that China is responsible for the design of the high-speed railway project. Meanwhile, the Department of Highways is mainly responsible for creating the line’s embankment and other civil engineering works. China will also be responsible for laying the tracks and other follow-up work. China and Thailand are cooperating well in the construction of the first section, and the bilateral experience is expected to be applied to the construction of remaining portions of the project, Mr. Thanin said.

Thai engineers at the scene told reporters that Thailand can learn from China while building the high-speed railway. Additionally, some equipment, such as the light dynamic penetrometer, will be imported from China. China has undertaken work related to design, construction supervision, signal systems, power generation, vehicles and other aspects for the high-speed railway, while also providing training for Thai personnel.

The kickoff ceremony for the first phase of the Sino-Thai Railway, the Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima section, was held on December 21 last year in Pak Chong, Nakhon Ratchasima. The stretch of railway, which will include six stations, has a total length of 253 kilometres and a design speed of 250 kilometres per hour. It will be built with Chinese technology and will be the first high-speed railway in Thailand.

Chinese reporting by Yang Zhou (Xinhua); Editor: Wang Shixue