Thailand spends big on railway routes to south

The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) plans to spend 90 billion baht (3 million USD) to upgrade the existing single-track railways leading to the deep south to double tracks to cut down travel time for passengers and promote tourism to the region, according to local media. 

The project will be integrated with the SRT's ongoing double-track upgrades in Chumphon, which will benefit rail passengers heading to the southern provinces of Surat Thani, Songkhla, as well as the Malaysian border town of Padang Besar, 

SRT Acting Governor Worawut Malacho said once the upgrades are completed, travel time to resort cities along the southern coast will be significantly reduced, which is expected to increase the number of rail passengers. 

The SRT will allocate nearly 800 million USD to the second stage of the southern railway route, which will build a double-track line between Chumphon and Surat Thani, nearly 1.9 billion USD to upgrade the existing single-track line between Surat Thani and Songkhla, and more than 260 million USD to upgrade the track between Thailand’s Hat Yai city and Padang Besar town in Malaysia. 

Statistics from the SRT show that 90 percent of passengers taking the train from Bangkok to Chumphon are foreign tourists.

VNA