Recently, the blueprint for the 356-kilometer section of the second phase of the China-Thailand high-speed railway project extending from Nakhon Ratchasima to the border province of Nong Khai has been completed. The Project Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) will be submitted to Thailand's Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP) in the near future. The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) plans to invest another US$8.66 billion in the second phase of the China-Thailand high-speed rail project.

After funding proposals are submitted to the SRT Executive Committee for review and evaluation, plans will be presented to Cabinet for approval in January or February 2023. If the proposal is approved, a tender will be launched and will be completed by the end of 2023. Among them, the construction work of the railway project is planned to start in 2024, and includes a total of 13 contracts, of which 12 are construction contracts and one is a contract related to the railway signaling system. The project implementation is expected to take four years.

China-Thailand Railway

According to reports, the China-Thailand Railway is a key project in the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, and it is also Thailand's first standard-gauge high-speed railway. The first phase of the China-Thailand high-speed rail project from Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima started in 2017 and is divided into 14 contracts, 11 of which have been completed so far. It is expected to be put into trial operation for six months in 2026 and fully completed and opened to traffic in early 2027 The second phase is from Nakhon Ratchasima to Nong Khai, with a total length of 356 kilometers, an investment of about 300 billion baht, and a speed of about 250km/h after completion. It will cover 4 provinces, namely Nakhon Ratchasima, Khon Kaen and Udon Thani Province and Nong Khai Province. It is expected that the entire Bangkok-Nong Khai railway line will be opened in 2028.

The State Railway of Thailand SRT emphasized that between 2023 and 2025, the scale and configuration of freight trains will be gradually improved to meet the growing demand for international freight. The Ministry of Communications attaches great importance to the China-Thailand high-speed railway project, because the project can bring various benefits such as tourism and economic development. It is necessary to accelerate the construction of the second phase of the Nakhon Ratchasima-Nong Khai project to connect with the China-Laos railway as soon as possible.

At present, for the construction of the second phase of the project (Korat-Nong Khai), SRT has submitted the EIA environmental impact assessment report to the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy Planning (ONEP) in Thailand. It is expected to be approved by the SRT Board of Directors around October this year, and then handed over to the The Ministry of Communications will submit it to the Thai cabinet by the end of 2022.

The China-Laos Railway has officially started operation on December 2, 2021. Thailand is accelerating the construction of the China-Thailand high-speed railway, and is ready to connect Kunming, China, and Vientiane, Laos in Bangkok.

According to data, the second phase of the project includes the construction of a 171-kilometer elevated track and a 185-kilometer ground track in the northeastern provinces of Thailand. The track will be built in the northeastern provinces, including Udon Thani, Nong Khai, Nakhon Ratchasima and Khon Kaen. There will be five railway stations on the line, located in Khon Kaen, Nong Khai, Ban Pai, Udon Thani and Buia Yai. Editor/He Yuting