Thai-made trains planned for Bangkok mass transit
By Jon Fernquest |
The front page of today's business section in the Bangkok Post details efforts to ensure assembly in Thailand for the carriages and rolling stock of Bangkok's new mass transit system.
Building up spare parts producing capability and expertise for maintenance and repair of electric mass transit trains could well be a first step to enabling future widespread development of mass transit systems throughout Thailand.
Much of Greater Metropolitan Bangkok may be connected by electric rail one day soon as well as major provincial cities such as Chiang Mai, Hat Yai, Nakon Ratchasima, or Khon Kaen. (See list of provincial cities in Thailand ranked by population)
Read more Bangkok Post articles about transportation and the automobile industry in Thailand.
Here is the article in full:
Thai-made trains on MRTA list
Foreign firms may need local factoriesNAREERAT WIRIYAPONG
Wednesday March 26, 2008
Under the government's 770-billion-baht mass-transit expansion plan, by 2016, hundreds of electric trains would be in operation daily above and below Bangkok's city streets to serve the capital's commuters.
If the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) gets its way, the trains will all have "Made in Thailand" stamped prominently on their sides.
MRTA governor Prapat Chongsanguan plans to propose to the government that foreign train manufacturers bidding for the mass-transit megaprojects establish domestic production plants to help produce the more than 900 train carriages estimated to be required for the new routes.
Mr Prapat said the agency would invite train suppliers including Siemens, Alstom, Bombardier as well as those from China, Korea, Japan, Spain and Italy to wholly or jointly develop assembly facilities in Thailand.
The invitation would be made with the understanding that the government would buy all the trains needed for the mass-transit scheme from this private maker, Mr Prapat said.
"What will we get from spending a huge amount of money to import hundreds of trains? And should we have to call foreign technicians to fix any problem occurring with these trains in the future?" he asked rhetorically.
Building the trains locally would result in technology transfers, job creation for supporting industries, he said.
"The [train makers] would be able to source parts locally, making them cheaper than the completely built carriage imports," added Mr Prapat.
"However, the government is needed to commit to them the future orders. If so, I believe that all suppliers would be willing to invest in the assembly plant."
Lothar Herrmann, the president and chief executive of Siemens operations in Thailand, Cambodia and Burma, said the company was ready to look into the possibility of an assembly plant in Thailand.
"We have been studying the feasibility of a train assembly plant in Thailand since 2006," he said. "We are ready to study [the options] and conform to the government's policy on this project."
The government plans to build both elevated trains and subways stretching for a combined 424 kilometres in Greater Bangkok.
The first phase of 126 km of track requires a total investment of 259.7 billion baht, and an additional 511 billion baht will be needed to develop 298 km in the second phase. The government plans to invest 553 billion on civil works for the rail lines with another 217.67 billion for rolling stock and signalling systems from the private sector.
"Thailand has to spend this amount of money for rail network development. We are now spending more than one billion baht on petrol every day for transport in Bangkok, or half of a total two billion baht consumed by the country," Mr Prapat said.
The number of Bangkok commuters using mass transit is expected to jump from about 600,000 people a day at present to three million by 2013 and further increase to about six to seven million no later than 2016, he added.
Mr Prapat also said the MRTA was ready to acquire the capital's elevated rail system now being operated by the Bangkok Mass Transit System Co (BTSC).
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej has assigned the Interior Ministry to negotiate with BTSC for a state takeover of the latter's skytrain system and transfer BTS to be under the MRTA. BTS, which runs two elevated rail routes with a total length of 23 km, has been restructing its debt of 68 billion baht.
The acquisition is planned for the construction of the extended BTS routes from its Mor Chit terminal by 25 km to Don Muang to Lum Luk Ka, and from Soi Baring to Bang Pu.
"Transferring BTS to be under the MRTA would facilitate its route expansion and the ongoing integration for a single ticketing system of the subway and the skytrain," Mr Prapat said.
(Source: Bangok Post, business section, B1, NAREERAT WIRIYAPONG, 26-03-08, temp-link)
Vocabulary:
mass transit - public transportation such as subway, bus, elevated train, train, light rail, etc.
a carriage - the railroad car that people travel in, behind the engine
an engine - the large vehicle that pulls the cars of a train
rolling stock - all the carriages and engines used in a railway
build up - gradually make larger
spare parts - parts bought to replace broken parts or old worn parts
capability - the ability to carry out some specialised task (facilities, machines, trained workers)
expertise - special skills and knowledge needed to perform specialised tasks (acquired through study, training, or learning on-the-job through experience)
commuters - people traveling from their home to workplace and back home everyday
Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) - the government agency responsible for mass transportation in and around Bangkok, founded in 1992 under Prime Minister Anand (See website and Wikipedia on Bangkok Metro)
X gets its way - people what X want's instead of something else
prominently - very noticeable
asked rhetorically - ask a question to make a statement (not really ask a question)
technology transfers - gaining technology expertise and training from countries that are more technologically advanced
source parts locally - shop for and obtain parts from companies in Thailand instead of overseas
commit to Y - say that you will definitely do Y, won't change your mind
feasibility - possible to do or achieve
conform to X - follow the detailed requirements of X
Greater Bangkok, Greater Bangkok Metropolitan - not only the city of Bangkok, but also the communities around Bangkok such as Samut Prakan and Nonthaburi
signalling systems - a system used to control railway traffic safely, to prevent trains from colliding while traveling on the same line at high speeds (See railway signalling systems)
Bangkok Mass Transit System Co (BTSC) - the company that operates the Bangkok Skytrain under a concession granted by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) (See Wikipedia on Bangkok Skytrain)
a state takeover of Y - the government becoming the owner of company Y
restructing its debt - when a borrower and a lender renegotiate the original terms of a loan, altering the payment schedule or debt-service charges, usually when the debtor cannot meet the payments due on loans from creditors (See Wikipedia on debt restructuring)
an acquisition - the purchase of a company or asset (See glossary)
facilitate - help something make progress and go smoothly (See glossary)
