Thai-China high speed train joint-venture: End to long Bangkok commutes?
By Jon Fernquest
Can
you imagine jumping on a train next to the office and zooming home in under 10 minutes?Some people I work with in downtown Bangkok have horrendous commutes from home to work and back everyday.
They take a combination of subway, vans and buses and sit, walk, stand and wait for as long as an hour and a half to get from home to work.
Today's article is about a possible joint-venture between the Thai and Chinese governments to build high speed trains in Thailand.
China's high-tech magnetic levitation Maglev train travels from Shanghai to the airport in a record breaking 7 to 8 minutes traveling as fast as 431 km/h (268 mph) (Read Wikipedia).
Today's article starts after the vocabulary below.
zoom - moving with
great speed and energy
horrendous - extremely shocking and bad
commute (noun) - the trip a person takes each day from their home to their work in the morning and then in the evening from their work back to their home
joint - done with someone else ร่วมกัน
joint-venture - company owned and operated by two or more other companies
magnetic levitation - a technology "by which an object is suspended with no support other than magnetic fields. Magnetic pressure is used to counteract the effects of the gravitational and any other accelerations" (See Wikipedia)
Maglev train - Shanghai Magnetic Levitation Demonstration Operation Line, "a magnetic levitation train (maglev) line that operates in Shanghai, China. It is notable for being the first commercial high-speed maglev line in the world — during a test run on November 12, 2003, a Maglev vehicle achieved a Chinese record speed of 501 km/h (311 mph) (non-commercial top speed). The journey was designed to connect Shanghai Pudong International Airport quickly to the outskirts of central Shanghai where passengers could interchange for their final destinations in the city centre" (See Wikipedia)
horrendous - extremely shocking and bad
commute (noun) - the trip a person takes each day from their home to their work in the morning and then in the evening from their work back to their home
joint - done with someone else ร่วมกัน
joint-venture - company owned and operated by two or more other companies
magnetic levitation - a technology "by which an object is suspended with no support other than magnetic fields. Magnetic pressure is used to counteract the effects of the gravitational and any other accelerations" (See Wikipedia)
Maglev train - Shanghai Magnetic Levitation Demonstration Operation Line, "a magnetic levitation train (maglev) line that operates in Shanghai, China. It is notable for being the first commercial high-speed maglev line in the world — during a test run on November 12, 2003, a Maglev vehicle achieved a Chinese record speed of 501 km/h (311 mph) (non-commercial top speed). The journey was designed to connect Shanghai Pudong International Airport quickly to the outskirts of central Shanghai where passengers could interchange for their final destinations in the city centre" (See Wikipedia)
Transport
Development on Fast track
So much to gain from new rail routes31/08/2010
Somporn Thapanachai
While the cabinet will today consider approving the framework of joint investment between Thailand and China on the development of high-speed train routes in Thailand, both public and private sectors believe faster rail transit will benefit the country economically and socially.
China’s Maglev train, which travels 30 kilometres between Longyang Rd Station and Shanghai International Airport in just over seven minutes, is the fastest commercial train in the world.
development
- the gradual growth and improvement of a country's economy
fast track - a way of achieving a goal or completing a project more quickly (like traveling along a faster railway track)
framework - a system of rules, ideas or beliefs that is used to plan or decide something ขอบข่ายงาน, โครงร่าง
investment - taking your money and putting it into projects to make a profit or earn interest (buying stock shares, bonds, real estate)
sector - a part of a country's economic or business activity, (public sector = government, private sector = all businesses, household sector = families and consumers, banking sector,...) (See Wikipedia) ภาค (เศรษฐกิจ)
private sector - all the businesses and companies in an economy
public sector - the government
transit - the act of moving from one place to another การเดินทางผ่าน
benefit - to get help or an advantage from something ผลประโยชน์
commercial - run by a company for profit (not owned by the government)
fast track - a way of achieving a goal or completing a project more quickly (like traveling along a faster railway track)
framework - a system of rules, ideas or beliefs that is used to plan or decide something ขอบข่ายงาน, โครงร่าง
investment - taking your money and putting it into projects to make a profit or earn interest (buying stock shares, bonds, real estate)
sector - a part of a country's economic or business activity, (public sector = government, private sector = all businesses, household sector = families and consumers, banking sector,...) (See Wikipedia) ภาค (เศรษฐกิจ)
private sector - all the businesses and companies in an economy
public sector - the government
transit - the act of moving from one place to another การเดินทางผ่าน
benefit - to get help or an advantage from something ผลประโยชน์
commercial - run by a company for profit (not owned by the government)
The investments would develop high-speed trains with speeds of around 250 kilometres per hour. Three routes with an investment value of approximately 480 billion baht are now under consideration: Bangkok-Nong Khai, Bangkok-Rayong and Bangkok-Padang Besar.
Supa Piyajitti, director-general of State Enterprise Policy Office, said state-run organisations with the potential to join the investment were the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), which owns land plots along possible routes, and the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA), which has technical expertise.
consideration
- giving careful thought to something before making a decision
state - government รัฐ
potential - might happen in the future ความเป็นไปได้
land plots - pieces of land
State Railway of Thailand (SRT) - the state-owned rail operator of Thailand, การรถไฟแห่งประเทศไทย (SeeWikipedia)
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 websiteand Wikipedia on Bangkok Metro)
technical - involving materials, processes, and machines that do specialised work (example: computers, electronics, manufacturing) เฉพาะทาง
expertise - special skills or knowledge from study or practical experience ความถนัด ทักษะความรู้, ความคิดเห็นของผู้เชี่ยวชาญ ความชำนาญเฉพาะทาง
technical expertise - having special knowledge or skills in some technical area like computers, electronics, engineering and manufacturing
state - government รัฐ
potential - might happen in the future ความเป็นไปได้
land plots - pieces of land
State Railway of Thailand (SRT) - the state-owned rail operator of Thailand, การรถไฟแห่งประเทศไทย (SeeWikipedia)
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 websiteand Wikipedia on Bangkok Metro)
technical - involving materials, processes, and machines that do specialised work (example: computers, electronics, manufacturing) เฉพาะทาง
expertise - special skills or knowledge from study or practical experience ความถนัด ทักษะความรู้, ความคิดเห็นของผู้เชี่ยวชาญ ความชำนาญเฉพาะทาง
technical expertise - having special knowledge or skills in some technical area like computers, electronics, engineering and manufacturing
She said a memorandum of understanding on the Thai-Chinese joint investment would identify only the main topics of co-operation. Once it receives cabinet approval, the MOU must be approved by parliament as the government needs to conduct a public hearing on the issue. "Details of possible co-operation have already been drafted but cannot be disclosed at the moment. The timeframe for development will depend on when the parliament approves the MOU," she said.
memorandum
- an informal legal agreement ข้อตกลง
memorandum of understanding (MOU) - a informal agreement that provides a framework for cooperation on activities, establishes policies or procedures of mutual concern, and/or establishes expectations between two or more parties (See Wikipedia)
identify - to specify ระบุ
identify - find, locate
co-operation - working together to achieve goals
approval - official permission การอนุมัต
conduct - to do something in an organised way; to carry out
hearing - an official meeting which presents the facts of some issue before a decision is made
public hearing - a hearing that is open to the public, the public can listen and learn about some new program or project and then respond by giving feedback, suggestions and/or criticism
issue - an important subject that people are arguing about or discussing ประเด็น
draft - to write up an official document
moment - a very short period of time; a particular time or occasion ชั่วขณะ, โอกาสสำคัญ
timeframe - the length of time during which an event or a poject happens ในกรอบเวลาที่ระบุำไว้
memorandum of understanding (MOU) - a informal agreement that provides a framework for cooperation on activities, establishes policies or procedures of mutual concern, and/or establishes expectations between two or more parties (See Wikipedia)
identify - to specify ระบุ
identify - find, locate
co-operation - working together to achieve goals
approval - official permission การอนุมัต
conduct - to do something in an organised way; to carry out
hearing - an official meeting which presents the facts of some issue before a decision is made
public hearing - a hearing that is open to the public, the public can listen and learn about some new program or project and then respond by giving feedback, suggestions and/or criticism
issue - an important subject that people are arguing about or discussing ประเด็น
draft - to write up an official document
moment - a very short period of time; a particular time or occasion ชั่วขณะ, โอกาสสำคัญ
timeframe - the length of time during which an event or a poject happens ในกรอบเวลาที่ระบุำไว้
A joint Thai-Chinese company with 50:50 ownership will be established, each side with authority to arrange investors. It is unlikely the SRT would invest alone in the joint venture as the law forbids a state enterprise to enter an investment in which a foreigner has more than 49% ownership.
Ms Supa said the joint venture would not require vast capital as the new firm could seek funding for development of a high-speed train system and repay the debt from income generated from its operation. Thai partners would be expected to provide land which, after the rail is constructed, will be given to the government.
established
- started, set up or built for the first time
authority - the power to make decisions or tell people what to do อำนาจ, อำนาจในการสั่งการ
venture - a new business, which usually involves some risk or uncertainty ธุริกิจเสี่ยงแต่สามารถทำกำไรได้
enterprise - an organization, especially a business กิจการ, บริษัท,อุตสาหกิจ,วิสาหกิจ
state enterprise - a government owned business
vast - very large, of great size ส่วนใหญ่
capital - money invested in a business (See glossary)
firm - a business or company บริษัม
funding - money given for a particular purpose การให้เงินสนับสนุน
debt - an amount of money that you owe หนี้
income - money coming into a company or a household
income generated - money received by a business from customers buying its products or services
partners - the companies owning part of the joint venture หุ้นส่วน
expected - believe will happen คาดว่า (จะเกิดขึ้น)
provide - to give someone something wanted or needed
authority - the power to make decisions or tell people what to do อำนาจ, อำนาจในการสั่งการ
venture - a new business, which usually involves some risk or uncertainty ธุริกิจเสี่ยงแต่สามารถทำกำไรได้
enterprise - an organization, especially a business กิจการ, บริษัท,อุตสาหกิจ,วิสาหกิจ
state enterprise - a government owned business
vast - very large, of great size ส่วนใหญ่
capital - money invested in a business (See glossary)
firm - a business or company บริษัม
funding - money given for a particular purpose การให้เงินสนับสนุน
debt - an amount of money that you owe หนี้
income - money coming into a company or a household
income generated - money received by a business from customers buying its products or services
partners - the companies owning part of the joint venture หุ้นส่วน
expected - believe will happen คาดว่า (จะเกิดขึ้น)
provide - to give someone something wanted or needed
Manop Sangiambut, CLSA head of China research, said China plans to export its high-speed train technology to other countries. China earlier applied high-speed train technology from France, Germany and Japan to develop its own technology.
He said the Chinese government usually provides low-interest funding, rail construction and vehicles when investing in other countries.
Ms Supa last week led a Thai delegation to study operations of Chinese high-speed trains in Shanghai.
She said China has both magnetic and electrical train systems, but Thailand requires electrical trains because magnetic trains, running at a maximum speed of 430 km/hour, are too expensive....
interest
- payments made for the use of another's money for a period of time
construction - the work of building or making something, especially buildings, bridges, etc. การก่อสร้าง
vehicles - machines with an engine used to carry people or goods from place to place ยานพาหนะ
delegation - a group of people chosen by a group to represent them คณะผู้แทน, คณะบุคคลที่เป็นตัวแทนของคนกลุ่มใหญ่
magnetic - of an object that is able both to attract iron and steel objects and also push them away ซึ่งมีคุณสมบัติเป็นแม่เหล็ก
maximum - the most possible ที่สูงสุด ที่มากที่สุด
construction - the work of building or making something, especially buildings, bridges, etc. การก่อสร้าง
vehicles - machines with an engine used to carry people or goods from place to place ยานพาหนะ
delegation - a group of people chosen by a group to represent them คณะผู้แทน, คณะบุคคลที่เป็นตัวแทนของคนกลุ่มใหญ่
magnetic - of an object that is able both to attract iron and steel objects and also push them away ซึ่งมีคุณสมบัติเป็นแม่เหล็ก
maximum - the most possible ที่สูงสุด ที่มากที่สุด
(Source: Development on Fast track, So much to gain from new rail routes, 31/08/2010, Somporn Thapanachai, link)
