Thailand Airport Rail Link
October 18, 2007
SIEMENS COMPANY HANDS OVER EIGHT BOGIES FOR "AIRPORT RAIL LINK"
The Siemens Company has handed over the first lot of eight bogies for the Airport Rail Link which will connect Suvarnabhumi Airport to a passenger terminal in town.
At Pier A-5, At Laem Chabang Seaport, Sriracha, Chonburi, Mr. Bancha Kongnakorn, Acting Director of the State Railway of Thailand, chaired the ceremony of the handover of the bogies for the Airport Rail Link by Siemens Company. Mr. Ralph Hasselbacher, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Transportation Systems of Siemens and Mr. Wolfgang Rueprich, Project Director for M&E Systems, along with many distinguished guests of honor and representatives of the mass media, joined in the ceremony.
After the bell rang to release the bogie off the cargo ship, Mr. Bancha Kongnakorn, Acting Director of the State Railway of Thailand, announced that today the State Railway of Thailand has received eight of the thirty-one bogies for the project which will connect Suvarnabhumi Airport to a passenger terminal in Bangkok. The project is known as the Airport Rail Link. The first lot of eight bogies will be kept at Magasan Garage. The rest will follow, one after another, with thirty-one bogies in all. The first test run will be on 9 November 2007. Engineers need sufficient time to study the system before running the test.
Mr. Bancha also declared that the Cabinet resolution to authorize the Ministry of Finance to provide a budget of 18,000 million baht, in order to reimburse financial institutions will not be sufficient to cover all expenses. He said another 9,000 million baht will be needed. Negotiations with liability management of the Ministry of Finance are continuing during this working period. As of the end of September, construction has been 70% completed. Hopefully, the project will be completed on time. Mr. Ralph Hasselbacher, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Transportation Systems of Siemens said that the Airport Rail Link project will benefit the public, who will have the convenience of traveling from Suvarnabhumi Airport to the center of town. In order to move the project forward, there must be cooperation among the government, the governing sector and individuals.
Mr. Hasselbacher was disappointed that the Airport Rail Link project had been delayed for a year. Most of the problems involved reclaiming the land needed by the government for use in construction. In contrast, the BTS sky train and underground projects were very successful and the handovers were accomplished quickly so the work could be completed before the due date.
Mr. Hasselbacher added that this sky train is the most advanced of its kind and is very popular in countries such as England, Germany, Austria and the USA. It can reach speeds up to 160 kilometers per hour. Of the thirty-one bogies, sixteen will be the high-speed type and fifteen will travel at normal speed. Moreover, it will be the safest system in the world and meet the same standards as the BTS sky train and the underground train.
The Airport Rail Link, which will connect Suvarnabhumi Airport with the center of town, was conceived by the government of former Prime Minister Taksin Chinawatra, which proposed to build the railway for a distance of twenty-eight kilometers (between Payathai-Magasan- Suvarnabhumi). On 1 June 2004, the cabinet gave approval for the State Railway of Thailand to start construction by using ARLC, which is a consortium of five companies that won the bidding process. When the project is completed, it is expected to save time and provide a convenient method for tourists to travel from the airport. It is expected that Suvarnabhumi Airport will become the hub for traveling in Southeast Asia.
News Type : Thailand news
Story : Kampee
Photo : Kampee
Translater : Sunny T
