Govt to roll out train-assembly plants plan

The government is set to announce its first-ever policy to establish rolling stock assembly plants in Thailand before the end of the year to keep up with upcoming railway projects in the country, Deputy Transport Minister Pailin Chuchottaworn said yesterday.

The deputy minister said after a recent railway seminar that Thailand has been lagging behind in railway transport due to its inability to assemble and fix its own trains.

“A huge, persisting problem we can see is that whenever there are malfunctioning trains, they cannot be fixed immediately,” Mr Pailin said. “Help must always be sought from engineers abroad or the trains must be sent to the manufacturer.

“If we can establish our own rolling stock assembly plants, we can become a central railway transport hub in Asean,” he added.

These plants are set to assemble all types of trains used in the country, such as electric trains which use a 1.435-metre, standard-gauge railway network, as well as the State Railway of Thailand’s (SRT) older, diesel-fuel-powered trains. The latter uses 1-metre gauge rails.

While an exact policy has not yet been drafted up, Mr Pailin said initial talks have floated the idea of establishing such assembly plants in the Northeast, or Isan.

According to him, favourable locations for the plants include Khon Kaen and Nakhon Ratchasima, the latter of which is set to house part of the Thai-Chinese high-speed railway.

“Placing assembly plants there will also create more job opportunities for locals in these provinces,” Mr Pailin said. “They would ideally not have to travel abroad or move to the eastern seaboard to find employment.”

The deputy minister said the idea of establishing rolling stock assembly plants in Thailand has sparked interest from foreign firms, namely from China, Japan and South Korea. The country also uses German trains in its electric train networks at present.

Mr Pailin said plans include introducing a public-private partnership investment plan for the centres.