Deadline nears for Red Line plan
SRT must convince superboard of strategy
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) has yet to submit its business plan to the State Enterprise Policy Office (Sepo) to operate the Red Line electric rail as the April 19 deadline draws near.
Sepo will not delay the deadline as the State Enterprises Policy Commission — the superboard — will hold a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on April 19, at which considering whether the Red Line will be managed by the SRT is on the agenda, said Ekniti Nitithanprapas, director-general of Sepo.
The superboard decided earlier to allow the private sector to operate the Red Line, but the SRT asked the commission to consider its management plan before making a decision. The superboard gave the state railway time to create a plan with the condition it will only be allowed to run the electric rail route if it can convince the commission it is more efficient than the private sector.
The superboard said it would give the SRT three years to turn a profit operating the Red Line if it lets the state railway manage the route.
Earlier the Finance Ministry also dismissed the SRT’s request for subsidies of 5.6 billion baht to operate the Red Line for the first five years. The SRT’s management acumen has been questioned by the superboard because of its poor track record in operating the loss-ridden Airport Rail Link.
The SRT is one of the seven loss-making state enterprises the superboard required to undertake business rehabilitation.
The Red Line is under construction and scheduled to start operations in 2020.
The 41-kilometre Red Line electric train with investment of 75.5 billion baht has two sections — Taling Chan to Bang Sue and Bang Sue to Rangsit. The government hopes the Bang Sue-Rangsit route will help alleviate traffic for commuters travelling from the city outskirts to inner Bangkok.
The Red Line will have nine stations: four elevated (Phaya Thai, Makkasan, Ramkhamhaeng, Hua Mak); three underground (Samsen, Ratchawithi, Yommarat); and two ground-level (Yosse and Hua Lamphong).