China supplies Thailand with new trains

[haidian]

China supplies Thailand with new trains

 

[AndrewJin]

BANGKOK — Thailand’s new and possibly fanciest regular train service can now be booked for overnight trips to the north and northeast.

Equipped with new carriages featuring improved decor and facilities, the Special Express Train routes linking the capital to Chiang Mai and Ubon Ratchathani provinces will begin running daily Nov. 11.

Tickets are now on sale, the State Railway of Thailand announced Wednesday.

The new cars will also be used for a new route between Bangkok and Nong Khai in the north and and Hat Yai in the south starting Dec. 2. Tickets for those routes go on sale Saturday.

Prices range from 700 baht to 1,600 baht depending on the route, class of car and position of the sleeper seat. Check timetablesfor routes listed as “Special Express.”

The government-operated railway spent roughly 4 billion baht on the new 115 Chinese-made carriages.

The addition of new bogies to the system’s worn and often uncomfortable equipment has been warmly received by the public since first announced in July.

Every passenger seat offers a USB charging socket and LCD screen entertainment selections.

Instead of standalone diesel-electric locomotives, the new trains will be pulled by powered cars, which are said to be quieter and less harmful to the environment.

The toilets, long one of the least pleasant experiences for Thai rail travelers, will operate like those on airplanes and not simply empty onto the tracks.

The cars are also equipped with security cameras, officials said, and include accessibility lifts to raise wheelchairs from the platform.

Conductors and other train staff will also be outfitted in spiffy new uniforms.

@somsak @anant_s @powastick @Shotgunner51

 

[AndrewJin]

Second class sleeper

First class sleeper

Kitchen

 

[Roy Chang]

nice train!

 

[Ultimate Weapon]

When our railway start to operate this kind of trains. We are fed up from British era disgusting trains

 

[AndrewJin]

When our railway start to operate this kind of trains. We are fed up from British era disgusting trains

Where r you from my friend?

 

[rott]

@AndrewJin, can you post some Chinese locomotive and their specs?
Also, does China manufacture most of their locos or all?

 

[Ultimate Weapon]

Where r you from my friend?

Pakistan

 

[AndrewJin]

Pakistan

I think there are a lot of railway projects in Pakistan now.
Of course new railways deserve new trains.

 

[Ultimate Weapon]

I think there are a lot of railway projects in Pakistan now.
Of course new railways deserve new trains.

Yea you are right. Things are changing here.

But dont know when we reach upto above standard in trains.

 

[AndrewJin]

@AndrewJin, can you post some Chinese locomotive and their specs?
Also, does China manufacture most of their locos or all?

In this order, only sleeper cars.
But in 2015, there were some locomotives from China South Railway.

Chinese-made locomotives delivered to Thailand

BANGKOK - A couple of Chinese-made locomotives were delivered to Thailand on Sunday, confirmed officials of the State Railway of Thailand on Monday.

The two locomotives, shipped from Southwest China to Laem Chabang port in Chonburi province, were the first consignment of a fleet of 20 locomotives, the rest of which will be gradually shipped to the Thai railway firm.

The locomotives, manufactured by China's CSR Corp, were designed for cargo trains with an axle load of 20 tons and a maximum speed of 120 kilometers per hour, according to the SRT officials.

The CSR locomotives were purchased to replace the General Electric locomotives which have hauled Thai cargo trains since 1995. No other locomotives had been bought since.

Compared to the relatively modern CSR locomotives, the old GE locomotives have an axle load of 14 tons and a maximum speed of 100 kilometers per hour.

The other 18 new locomotives are yet to be delivered from Sichuan province in China where they are being manufactured by CSR Corp, the officials said.

In another development, China recently agreed to build a medium- speed rail system for Thailand as part of a joint effort to promote land traffic throughout the Southeast Asian region.

The Chinese medium-speed rail project is designed to run from Yunnan province in southern China to northeastern Thailand via northern Laos.

The rail system will pass Nong Khai province in northeastern Thailand, from across the Lao capital of Vientiane, and Saraburi province in the central region of Thailand with destinations in Bangkok and Maptaput port in the eastern part of the country.

The medium-speed train will not only carry passengers but also cargoes to Thailand which is joining an ASEAN Economic Community, scheduled to open later this year.

Thailand has planned to become core of the AEC bloc in following years, regarding land-based logistics, rail systems and road traffic linking the Southeast Asian country with its neighbor states including Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia and Laos.

Besides the expanding rail systems, six-lane motorways will be built to connect Kanchanaburi province in western Thailand with Dawei special economic zone in southern Myanmar and to link eastern Thailand with northwest Cambodia, among others.

A photo of a run-down old Thai train next to a fancy, shiny new Malaysian locomotive has sparked shame, laughs and lots and lots of comments on social media this week.

The photo, posted to Jaroensook Pone Limbanchongkit’s personal Facebookaccount from Padang Besar, a town on the Malaysian side of Thailand-Malaysia border, was widely believed to be of a Malaysian high-speed bullet train next to an outdated (but still in use) Thai diesel train, reported Manager.

In a thread on a Facebook page for Thai train fans, however, posters said that the Malaysian train is not a high-speed bullet train but simply a Chinese long-distance train that moves at 140kph. They could even identify that this train travels from the border to Kuala Lumpur and ends at Johor Bahru.

No matter what route that newer train travels, we’d rather ride in it than the old Thai carriage.


Sharp comparison Thai tourists witnessed in Malaysia's new train
However, when there is difference, those lag behind might have the motivation to progress.

 

[AndrewJin]

Yea you are right. Things are changing here.

But dont know when we reach upto above standard in trains.

CRRC has set up a subsidiary in Malaysia.
Hope they have plans in the South Asia region.
I think it all comes down to the local demand.
They are also manufacturing trains in Melbourne and Springfield to replace older trains.

 

[Ultimate Weapon]

Why don't they start manufacturing in Gawader and export to the rest of world

 

[AndrewJin]

Why don't they start manufacturing in Gawader and export to the rest of world

There are supply chain issues.

 

[Ultimate Weapon]

There are lot of railway projects going on in Pakistan by Chinese companies. metro train project in Lahore and KPK. Upgrading main line from Karachi to Peshawar. More projects to come in Lahore and other cities of Punjab. Therefore it is much more feasible for them to setup a factory here as they did in Malaysia.

Malaysian model can be followed.