en.Wedoany.com Reported - The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) is adjusting the construction plan for Phase 1 of the China-Thailand High-Speed Rail (Bangkok–Nakhon Ratchasima section), intending to reclaim the civil engineering work for Contract 4-1 (Bang Sue–Don Mueang section) and undertake it internally. Due to the overlap of this section with the Three Airport High-Speed Rail project, the original private contractor has confirmed it cannot continue construction.

SRT Governor Anan stated that the overall progress of Phase 1 of the China-Thailand High-Speed Rail is approximately 55%, lagging about 33% behind the original plan. The SRT is accelerating the revision of the engineering schedule, aiming to complete civil works and system installation by 2031 and conduct simulated trial runs. Currently, two contracts have yet to commence construction: Contract 4-1 (Bang Sue–Don Mueang section) and Contract 4-5 (Ban Pho–Phra Kae section).

Contract 4-1 (Bang Sue–Don Mueang section) spans 15.21 kilometers, with an investment of approximately 22 billion to 24 billion baht for civil and track works, while the existing allocated funds are only about 4.1 billion baht. To bridge the funding gap, the SRT plans to request an additional budget of 18 billion to 19 billion baht (approximately 3.6 billion to 3.8 billion yuan) from the Cabinet. This funding was previously included in the investment framework of the Three Airport High-Speed Rail project, valued at around 140 billion baht. The SRT intends to repurpose it for constructing the overlapping section, with an estimated construction period of about 36 months. The proposal will be submitted to the Cabinet for approval by the end of this year.

Preliminary construction design for Contract 4-5 (Ban Pho–Phra Kae section) has been completed, and previous approval issues related to the route passing through a World Heritage protection area have been resolved. The SRT has reached a consensus in principle with the Fine Arts Department of Thailand to conduct detailed drilling and surveys for stations and urban core sections before formal construction, with requirements to be included in the tender documents. The contract is expected to initiate civil engineering tenders within this year.

The SRT stated that it will report to the Ministry of Transport on the necessity of advancing the two unstarted contracts to ensure Phase 1 of the China-Thailand High-Speed Rail project is operational as per the set targets.