Much has been made of Europe’s great rail renaissance, but it’s not the only part of the world improving its train offerings.
We recently reported on Morocco’s plans to launch a high-speed railway line connecting its major cities, and Vietnam could soon launch a high-speed network, too. Now, Thailand and Malaysia are getting involved.
A meeting was recently held between Thailand’s Deputy PM, Suriya Juangroongruangkit, and Malaysia’s minister for Transport, Anthony Loke Siew Fook, and it’s been confirmed that a direct line between Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok will be relaunched by the end of this year.
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‘Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) and the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) have been given three months to carry out initial preparations to begin the Kuala Lumpur-Bangkok train operations,’ said Mr Siew Fook, according to the Independent, ‘This doesn’t require a new track but does call for coordination, joint marketing, and cooperative ticketing between the two countries.’
Exciting, right? We don’t know too much about the estimated travel time or ticket prices yet, but there are talks of extending the line from Su-ngai Kolok on the Thailand border with two places in Malaysia: Rantau Panjand and Pasir Mas. However, restoration of some pretty old tracks would need to be carried out first.
According to the Independent, Thailand has a whole host of rail developments underway, including a high-speed line from Bangkok to Nong Khai, a northeastern province which borders Laos. This is expected to be completed in 2030.
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