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Rail service in southern border area resumes amid tight security
Train services in Thailand’s restive deep South resumed last Saturday,
six days after being suspended after apparent insurgents, who passed
themselves off as ordinary passengers, revealed automatic weapons and
sprayed the interior of a moving railway coach with gunfire, killing
three railway workers and a police officer.
Saturday’s first train to the far south, packed with passengers, left
Bangkok last Friday for Sungai Kolok district in Narathiwat province on
the Malaysian border amid tight security provided by military personnel,
railway police and volunteers.
Security was also tightened at all southern railway stations.
State Railway of Thailand (SRT) southern center director Thanongsak
Pongprasert said only 80 per cent of all train services bound for the
deep South would be provided to commuters because some trains were still
parked in railyards in Yala province and Sungai Kolok at the time when
the incident occurred.
Mr. Thanongsak said that full services would resume from Sunday and that
tightened security would help stop sabotage from taking place on the
railways.
Train service to the southern border ceased on June 22 when the SRT
workers and a police officer were attacked and killed abroad a moving
train in Narathiwat province.
SRT staff returned to work last Saturday after saying they were
satisfied with the security measures. (TNA)
Boracay spruces up infrastructure
Boracay is implementing infrastructure improvements to enhance tourist
experience by the next peak season in December.
Department of Tourism secretary and Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) chairman,
Joseph Durano, said: “Seventy per cent of the more than 6,000 rooms in Boracay
are located in just 30 per cent of the island, particularly the White Beach area
in Bolabog. The island is not overdeveloped; just that 30 per cent is highly
congested.
“Our Comprehensive Land Use Plan for Boracay shows we must bring the much needed
infrastructure to less developed areas to spread development and investment,
especially in Yapak in the north.”
Manila Water has been contracted to manage the Boracay Water Sewerage System and
eventually expand operations to other parts of the island.
PTA is spending 350 million pesos (US$7.95 million) to build a circumferential
road to improve traffic flow and provide a road network in eastern Boracay, and
a second wharf between Station One and Yapak, catering solely to guests of
high-end resorts with their own boats. The two projects will be completed by
December.
Durano said: “The density in Bolabog is 55 rooms per hectare, although the ideal
is 33. If development remains unchecked, this could even reach 75.
“Fortunately, a number of the bigger integrated developments such as Shangri-La
Boracay Resort and Spa, Alta Vista, and Fairways and Bluewaters, are already
located in Yapak.”
More than 1,000 rooms are opening in Boracay by end-2008 to 2009. (TTG)
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