Thailand’s eastern double-track railroad linking
Chachoengsao with Chonburi’s Laem Chabang opened Thursday, which expanded
the country’s road and rail logistics system with a connection to the
deepwater Laem Chabang Port.
Deputy Transport Minister Pol Lt-Gen Chat Kuldilok
presided over the railway’s opening ceremony.
The railroad will also support the Lat Krabang Inland
Container Depot (ICD) in Bangkok, as planned by the ministry and the State
Railway of Thailand (SRT), the deputy transport minister said.
The Lat Krabang depot currently handles some 400,000
containers per year. After the double-track railroad’s opening, it is
expected to serve 800,000 containers annually in the near future and up to
one million within a few years.
The ministry will speed up other double-track railway
construction links with the Chachoengsao-Laem Chabang route to support the
transport sector.
On the same occasion, Pol Lt-Gen Chat launched a railway
passenger car for handicapped passengers and travelers with wheelchairs,
considered as a development of SRT services to serve the elderly and
handicapped and as a part of the government’s policy to support the quality
of life of such groups of people.
The Chachoengsao-Laem Chabang double-track railroad
covers Chachoengsao and Chonburi provinces. It was built with an investment
of Bt5.85 billion for a 78km length. From Chachoengsao station, the route
passes through Chonburi, Bang Phra, and Sriracha, terminating at Laem
Chabang station. (MCOT)
