BANGKOK, 8 August 2012 – The State Railway of Thailand announced that the Talingchan-Sirirat branch of the planned Red Line is expected to be open for service by 2015.
Speaking on the sidelines of a public forum on the construction of the Light Red rail line, SRT’s Deputy Chief of Special Projects Mr. Him Siritunyapond said the project, covering the distance of 6.5 kilometers, is expected to significantly ease heavy traffic around Siriraj Hospital and in other Western Bangkok areas.
The cost of the Talingchan-Sirirat branch line is estimated at 5-6 billion baht, with the services expected to commence in 2015.
Mr Him elaborated that environmental impact and other risk assessments are set to be completed by 2013, with the construction scheduled to begin in the same year. The initial estimates of the daily passenger number are put at 24,000.
Railway expert, Satit Malaitham, noted during the forum that unlike the skytrain project, the Talingchan-Sirirat branch will be a cost-effective ground-level rail. He added that to avoid problems of ground subsidence, a pile will be driven into the ground before setting up a track.
