The proposed Pattaya tram got its first public hearing with the public getting its first glimpse of its astronomical price tag.
While the official budget for the system that would run a loop around Beach and Second roads and into Jomtien Beach has not been set, the design and feasibility studies unveiled at the Brighton Grand Pattaya Hotel in Naklua Dec. 16 estimated the tram could cost 20 billion baht for 20 kilometers.
City officials said the funds would be supplied by the government under its Eastern Economic Corridor plan while consultants said funding also could spring from public-private joint ventures.
Pattaya officials in 2016 proposed that a light-rail or tram system be built, with variations on the plan calling for a loop between North and South Pattaya on Beach and Second roads, or just a single track on one of those streets. The tram system would be based on one already being built in Khon Kaen.
In June 2017, Thammasat University researchers tested electric tram cars in Pattaya. They ran the rubber-wheeled trollies on four routes from Naklua to Jomtien Beach. The test, funded by the National Science and Technology Development Agency, was designed to collect data for the 103-million-baht feasibility study launched a year ago.
At the hearing hosted by Deputy City Manager Sutham Petchket, the history, objectives and scope of the project were summarized by architect Kritsada Pollasub while an explanation of environmental effects was given by environmental expert Prapat Krungpanich.
Design-wise, there would be two lines: an eight-kilometer “Red Line” looping Pattaya and a 12-km. “Blue Line” connecting and running along Jomtien Beach Road.
Public participation in the project was outlined by consultant Monchanok Witarama and concluded with a question-and-answer session and taking of public comments.
There was plenty of public comment online as well following the session, with skeptics calling the tram the wrong fit for Pattaya and arguing city should do more to improve the roads first. Others questioned the cost of approximately a billion baht per kilometer, predicting that either fares will be exorbitant into order to pay for it or that the system would be a financial black hole with endless annual losses.
