Twin-track eastern rail link opens to connect Chachoengsao, Laem Chabang port
CHACHOENGSAO, Jan 12 – Thailand’s eastern double-track railroad linking this province with Chonburi’s Laem Chabang opened Thursday, and expanding 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 travellers 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 Chon Buri provinces. It was built with an investment of Bt5.85 billion for a 78km length. From Chachoengsao station, the route passes through Chon Buri, Bang Phra, Si Racha terminating at Laem Chabang station.
