The Thai parliament has approved a draft framework for negotiations with China on a national high-speed train network project for Thailand.
Transport Minister Sohpon Zarum said officials from his ministry and China plan to meet soon to discuss the project.
The project would see China build five high-speed railway routes linking Bangkok to Nong Khai (on the Mekong River and an important border crossing to Laos), Chiang Mai, Ubon Ratchathani, Rayong and Padang Besar, the border town in Malaysia. Trains would reach speeds of up to 250 kph.
Results of the negotiations with China require parliamentary approval to move forward. The ruling party does not automatically get a majority vote.
The Bangkok Post reported Sohpon as saying the high-speed train project would be a government-to-government deal and would be separate from a 170 billion baht (US$5.67 billion) project to improve Thailand’s existing network.
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