Ban Phai – Nakhon Phanom Railway

The Ban Phai – Nakhon Phanom Railway is a proposed 355-km railway in Northeast Thailand. The line would begin at Ban Phai on the current Northeast Line and travel to Maha Sarakham, Roi Et, Mukdahan and Nakhon Phanom. The purpose of the line is to connect provinces of the Mekong region to Laem Chabang Port in Chon Buri. It will also form a section of the East-West Economic Corridor Railway, where it will cross the Mekong at Mukdahan to join the Savannakhet–Lao Bao railway.

The Ban Phai-Nakhon Phanom project has been split into two contracts: Ban Phai – Nong Pok, and Nong Pok – Saphan Mitraphab (Nakhon Phanom Province). The dual-track railway route will include 32 stations and three freight stations.

The project was estimated to be completed by 2024, and in December 2021 it was reported that land clearing had begun.

Route

Logistics & Development Thailand Forum

Maps

[Map of Ban Phai – Mukdahan Railway.]

[Ban Phai – Nakhon Phanom railway map (via @Thailand.Infra).]

Links And Resources

Northeastern Double-track Railway (Ban Phai – Nakhon Phanom) – News and discussion (mostly in Thai).

News Archive

2023

Station updates – [09/05/23]
“the area for the construction of Roy Ed Railway station for Ban Phai- Nakhon Phanom line at the Northern suburb of Roy Ed city at Yang Yai township, Chang Harn district of Roy Ed, 6 km from downtown Roy Ed city”

Kud Rang station – [07/05/23]
“Brahmin of Khonkaen has performed the ceremony to start the construction 🏗️ of Bsn Phai – Mahasarakham- Roy Ed – Loeng Nok That – Mukdahan- Nakhon Phanom at the area to construct Kud Rang station, Kud Rang district of Mahasarakham on 28 April 2023.”

2021

Poles to show the signs of land expropriation for the construction of Ban Phai – Nakhon Phanom railway – [20/12/21]

[Via skyscrapercity.com.]

Projects back on after SRT clears bid delay – [18/12/21]
“…the bidding for three construction contracts for the 72.9-billion-baht Den Chai-Chiang Rai-Chiang Khong route as well as for the other two contracts required for the construction of the 55.4-billion-baht Ban Phai-Maha Sarakham-Roi Et-Mukdahan-Nakhon Phanom route were conducted from June to July.’

Rail chief defends bidding process – [15/06/21]
“The rail agency’s response followed a Facebook post by Mana Nimitmongkol, secretary-general of the Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand (ACT), questioning its transparency and calling for public scrutiny.”

Cabinet okays Bt10bn to expropriate land for Khon Kaen-Nakhon Phanom railway – [06/01/21]
“The Cabinet on Tuesday approved a draft law for expropriation of land to build the 336-kilometre Northeast railway between Khon Kaen and Nakhon Phanom. The plan hands the State Railway of Thailand a budget of Bt10 billion to requisition land along the route linking Ban Phai in Khon Kaen, Maha Sarakham, Roi Et, Mukdahan and Nakhon Phanom.”

2020

Ban Phai – Nakhon Phanom railway has issued the following TOR for the construction – [25/12/20]
“Contract 1 Ban Phai – Nong Pok : km 0 + 000 – km 177 + 500 with the mean price of 27,123.62 Million Baht Baht.
…
Contract 2 Nong Phok – Saphan Mitraphab 3 km 177 + 500 – km 354 + 783 with the mean price of 28,333.93 Million Baht.”

2019

B100bn plan to boost links with 6 nations – [11/05/19]
“At the Nakhon Phanom border checkpoint, the cabinet will be asked to approve a 68-billion-baht project to build a new double-track railway linking Ban Phai, Mukdahan and Nakhon Phanom in order to streamline the regional route from the northeastern border to the Laem Chabang Port in Chon Buri district, the transport minister said.”

2017

Ministry plans Northeast rail line – [28/08/17]
“The Transport Ministry will seek approval from the cabinet in October for the construction of a 355-kilometre Ban Phai-Mukdahan-Nakhon Phanom railway line worth 65.7 billion baht.”

Progress of T.A.R. in Thailand – [June 2017]
5th Meeting of the Working Group on the Trans-Asian Railway Network, 13 – 14 June, 2017 Busan, Republic of Korea.