Article By: Manager Online
The government has heavily invested in developing rail infrastructure over the past decade. This includes seven urgent-phase double-track railway projects, covering a total distance of 993 kilometers, with a budget of 124 billion baht. Currently, seven additional double-track routes (Phase 2), covering 1,479 kilometers, along with two new double-track lines, are being pushed forward, with a combined investment of over 200 billion baht. Between 2025 and 2029, the double-track railway network will expand by another 3,200 kilometers. This will nearly double train capacity, allowing for more train services, increased speeds, and reduced travel times by at least one hour on average compared to the present.
“But the problems of the State Railway of Thailand still exist in many parts, especially the accumulated debt of 300 billion baht and the continuous loss of operations. In 2025, it will have to borrow 18 billion baht to increase liquidity to solve the problem of cash flow shortage. In 2026, the budget has been allocated in the amount of 19,418 million baht, divided into regular expenses of 8,081 million baht and investment expenses of 11,336 million baht, while there is a burden of repaying loans of more than 45 billion baht.”
Providing “locomotives – passenger cars – freight cars” that are not moving
Mr. Veerit Amrapal, Governor of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), said that the dual-track railway project is part of the railway rehabilitation plan. Therefore, the question must be answered as to what benefits the investment will bring. If there is an additional track but it is not fully utilized, it will not be worthwhile. At present, the SRT must accelerate the plan to procure locomotives, wheels, and freight cars to increase service efficiency and comply with the plan and strategy of the Ministry of Transport, which wants to shift the mode of road transport to rail to reduce transportation costs and logistics costs of the country.
“Rail transport has seen serious development over the past 10 years, unlike roads which have consistently received budget allocations for development. However, for the rail system to become the country’s primary mode of transport, there is still much more that needs to be done. This includes achieving seamless integration with other modes of transportation — connecting stations to urban communities, and linking raw material sources to factories and ultimately to consumers in the most efficient way possible.
Moreover, rail transport helps address several issues, such as reducing pollution and traffic accidents — which often result in loss of life and property — and also lowers annual road maintenance costs. With increasing demand today, freight transport volumes have risen both domestically and in cross-border routes to Laos–China and Malaysia. Rail freight is supported by container yards (CYs) in various areas, which facilitate the onward shipment of goods to ports.”
Shortage of “employees” hoping to unlock the Cabinet resolution to hire more employees
In addition, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) must address the issue of shortages in both personnel and equipment. This includes procuring quality locomotives, rolling stock, freight wagons, diesel railcars, and passenger coaches to improve services.
Another major challenge is the shortage of personnel. A Cabinet resolution from 1998 limits new hires to just 5% of the number of retirees, which has reduced the railway workforce from 20,000 to only 9,000 staff. This number is insufficient to maintain proper service levels. As a result, employees are overworked, often working overtime, which leads to fatigue, negatively impacts their health and quality of life, and increases the SRT’s financial burden due to high overtime costs — especially for drivers and mechanics, where around 1,000 positions are needed. Hiring new staff could help reduce overtime expenses by as much as 200 million baht per year.
Review the “recovery plan” and accelerate the study of setting up a subsidiary company – emphasizing projects that can actually be done.
On 19 June 2025, Mr. Sorapong Paitoonphong, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transport, chaired the meeting of the working group to supervise and follow up on the implementation of the State Railway of Thailand’s recovery plan, with representatives from the Department of Rail Transport, SRT, the Budget Bureau, the Comptroller General’s Department, the State Enterprise Policy Committee, the National Economic and Social Development Board, the Strategy and Planning Division, the Office of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transport attending the meeting.
By following up on important issues such as the plan to procure and maintain locomotives and rolling stock that will help increase service efficiency, including studying the approach for private companies to operate trains on SRT tracks to enhance potential and improve management. In addition, there is consideration of establishing a subsidiary company for freight trains and maintenance of locomotives and rolling stock to increase operational flexibility and generate income.
There are observations and suggestions on the results of the SRT’s rehabilitation plan for the first quarter of 2025 and the second quarter of 2025, such as considering the setting of commercial train fares in a manner comparable to airline fares, but still giving importance to considering the fares of social vehicles used by low-income people, along with accelerating the improvement of buses to have better quality and service.
Also, the SRT should carefully study the advantages and disadvantages of establishing existing subsidiaries in order to establish the freight train subsidiaries and the maintenance and wheel companies with the highest efficiency. It is also proposed that projects that have not yet been implemented be removed from the rehabilitation plan in order to make the plan more concise and focused on actual implementation. The SRT should consider the observations and suggestions received for improvement and present a clear plan so that the SRT’s rehabilitation can achieve its goal of becoming an efficient organization.
Shake Up the Plan for “Locomotive and Rolling Stock Procurement”: Suggest Bundled Purchase in Large Lots
According to news reports, the working committee has recommended that the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) revise its procurement plan for locomotives and rolling stock by developing a comprehensive master plan to be submitted for Cabinet approval. This approach would enable more streamlined and timely implementation, especially to meet the demands of the expanding double-track railway network. The committee also suggested bundling purchases into large packages, which would result in lower costs compared to fragmented, smaller-scale procurements.
“The State Railway of Thailand’s (SRT) procurement plan for locomotives and rolling stock is currently too fragmented. In principle, there should be a master plan outlining the total number of locomotives, passenger coaches, and freight wagons required. Bundling procurement into large packages would enhance SRT’s bargaining power with manufacturers, leading to lower prices compared to piecemeal purchasing.
For example, future passenger coaches are planned to be fully air-conditioned and commercially operated, to improve service standards. Meanwhile, social welfare services will be supported through the government’s welfare card program, allowing eligible passengers to use the same trains without the need to separate commercial and social service trains. This will streamline operations and reduce unnecessary duplication.”
Locomotive and Rolling Stock Plan Worth Over 175 Billion Baht to Support Double-Track Railways
The State Railway of Thailand’s (SRT) rehabilitation plan not only includes the development of Phase 2 of the double-track rail network and new double-track routes, but also covers the procurement and maintenance of locomotives and rolling stock to support these expansions and enhance service efficiency and revenue generation.
The procurement of new locomotives is intended to replace aging units currently in service, improve competitiveness, and promote a shift toward more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly transportation. The plan emphasizes the use of advanced, eco-friendly technologies to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
A long-term estimate shows that hybrid locomotives, when compared to conventional diesel locomotives, could save approximately 225.89 million baht annually in fuel costs over a 30-year period.
The plan to procure locomotives and wheels has an investment budget of approximately 169,327 million baht, including:
1. Project to procure 113 diesel-electric locomotives with spare parts, budget 23,730 million baht, to replace old locomotives, currently being proposed to the Cabinet, expected to procure in 2026, delivered within 2028
2. Project to procure 184 air-conditioned diesel railcars for commercial service, with spare parts, budget 24,150 million baht, to replace 10 existing trains and open 52 new trains, able to accommodate approximately 4.99 million passengers, expected to generate income of 3,037 million baht, expenses of 1,068 million baht, and profit of 1,969 million baht, currently being proposed to the Cabinet, expected to procure in 2026, delivered within 2028
3. Project to procure 182 commercial service buses with spare parts, budget of 10,502 million baht, to replace buses in express and special express trains, improve comfort for all groups of passengers, reduce energy consumption and be more environmentally friendly, as it can reduce energy consumption from fuel per vehicle by 30%, expected to accommodate approximately 0.39 million more passengers, currently being proposed to the Cabinet, expected to be procured in 2026, delivered in 2028.
4. Project to procure 216 air-conditioned diesel railcars for social services with spare parts, budget of 27,317 million baht, to replace 94 ordinary, suburban and local trains and open 30 Feeder trains, currently being proposed to the SRT board, expected to be proposed to the Cabinet in 2025-2026, procurement in 2026-2027, delivery in 2029
5. Project to procure 946 container bogies (TBT) with spare parts, budget of 2,460 million baht, to increase the efficiency of rail transport services, transport through the Railway Freight Forwarding Center (SRTO) from 410,000 to 470,000 containers per year, and to support container transport from the development of container storage areas (CY) in various regions nationwide. Along the dual-track railway route, phases 1 and 2, the new railway line, estimated to have about 9 million tons, is currently being proposed to the Cabinet. Procurement is expected in 2025 and delivery in 2027.
6. Project to procure 17 interchange locomotives with spare parts, budget of 2,845 million baht. To increase efficiency in train operations in the Krungthep Aphiwat station area and reduce oil consumption. Expected to be proposed to the Cabinet in 2025, procurement in 2026-2027, delivery in 2027.
7. Project to procure 332 diesel railcars for social services with spare parts, budget of 41,987 million baht, to open 26 new routes and 106 dual-track trains in Phase 2. Currently collecting data, to be proposed to the SRT board in 2025, to be proposed to the Cabinet in 2026, procurement in 2026-2027, delivery in 2027.
8. Project to procure 188 air-conditioned diesel railcars for commercial service with spare parts, budget of 23,776 million baht, to open 68 trains on the new route and the second phase of dual-track, expected to be able to accommodate an additional 6.35 million passengers, currently collecting data, to be submitted to the SRT board in 2025, to the cabinet in 2026, to be procured in 2026-2027, and delivered in 2027-2031.
9. Project to procure 273 commercial passenger cars with spare parts, budget of 15,560 million baht, to open 18 trains, expected to be able to accommodate an additional 3.38 million passengers, to be submitted to the SRT board in 2026, to the cabinet in 2026-2027, to be procured in 2027-2038, and delivered in 2028-2032.
Major repairs on “locomotives and passenger cars” cost more than 6.1 billion baht
There is also a plan to upgrade many diesel locomotives and passenger cars, as they are old and often break down, in order to extend their service life for another 10-15 years (while waiting for new locomotives to be purchased) and to generate income from passenger cars and tourist train routes connecting primary to secondary cities in line with government policies, including:
1. Project to repair and improve 36 GEA diesel-electric locomotives Budget 1,692 million baht
2. Project to repair and improve 21 HID diesel-electric locomotives Budget 777 million baht
3. Project to replace 10 ALSTHOM locomotive engines Budget 496 million baht
4. Project to repair and improve 17 KIHA 183 diesel railcars Budget 272 million baht
5. Project to improve the 3rd-class passenger car system to 40 air-conditioned 3rd-class passenger cars Budget 295 million baht
6. The project to modify 12 electric bogie cars, budget of 195 million baht, signed the contract on May 21, 2024, is in the process of designing and modifying the cars, delivery will start in 2025.
7. The project to modify the 2nd class air-conditioned passenger and sleeping cars to be air-conditioned passenger cars, improve the electrical system and closed toilets, 2nd class air-conditioned passenger and sleeping cars, 96 cars, budget of 476 million baht.
8. The project to repair and improve DAEWOO diesel railcars, 39 cars, budget of 975 million baht.
9. The project to repair and improve THN, NKF, and ATR diesel railcars, 24 cars, budget of 874 million baht.
10. The project to modify 10 JR-HOKKAIDO cars (Royal Blossom), budget of 120 million baht.
The SRT rehabilitation plan has been implemented seriously since 2018. The goal is to solve the problems of losses and accumulated debts, as well as increase the efficiency of passenger and freight transport services to make the rail system the country’s main transportation system, with passenger revenue increasing 4 times and freight revenue increasing 5 times, and becoming the best state rail service provider in ASEAN by 2027. However, at present, it is still far from the goal due to various obstacles, both social conditions and technology that are changing rapidly, while the SRT still works in the same old way. Therefore, the SRT must urgently reform the organization to drive in line with the rehabilitation plan…
[Original article รถไฟหนี้พุ่ง 3 แสนล้าน”แผนฟื้นฟู”ส่อหลุดเป้าปี 70 รื้อแผน’รถจักร-ล้อเลื่อน’งบ 1.7 แสนล้านรับ’ทางคู่-สายใหม่’ at mgronline.com. Translation by Google Translate.]
An excellent article.
I have long argued that investing a fortune in infrastructure is wasted if there are not trains to carry the extra passengers but even where money has not been invested there are many routes that could still benefit from more frequent services . Much of the money spent seems to have been for the purpose of improving the infrastructure not attracting customers to the railway with more frequent and reliable services.
Improving the punctuality and a slightly quicker journey time for already full trains does not justify the expenditure.Somewhere like Hua Hin should now be having a regular hourly service to Bangkok
Agreed. I translated this article as I could find any English sites that were covering the debt issue. My main problem with this double-tracking project is that it’s not going to make the long-distance service significantly faster. A giant expenditure that will ultimately not move passengers from air to rail. I am compiling these news reports for a future article about this.
Agreed about infrastructure spending, grandiose provision often not used,or useless, e.g low boarding coaches at high platforns! The southern line beyond Nakhon Pathom does not have functional installed signalling (work is being done, slowly, to install it), and is still relying on token exchange and manual poibt switching .. safe but slow. One fundamental problem is that the last available timetable for download is 2023, the southern line trains are accelerated / slightly enhanced, but the only way of finding out is at stations or journey tracking. How hard is it to produce a bi annually updated PDF? The ticketing system is not fit for purpose, it should be possible to buy non allocated seat tickets and catch any suitable train which has that class of ticket.