Why China Needs This $67BN Railway in Thailand

Thailand's landscape is beautiful to look at, but hell for engineers.

Additional footage and images courtesy of The State Railway of Thailand, CNA, CNN and CGTN.

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[CBMedia]

I live in Bangkok, 200m from a BTS SkyTrain Station and their current system is extremely efficient, fast and affordable. I use it daily but when it comes to traveling outside it Bangkok you’re only option is taxi or take a flight. Having a proper train for domestic travel around the county would be game changing for us expats, the tourists and locals!

[ThitutUhthalye]

I’ve grown in Thailand, and whilst the public metro commutes in Bangkok have improved greatly, the mass migration to the provinces on holidays still proves to be very arduous and indeed, deadly. If successful, this project will be the starting point of a revolution in transportation here, for the good.

[J_A]

They just completed double railway from Bangkok to Nakon Ratchasima and Bangkok to Hua Hin. Nothing hard for them ! Blue line in bangkok run under the river without problem. It is taking time at the start because China has to transfer engineering knowledge etc. Thailand will invest 100% cost. This hi speed train will connect another hi speed train for tri airports. It will go through the land bridge city which is connected to the Indian and Pacific Oceans in Ranong Province.

[Riomojo]

If this same length of high speed rail was done in the United States, it would probably cost more than $400 billion just for land acquisition/eminent domain

[altaparis]

20 percent of all passenger traffic going thru rail is already good. As said in video, Bangkok has a good ridership number, when the rail is upgraded it can indeed increase the number of national rail ridership

[lwilton]

I have to wonder how (or if) some "researchers" actually think. To paraphrase that guy from Australia "I don't know if the Thai people will like HSR. Thailand has been massively building elevated rail and subway rail projects and the people have been flocking to them in mass droves. Since the people like rail so much, I am not at all sure that they will like high speed rail." What? If they like slow rail (which is much faster than foot or vehicle traffic), why wouldn't they like fast rail at least as much?

[zeris]

People talking about Thailand landscape is a nightmare for engineers... you really should have a look at how Chinese build highspeed railways in Guizhou, Sichuan and Xizang (Tibet) - that's god work tmho.

[syahfiqri]

Unfortunately for Malaysia, our previous government had cancelled our high speed rail project connecting Malaysia to Singapore, im really hoping our new government led by PM Anwar Ibrahim will restart the project

[BH-]

It’s interesting how many white faces are criticising China’s Belt and Road and pretty much said the Asian countries have no say in it (like that Australian academic) but the reality is quite different.

Without local support a project like this won’t happen. Asia is going to be the economic superpower in the next 50 years because countries put away differences and work together. US/U.K. led world can either join this journey or constantly treat such positive change as sour grapes.

[bababababababa]

Bangkok’s current rail system still looks like Japan in comparison to my country 😂😢😢 🇳🇬

[tonyeclau]

The medium speed train in Laos has turned out to be a success. I am inclined to think that this high speed turn in Thailand will be a game changer. It is always more scenic and comfortable to travel by train. The fact that it is high speed makes it even more attractive. It will allow the Thais, Chinese and Laos people to travel easily and quickly. More people will visit these countries.

[mr.andmrs.dailylives]

This is really helpful video about railway situation in Thailand. Thank you for the video

[owenkariuki]

Thank you B1M for always churning out high-quality informative videos. My Wednesdays are never boring. 😊

[thrangnguyen]

More and more southeast asia project in The B1M. Indonesia, maaysia, and now thailand. this region indeed promising.

[greentraveler]

China: build build build.
USA: sanction, threaten, embargo, bomb.
Australia: We are the 51st state of America.

[fyshfysh]

this is amazing. i adore thai trains, just had two months there and went on the south line and also up to buriram and surin in the north east.

the infrastructure that's going in on the first section of this, from bangkok to nakhon ratchasima (korat), is incredible. sooo much of the high speed line is going to be elevated. i passed hundreds of concrete columns that were being constructed. it's gonna be crazy

[Indian_Rajput]

I was feeling bad because in India freight trains are responsible for just 20% of cargo transportation but after hearing Thailand's just 2% now I'm shocked.

[brucehain]

Not mentioned is that the high speed line is already built through Laos, from Boten at the Chinese border right up to the Mekong River, where it will pass into Thailand. Boten and Vientiane in the south both have magnificent stations already shown as enclosed in the latest Google Earth imagery. Unfortunately, there are no black lines yet for making locating of the high speed line easier, but it's there! I've seen videos from people who have ridden part of it, which is not running at the design high speed yet. Or wasn't then. I'm convinced the line in Thailand will beat any other form of transit for most users, and their wonderful old station in central Bangkok I expect will be served too since its located nicely. It was a little disturbing the picture in the video of a very high elevated line being built along a main semi-rural street which had been nicely developed previously. Sometimes I think engineers don't take the time necessary to juggle all the variables involved most effectively. Although that line may not have been in China, Laos or Thailand either.

[themiddlekingdom]

For China, the Chinese can build any rail roads on any terrains, they already have done in their country.

[godzillamothra]

Long term, this rail network will revolutionize Asia and Asia economy