The first rail link connecting Thailand to Laos over the first Mekong Bridge will be extended until 2014.
It was in 2008 that the dream of connecting the whole Southeast Asia by train took a step forward. During the summer, Thailand Royal Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presided over the opening of the first rail ever, connecting Thailand’s Nong Khai Province to Tha Naleng in Laos on the way to Vientiane. Why only Tha Naleng, a village situated 18 km before the Laotian capital ? Because Tha Naleng is the country’s largest distribution centre of goods into Laos. But also, according to insiders, Laos refused at the time to finance the rest of the line into the capital while Thailand only agreed to finance some 5 km of rail tracks after the border. A new agreement has finally been signed last week to construct an additional 7.75 km of tracks.
The agreement was signed last week between Mrs Viengthong Siphandon, Deputy Minister of Finance of Laos and with Mr. Acksiri Buranasiri, President of the Neighbouring Countries Economic Development Cooperation Agency in Thailand; The Thai agency will then fund the project up to THB 1.65 billion. The railway construction project, which is aimed at facilitating tourism and business, is scheduled to be finished within two years’ time. The track will be of one- meter-wide Meter Gauge system, which could be adjusted to the Standard Gauge of 1.46 meters to accommodate the high-speed rail system planned for the future. The railway will underline the importance of the coming of AEC. Still another 5 to 6 km will miss before to reach the heart of Vientiane. However, the Laotian capital’s skyline will already been in sight…
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
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