Chiang Mai gets first new-look express train

New modern style rail carriages from China with restaurant cars & improved toilets scheduled for November at beginning of tourism season.

TRANSPORTATION

Chiang Mai gets first new-look express train

8/06/2016
Online Reporters

New train carriages have been designed for Thailand's express trains.

Express trains to Chiang Mai will be the first rail service to experience the modern new carriages. 

The new fleet of carriages will go into service starting in early November in time for Thailand's tourism high season, according to State Railway of Thailand (SRT) governor Wutthichart Kallayanamitr in an announcement made on Wednesday

"The new carriages will totally change our entire look and service," he told Chulalongkorn University radio. "Even the toilets will be a closed system," he added. The current old style of train toilet empties directly onto the track below making toilet use in train stations problematic.

CHINESE RAIL CARRIAGES

A new restaurant car on the express trains. (State Railway of Thailand photo)

The SRT has purchased 115 new cars made by China CNR Corp as part of a 176 billion baht expenditure fund earmarked by the government to improve rail services and tracks.

The new cars include nine first - class sleeping berths, 88 second-class sleeping carriages -- nine of them with facilities for disabled such as people using wheelchairs -- nine restaurant cars and nine power cars to feed electricity to other carriages.

MOVE TO MAKE RAIL COMPETITIVE WITH CHEAP FLIGHTS

The new cars are an attempt by the loss - ridden government agency SRT to retain passengers in the face of competition from low-cost budget airlines on long-distance routes which offer competitive ticket prices and a quicker trip.

The SRT is expanding to double tracks which will cut travelling time as trains can run faster.

A trip from Bangkok to Chiang Mai will be cut by at least 90 minutes to three hours, according to the governor.

DELIVERY OF NEW CARS

The first shipment of 13 cars was originally planned for Sunday, but the delivery has been delayed by storms.

The carriages will arrive later this month, with the rest to be sent to Thailand by November.

After the launch of the Chiang Mai service, the new express carriages will gradually replace all of the old carriages used on the rail lines from Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani, Nong Khai and Butterworth in Malaysia by the end of the fiscal year next year.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/transport/1005077/chiang-mai-gets-first-new-look-express-train

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