Airport rail link timeline announced
the State Railway of Thailand
or SRT
has announced.
The contract for the high-speed railway
set to link
Don Mueang
Suvarnabhumi
U-tapao airports
will officially be announced
signed by the winning bidder by next January
Voravuth Mala
The railway operator's acting governor
On Monday
during a second pre-tender meeting
made the comments
comprising representatives from all 31 previously announced firms that purchased bidding documents.
said
"By that evening [Nov 12], we will have the official list of bidders for the project"
adding that the authority will also find out which firms have decided to group together to make bids.
"So far, we have received over 600 questions from the firms, half of which we have already answered"
"Most of the questions involved some confusion regarding the tender instructions, land acquisition and commercial developments around the route"
the project must first pass an environmental impact assessment (EIA) from the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning before any contract-winner can ink an agreement with the SRT.
The documents
which were up for grabs
in June
in July
cost each firm
one million baht to obtain.
The SRT's timeline
for the 224-billion-baht
high-speed airport link states
that tender documents
should be submitted by the firms
on Nov 12
Current plans
Current plans and contract bidding papers
call
for a 220-kilometre
250kph railway linking the three main Bangkok-area airports.
according to initial SRT reports.
Upon its completion, the airport-linking railway will be approximately 220km-long, with its trains reaching up to 250kph,
It is set to link
Don Mueang airport to U-tapao airport
in Rayong,
through a route
that will also see it stop at Suvarnabhumi
in Samut Prakan
completing the three-airport connection.
The network
will use the current
Phaya Thai-Suvarnabhumi Airport Rail Link's
or ARL
extensions
will be built to
Don Mueang
U-tapao.
The acting chief said
the railway network must take no more than five years to complete after the contracts are signed
adding
he expects the network to be open by the end of 2023.
The mega-project
was fast-tracked
as part of the government's plans
to develop
the Eastern Economic Corridor
or EEC
which comprises
Chachoengsao
Chon Buri
Rayong.