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Malaysia proposed a railway from Thailand to Laos that would link up with the Laos-China Railway
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Bangkok wanted a service running from China down to Singapore via Laos, Thailand and Malaysia
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A joint working panel was formed to study the details and draw up a plan
A high-speed rail network that will connect four Association of Southeast Asian Nations member-countries will be developed by Thailand and Malaysia, according to media reports in Vientiane, the capital of Laos.
Preparatory talks on the project between the Thai Permanent Secretary for Transport Chayatan Phromsorn and Malaysian Transport Minister Isham Ishak and his business entourage were held last week on a partnership in a railway project linking the two countries, Vietnam News reported.
Malaysia had earlier proposed a high-speed rail connection with Thailand as a transit line to link up with Laos and China via the Laos-China Railway, which began service on December 3, 2021.
But Thailand proposed instead a grander railway network that will run from China to Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. A joint working panel that was set up to discuss the details was mandated to come up with a plan by ASEAN’s next meeting on transport issues.
Malaysian officials arrived after Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob ordered a follow-up on the February 25 talks between Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri.
Thai officials will visit Vientiane in late August to discuss the extension of the Laos-China Railway to Thailand. Negotiations from August 30 to September 1 will focus on a rail link from Vientiane to Thailand’s Nong Khai province.
Extensions of the standard-gauge Laos-China Railway tracks and the one-meter gauge Laos-Thailand Railway tracks have been installed in the Thanaleng Dry Port near the Mekong River in Laos to facilitate the transfer of freight.
Opportunities that the cost-effective logistics and transport services at the railway and dry port will offer are attracting potential businesses to the important gateway between ASEAN and China.
SCG Logistics Management, the leading provider of domestic and international integrated logistics services in Thailand, said the new transport route incorporating the Laos-China Railway could cut costs by as much as 20%, according to a Bangkok Post report.
SCG Logistics unveiled recently a new logistics route using the Laos-China Railway. The Thailand-Laos-China route is expected to generate revenue of 650 million baht (US$18 million) this year on the back of lower-cost services and streamlined one-stop customs clearance for imports and exports.
The new rail link has cut travel time from Chiang Rai to Kunming, China to 10-15 hours, from two days by road. Compared with sea freight, logistics costs can be cut by 20% for shipments to Kunming, Chengdu and Chongqing, SCG Logistics Management Paitoon Jiranantarat was reported as saying.
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