THAILAND'S Senate voted on November 20 to approve a bill which will allow the government to borrow up to Baht 2.2 trillion ($US 69bn) over the next seven years to finance infrastructure projects, including the first phase of the country's high-speed network.

MARUBENI and Toshiba announced on November 6 that they have been awarded a contract to supply and maintain electrical and mechanical systems for the Bangkok Metro Purple Line, which is due to open in 2017.

FOLLOWING a spate of derailments, State Railway of Thailand (SRT) has suspended all services on the Bangkok – Chiang Mai line north of Uttaradit for urgent repairs.

STATE Railway of Thailand (SRT) is preparing to invite bids for the initial phase of its national track-doubling programme, which will provide much-needed additional capacity on the metre-gauge network.

THE THAI government has announced plans to establish a railway investment and regulation unit, taking over functions currently managed by State Railway of Thailand (SRT).

THE Thai cabinet will consider a plan on March 19 to borrow Baht 2 trillion ($US 65bn) to fund infrastructure projects during the next seven years, of which 80% will be allocated to rail. If the cabinet approves the plan, a bill will be presented to parliament by the end of March.

TENDERS for the construction of a 680km high-speed line between Bangkok and Chiang Mai could be launched as soon as September with the aim of completing the first section of the line by the end of the decade.

THE THAI government has agreed to provide Baht 1.6bn ($US 50m) in financing to support the 7.8km extension of Laos' only railway to the country's capital Vientiane by 2014.

THE Thai cabinet has approved track-doubling of the main line linking Bangkok, Khon Kaen and Nong Khai near the Laos border, and has endorsed a project to build a new line from Khon Kaen to Nakhon Phanom in the northeast of Thailand.

RAIL services between Thailand and Cambodia could finally be restored in 2013 after the governments of the two countries reached a new agreement to rebuild the missing 48km section between Poipet and Sisophon.