Thailand wants to expand rail network to link India, China

Thailand's military junta has said that it wants to widen the country's railway tracks and expand the network to form transport links with important markets in India and China.

The chief of the junta's National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) General Prayuth Chan-ocha has said the NCPO's working plan includes initiatives to repair existing one-metre wide tracks and construct new 1.435 metre wide tracks in parallel.

The new wider tracks will also be built on whichever routes are necessary to open up rail connections with China, India and other regional countries, he was quoted as saying by local media.

"Today, talks (about transport links) have been held with neighbouring countries. They agree with and like our ideas," Prayuth said. "We need wider rail tracks for the future. The present one-metre wide tracks were introduced in the King Rama V period," he said.

Prayuth said the NCPO has approved a basic infrastructure strategy for the country.

The country's transport network must link up with other ASEAN countries and beyond the region later, the Bangkok Post quoted him as saying.