The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) have said that the dual track railway which is being constructed in Hua Hin is approximately 85 percent complete.
Despite construction being slightly behind schedule, the dual track railway, which is being built by China Railway Signal & Communication Company, should be operational by January 2023.
The SRT has given Hua Hin Today a breakdown on the various stages of the railway which runs to and from the town:
Nakhon Pathom – Hua Hin
The route (officially known as Route 5) has a distance of 169 kilometres (km), with a budget worth 15,718 million Baht.
This route is divided into two stages, the the first being Nakhon Pathom – Nong Pla Lai, which spans a distance of 92km and is 84.89% complete.
The second stage is Nong Pla Lai – Hua Hin, a distance of some 76km and is 83.81% complete. It is this stage which includes the 4km long elevated track that runs through the centre of Hua Hin.
Hua Hin – Prachuap Khiri Khan
Officially known as Route 6, the track between Hua Hin and Prachuap Khiri Khan has a distance of 84km and a budget worth 5,807 million Baht.
The route is currently 85.26% complete.
Prachuap Khiri Khan – Chumphon
Officially known as Route 7, the track measures a total distance of 167km, with a budget worth 12,457 million baht.
The route is split in to two stages, the first stage being Prachuap Khiri Khan – Bang Saphan Noi which measures 88km and is 76.85% complete and Bang Saphan Noi – Chumphon, which is measures 79km and 69.03% complete.
Once completed, the dual track railway will transform travel from Bangkok to Phetchaburi, Hua Hin and eventually all the way to Thailand’s deep south and the border with Malaysia.
While not to be confused with the high speed train which had been mooted for Hua Hin (those plans remain firmly on the drawing board at present) are set to be significantly faster than the current rolling stock.
The new dual track trains are expected to travel at approximately 160km/h meaning people can easily reach Bangkok between two and three hours, a big improvement on the journey by train currently – which can often take between 6 and 9 hours!
The dual track trains will arrive and depart Bangkok at the new (and pretty spectacular) Bang Sue Grand Station.
By 2051, some 2.85 million people will be using the dual track train line.
According to Asian Engineering Consultants Corp. Ltd, who are supervising the project, the dual track railway will include construction of:
- 4km elevated track at Hua Hin station
- construction of 423 railway bridges
- 120 overpasses
- 37 U-turn bridges
- 12 underpasses
- 33 box culverts.
- 58 stations, and 1 elevated station and 9 halts.
- 1 centralized traffic control building.
- 6 container yards at Thung Ma Mao Station, Sam Roi Yot Station, Waghor Station, Na Phak Khuang Station, Map Ammarit Station and Sa Pli Station.
- Install of signalling (automatic train protection, ATP) and telecommunication system along the railway.
Last month, Hua Hin Today shared amazing footage by local YouTuber Mike’s Tropical Tech which showed the progress of the construction in the centre of town
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