STORIES
from the Ground
When the high-speed train will pass my house: Echoes of the community in Korat
Impact of railway construction
The Thai-Chinese high-speed rail construction project is currently under civil engineering construction. According to the construction and system installation contract, the first phase or the distance from Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat) must be completed and can be opened for use in 70. Currently (March 2022), the construction, which is divided into phases, has a total of 14 contracts. Some have progressed significantly, while some phases still have problems, such as problems related to the historical area of Ayutthaya Station, problems with the delivery of some areas of the State Railway of Thailand, which are delayed, and design problems that are causing concern to the public. The research project, China-Cross Border Railway: A Comparative Study of the Impacts of Railway Construction Projects on Communities Around Main Stations in Thailand and Laos, conducted a field survey in February 2023. The survey was conducted in 3 communities around the main stations that were affected by the high-speed rail construction, as follows:
1. Ban Mankong Community in Ban Phalai, Tambon Hua Thale, Amphoe Mueang, Nakhon Ratchasima Province. The Phalai community is a community along the Ya Mo railway that has a problem of being evicted from the area along the railway of the State Railway of Thailand. It consists of the Prasopsuk Community, the Liap Nakorn Community, the Bai Le Community behind the Governor's Residence, the Ratchanikul Community 1, the Ratchanikul Community 3, the Bencharong Community, and the Thung Sawang - Sala Loi Community. The people in the community have been negotiating with the State Railway of Thailand for more than 3 years until finally they demolished their "houses" to temporarily live in them, preparing to build "new houses" under the Ban Mankong project by making an agreement with the Community Development Institute (Public Organization) or POC on renting the area of the State Railway of Thailand according to the conditions. However, the long negotiation has made them face fatigue. Some have to sacrifice their working time and income to work with the community as representatives who have to receive information to coordinate with people in the community. At the same time, they have to carry out procedures related to documents, from understanding the government system, filling the land, and constructing various things that must comply with government regulations. No matter how many difficulties there are, building a new community is one of the few options for them. The beginning of a new community at present It is the preparation of the area for construction. There are only a few temporary houses for those whose houses were urgently demolished. There are still various processes such as filling the land, finding a contractor, etc. In addition, there is also the process of discussing within the community committee to create jobs to take care of those affected by moving out of the original area. In the case of unemployment, unable to travel to work in the city as before, changing careers, taking care of vulnerable groups. There is an idea of opening a fermented fish factory for sale, which I want to be a community enterprise, growing vegetables in the surrounding area, and there are still many issues that the community still has to face before their houses are completed.
(Read more about the eviction case in Korat Province https://www.chinaseasia.net/storiesofkorat2)
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Phor Niyom (one of the people who were evicted from the Prasopsuk community) explained about the new road that will be cut through the community because the original road is the railway area and may be put to other uses and can no longer be used for travel as before. Therefore, a new road needs to be built, but it is still unknown when. It is only a notification from the government agency.
2. Ban Mai Phatthana Community, Ban Mai Subdistrict, Mueang District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province The construction of Contract 3-5, the civil engineering work in Khok Kruat-Nakhon Ratchasima Subdistrict, involves both pier and embankment construction. In Ban Mai Subdistrict, the design is a 7.85-kilometer embankment, which has raised concerns among the public that the community will be split into two sides. The construction area, which used to be flooded every year, will become an area with more severe flooding, including the underpass under the railway tracks that large vehicles, even fire trucks, may not be able to pass through. Finally, the Ban Mai Subdistrict Community Development Group 2020 was formed to drive changes and revise the design. Data related to the railway construction, problems encountered since the beginning of construction, and letters were submitted to various government agencies, from the provincial system to the Prime Minister, were collected. As a result, construction had to be temporarily suspended in order to review the design again. One of the members of the Ban Mai Subdistrict Community Development Group 2020 provided information that the group had been informed that the revised design had already been sent from China, which would upgrade it to a pier as requested. However, since there was no official information on the changes, “…I still don’t trust it,” said a member of the Ban Mai Community Development Group 2020. What would make me believe that the design had been changed is the existence of a written document, including an official explanation from the government.
(Read more about the case of the request to change the design from an earthen embankment to a pier of the Ban Mai community https://www.chinaseasia.net/storiesofkorat1)
3. Tambon Kut Chik, Amphoe Sung Noen, Nakhon Ratchasima Province The design of the high-speed train continues to cause concern among the people, leading to calls for changes in many other areas. In Tambon Kut Chik, which is the construction route for the high-speed train contracts 3-4, the Kut Chik-Khok Kruat section, there is an earthen embankment covering a distance of 9.5 kilometers. Currently, the embankment is in the process of being built, but it is not yet complete. During this time, people have begun to be affected, with flooding in rice fields. There is concern that this construction may divide the city into two parts, including the narrow underpass used to cross between the two sides of the tracks, leading to calls for a design adjustment, similar to the Ban Mai community. A local representative told the research team that the project did not clearly explain what the construction would be like. “... The reason we did not rise up to demand it from the beginning was because they never said what the impact would be.” The government project has never clearly explained the details to the people. Currently, people in the area are starting to become more aware and have joined together to sign and submit a request to various agencies to change the design before the embankment is completed.
Examples of completed earthen embankments in Sung Noen District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, the construction of earthen embankments that are causing concern among the people of Kut Chik, and the calls for changes in the construction style of the people of Kut Chik.
In all three cases, the discussions with the public representatives reflected the concerns about the state’s large-scale infrastructure construction that created concerns about the impacts that would occur. Each group tried to find a solution, using different tactics according to their own approaches and resources, to achieve their demands. Most of the opinions indicated that they did not have a problem with the high-speed train. The development that would come to the country was a good thing, even though the construction would be beneficial or not to them. However, since these constructions might cause problems for their homes, their only demand was for the state to solve the problem so that they would not have to suffer from the development. Otherwise, the train running past their house would be nothing more than a nightmare that would haunt them for generations.
* I would like to thank all Rim Rang Ya Mo networks, Brother Ek and Brother Ae who sacrificed their time and kindly provided information, took us on a survey, visited the community area, and explained everything in detail to the researcher this time. I would like to thank Brother Ta for all the help, coordination, and additional information provided throughout.
** This work is part of the research data dissemination activity to the public under the project “Cross-Border Chinese Railway: A Comparative Study of the Impacts of Railway Construction Projects on Communities Around Main Stations in Thailand and Laos”, supported by the Office of the Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Policy Council for fiscal years 2021 - 2023.
*** The research project is currently underway. The published content is part of the data collection, not a conclusion of the research results.