“Not too long to wait” Record of the journey to survey the construction site of the high-speed rail:
The work of Thai engineers, Chinese engineers, problems and obstacles in construction work
The construction of the high-speed train is a large-scale project with cutting-edge technology for Thailand. It is also difficult to understand how the construction is done, who built it, what China is doing, what Thailand is doing, when will it be used, or even where the budget comes from, how much is spent, where do we have to borrow, and will Thai people be in debt from building this train? The answers to these questions are very detailed and may be difficult for the general public to easily understand. Therefore, in order to understand the upcoming development, the China-Cross-Border Railway Research Project: A Comparative Study of the Impacts of Railway Construction Projects on Communities Around Main Stations in Thailand and Laos conducted a field survey to collect data in February 2023 to clarify the information on this construction.
Nakhon Ratchasima is the first province in the Northeast to construct a high-speed train. The research team therefore chose to travel to Korat and tried to seek knowledge from various organizations to obtain comprehensive information related to the construction, starting from the train station, station master, Nakhon Ratchasima Highway Maintenance Division, and the sub-district administrative organization where the construction was under their responsibility. An important thing learned from this field visit was the SRT’s working style, which clearly separated roles and authority. In other words, the station master or even the Highway Maintenance Division’s inspector had duties within their own scope. Each station master focused primarily on the administration within their station scope and had limited detailed information about the high-speed train. Meanwhile, the Highway Maintenance Division was responsible for maintaining the railway tracks in their own responsibility area. When construction entered their responsibility area, the Highway Maintenance Division’s duty was to receive the request in order to coordinate the work so that the construction of the high-speed train project could proceed conveniently. To obtain more information related to the construction, the research team was advised to coordinate directly with the State Railway of Thailand, especially on the issue of working with Chinese engineers.
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Since the research team still could not achieve much understanding of the high-speed rail project, and it is expected that part of it may be because the construction of the project has not reached Mueang District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, the research team went to conduct additional surveys in Pak Chong District, where construction is progressing significantly. They started at Pak Chong Railway Station. The Pak Chong Railway Station Master kindly provided contact information to the project’s secretary in Pak Chong District, who asked us to coordinate with the Special Projects and Construction Division, which is under the State Railway of Thailand, to request an interview with the team of engineers or engineers directly supervising the construction of the high-speed rail.
On the morning of February 16, 2023, the research team arrived at the SRT-CSC-PMC Temporary Office of High Speed Railway Project in Pak Chong District. The first thing we saw was a tall Thai flagpole standing tall in front of the three office buildings. The central building has a striking red Chinese Railway sign. The large concrete parking area is clearly divided into sections with signs indicating the English abbreviations of each office. This head office consists of three sub-offices: 1. SRT or State Railway of Thailand, State Railway of Thailand, Special Projects and Construction Department 2. CSC or Construction Supervision Consultant, Construction Supervision Consultant 3. PMC or Project Management Consultant, Project Management Consultant
From the initial discussion, SRT, the chief engineer in charge of the construction, updated the progress of the construction in each phase. Problems found that caused delays include:
1. The problem of delays in the construction of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Station, a world heritage site, which requires additional HIA.
2. Delays in land expropriation. The delay in the Royal Decree on "Land Expropriation" has also delayed the handover of the expropriated areas.
3. Implementation of the amendment of the joint investment contract to resolve the overlapping problem of the high-speed rail project connecting three airports (Don Mueang-Suvarnabhumi-U-Tapao)
4. The problem of the Covid epidemic that affects all sectors
5. Case of lawsuit regarding bidding in Contract No. 3-1
6. People in many areas want to change the type, mainly from earthen embankments to elevated ones or piers.
7. Request for reclaiming of area, etc.
Meanwhile, the construction also encountered internal problems, especially in coordinating with government agencies in various departments, such as approving construction across canals, cutting down large trees, and construction in areas of other departments, which were problems with complicated procedures and regulations.
As the CSC’s duty is to supervise the construction, there are both Chinese and Thai engineers who act as coordinators and interpreters. The CSC will divide the work into teams based on 5 areas: Chiang Rak Noi, Phachi, Saraburi, Pak Chong, and Sung Noen - Khok Kruat. Each team will have both Chinese and Thai personnel, and Chinese executives to supervise the work team. All of them must work with TOR according to the terms and conditions of the contract under Thai labor law. For the work process, the Chinese engineers will adhere to the principles of working according to Chinese railway standards. Therefore, the Thai team must adjust themselves in working together, such as designing the trains from China because Thailand has no knowledge of high-speed railway construction. Therefore, during the design period, China sent a team from China to survey the area and bring the information back to China to design the construction. However, the design focused on materials and equipment according to Chinese railway models, causing difficulties in the initial period of whether the Thai side would be able to do it or not. In addition, the design problem lacked an understanding of the context of the urban areas and communities of Thailand, resulting in delays in construction due to problems with reclaiming the area.
Another important issue that needs to be discussed and negotiated at all times in the construction process is the construction standards of Chinese railways, which are much higher than what Thailand can afford. If there are mistakes, correcting the work often leads to increased budgets. Chinese consulting companies play a very important role in inspecting and supervising the construction work to ensure that it strictly complies with Chinese standards. Meanwhile, the State Railway of Thailand plays an important role in supervising and managing the construction work so that it can be carried out efficiently within a reasonable budget. Both the government and private sectors that are subcontracted for the construction work must be coordinated so that they can enter the area and work smoothly according to the conditions and budget framework as much as possible.
The State Railway of Thailand is only responsible for civil works. When the construction is completed, the Chinese side will install the electrical and mechanical systems. Meanwhile, the train operation system, the preparation process for opening, or even the service work are still issues that do not have clear information.
The initial observations of the research team found that the working style of the State Railway of Thailand clearly divided the responsibilities of each department. Each personnel in the SRT organization focused only on their own duties, while giving importance to waiting for orders from the central office or from superiors. Each department was careful about work that might interfere with other departments, reflecting the rigid working culture of the organization. Meanwhile, the construction of the high-speed train is a large-scale project, overlapping and affecting many sectors, both the public and government agencies. Therefore, the work of the construction team was not very smooth because it was full of external obstacles such as problems of the masses, coordination and collaboration with the Chinese side, the spread of COVID, and internal obstacles such as the Thai government structure system, which has many limitations, both from work regulations and various legal requirements. These challenges are only some of the problems that occurred from the construction project in Phase 1. While the construction of Phase 2 is still in the process of EIA and it is expected that the construction of the next phase will begin “not too long ago” ...
High-speed railway station model at the SRT (State Railway of Thailand) sub-office, Pak Chong District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province
* I would like to thank the State Railway of Thailand, engineers from the Special Projects and Construction Department, CSC representatives and all officers, including the Korat Station Master, Pak Chong Station Master, and the Nakhon Ratchasima Road Maintenance Division Chief, for their warm welcome and comprehensive information.
** This work is part of the research information dissemination activity to the public under the project "Cross-border China Railway: A Comparative Study of the Impacts of Railway Construction Projects on Communities Around Main Stations in Thailand and Laos", funded by the Office of the Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Policy Council (NSTDA) by the Human Resource Development and Institutional Development Fund Management Unit (NHRC) for fiscal years 2021 - 2023.
*** The research project is currently underway. The published content is part of the data collection and is not a conclusion of the research results.
