China-Thailand railway

The China-Thailand railway will be Thailand’s first standard-gauge railway to be jointly built by China and Thailand. Its planned length is 900 kilometers.

A “rice for high-speed rail” plan was first proposed by both countries in 2012 during the visit of the then Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to China. The plan was then shelved as a result of political turmoil in Thailand. After approval by the Thai Parliament on December 6, 2014, a memorandum of understanding for the rail project was signed on December 19. The signing was witnessed by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. Formal consultation on the project followed.

A ground-breaking ceremony was held in Thailand on December 19, 2015. The construction of the Bangkok-Kaeng Khoi section began in early 2016, and is scheduled to be completed in three years. The entire rail system is expected to be operational in five years.

This rail cooperation project will be a showcase for effective alignment between China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Thailand’s infrastructure development plans. Serving Thailand’s northeastern regions and covering major cities, the network will be a great boon to economic development and standards of living in those regions.

中泰鐵路

中泰鐵路是中國(guó)與泰國(guó)合作建設(shè)的泰國(guó)首條標(biāo)準(zhǔn)軌鐵路，按最初計(jì)劃，該鐵路全線總長(zhǎng)近 900 公里。2012年，時(shí)任泰國(guó)總理英拉訪華，兩國(guó)提出“大米換高鐵”計(jì)劃，但隨著泰國(guó)政局的動(dòng)蕩，這一計(jì)劃被擱置。2014年12月6日，泰國(guó)國(guó)家立法議會(huì)批準(zhǔn)中泰鐵路合作諒解備忘錄草案。同年12月19日，李克強(qiáng)總理和巴育總理共同見證了《中泰鐵路合作諒解備忘錄》的簽署，隨后，中泰鐵路進(jìn)入正式協(xié)商階段。2015年12月19日，中泰鐵路項(xiàng)目在泰國(guó)舉行了啟動(dòng)儀式。2016年初，中泰鐵路曼谷－呵叻段開工建設(shè)、大約三年內(nèi)完工，而整條線路將在五年內(nèi)建設(shè)完成。中泰鐵路合作項(xiàng)目是中國(guó)“一帶一路”倡議與泰國(guó)巴育政府基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施建設(shè)規(guī)劃有效對(duì)接的范例。中泰鐵路沿線主要途經(jīng)泰國(guó)東北部地區(qū)，所經(jīng)站點(diǎn)均為泰國(guó)重要城市，因此將大大促進(jìn)泰國(guó)東北部經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展，惠及民生。