32.5 C
Bangkok
Sunday, April 28, 2024

Thailand’s China-built high-speed rail on track but delayed

One of Thailand’s oldest railway stations is facing demolition as the kingdom presses ahead with a long-delayed Chinese-backed high-speed line

NAKHON RATCHASIMA: One of Thailand’s oldest railway stations is facing demolition as the kingdom presses ahead with a long-delayed Chinese-backed high-speed line that has caused unease about lost heritage and closer ties to Beijing.

Concrete piers supporting the new elevated track tower over bright green rice paddies, cutting a strip through a quiet corner of Thailand’s poor, rural northeast.

The US$5.4-billion line aims to connect Bangkok to Kunming in China via Laos by 2028 — another piece in Beijing’s vast “Belt and Road” infrastructure initiative that sprawls across Asia.

Prime…

Read more…

Latest Articles