Thailand to accelerate construction of the China-Thailand railway: PM

BANGKOK -- Thailand plans to speed up the construction of the China-Thailand railway, a bilateral flagship project under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has said.

Thailand will create a rail system from Bangkok to Khon Kaen, Nong Khai, and extends all the way to China, aligning with the Belt and Road Initiative, Srettha said during the live dinner talk of Thailand's future 2024 on Tuesday evening.

The two provincial capital cities of Khon Kaen and Nong Khai are both regarded as transport hubs leading up to Thailand's northeastern region.

"Logistics is one of the significant issues for Thailand regarding BRI cooperation and Thailand will enhance the connection between its domestic railways and the China-Laos Railway, a flagship BRI project in the region," Srettha said in an interview with Xinhua before his official visit to China earlier this month, during which he also attended the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

The China-Thailand railway, an important part of the trans-Asian railway network, will be Thailand's first standard-gauge high-speed railway.

When completed, the line will see trains running from Bangkok to the border town of Nong Khai, where a bridge is expected to connect it with the China-Laos Railway, making it possible to travel by train from Bangkok, through Laos, to Kunming in southwest China's Yunnan province.