The process has been dogged by claims the specifications for the new trains were doctored so that only Changchun would be able to win the contract. The fact that Changchun was the only one out of four interested parties to actually submit a tender seems to corroborate the claims.
Thai newspapers reported that Omsin Cheewapreuk, the junior transport-minister, had alleged the new trains would be built with four times the number of drive systems needed. They also said the required passenger capacity for the trains was double that of similar ones.
Mr Cheewapreuk also wants to know why the tender wasn’t cancelled when only one company actually submitted a bid. The contract for the 28 carriages is worth THB4.4 billion. The SRT governor says the board could not cancel the contract with Changchun or it might have faced legal action for damages.
SRT services do not cover all regions of Thailand, but do run on routes to the main towns in the north, east and south of the country. 12GO ASIA provides reliability when buying tickets for travel on SRT trains.
Thai rail firm asked to explain bid specs for Airport Link trains
News in Asia
Thailand’s Transport Ministry says it wants an explanation of how a contract to supply new trains for Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport Link was awarded. The board of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) endorsed a bid from China’s Changchun Railway Vehicles earlier this month to supply seven four-carriage trains.