Project News

This project will support the Department Rail Transport (DRT) under the Ministry of Transport and its consultant team (DRT Consultant) to formulate a new Urban Railway Master Plan for the Bangkok Metropolitan Region (M-MAP2). The JICA Expert Team is required to consult with and give advice for DRT and DRT consultant on a daily basis, rather than to do the work themselves.

Under the international travel restriction due to the COVID-19 expansion, JICA Expert Team have conducted on-line discussions with them. In November 2021, several JICA experts are resumed traveling to Bangkok and having face-to-face discussion with DRT and DRT consultants.

When developing the railway master plan, passenger demand for each line is estimated based on population in each zone, i.e. how many people live in and how many people come to work or study. In Japan, population, the number of employment and student are all available at small administrative unit within each municipality. However, in Thailand, population statistics are not well developed. In particular, there is no statistics exist for the number of employees or students at district level. Therefore, DRT Consultant needs to estimate then by making the best use of available data. While we have had a number of online discussions in the last months, this face-to-face meeting provides us with another opportunity to gain a better understanding of the work that needs to be done.

Face-to-face meetings are far more efficient and effective in confirming detailed drawings, figures, and working methodologies. Both the Thai and Japanese sides shared the importance of on-site project activities.

We will make the most of the opportunities to travel to Bangkok to provide technical support.

Discussion with DRT and DRT Consultant

Discussion with DRT staff