Project News

On November 30, 2022, the 2nd Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) meeting was held at the Department of Rail Transport (DRT), consisting of members from relevant organizations from both Japan and Thailand. JCC is organized every six months in order to discuss and confirm the project contents and progress.

The meeting was chaired by Dr. Pichet KUNADHAMRAKS, Director General of DRT and participated by The Office of Traffic and Transportation Policy (OTP) of the Ministry of Transport, the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA), and other relevant organizations. (MRTA) in Thailand, as well as JICA Expert Team (JET). Progress of project activities and revision of project framework were discussed and confirmed as below;

(1) Progress of Project Activities

• Basic demand forecasting methods and models, and design of necessary traffic surveys have been deeply discussed and confirmed through the number of monthly meetings and the Demand Forecast WG meetings. A series of traffic surveys have been conducted and the database is now being developed.
• Urban railway development vision and policies have been determined through the discussion in the number of monthly meetings and the M-MAP2 Platforms. The urban railway development policy will be continuously discussed and evaluated by demand forecast analysis in the next project stages.

(2) Changes to the project framework

• The timing of formulating the M-MAP2 has been updated from January 2023 to August 2023, due to the influence of COVID-19.

In the meeting, a variety of issues to promote urban rail use was discussed, including the need to consider railway fare rates in comparison to that of other modes, connectivity with bicyclists and pedestrians, parking policies around the stations, etc. Dr. Pichet, Director General of DRT emphasized the need to promote collaboration with other agencies in accordance with the Railway Act.

Based on the agreements in this meeting, DRT and JET will continue to analyze the results of the traffic study and examine railway demand forecast.

Chairman of JCC, Dr. Pichet, Director General of DRT

Preparatory Meeting with DRT staff