Bangkok Elevated Road and Train System

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Pillar ruins at Ngam Wong Wan
Pillar between Bang Sue and Don Mueang along the Thanon Vibhavadi Rangsit

The Bangkok Elevated Road and Train System ( BERTS , Thai : โครงการ ระบบ การ ขนส่ง ทาง รถไฟ ยก ระดับ ใน กรุงเทพมหานคร ) is the failed project to bundle traffic routes with a combined elevated railway and urban motorway system .

idea

The project, also known as the Hopewell Project (โครงการ โฮ ป เว ล ล์) after the main contractor, the Hong Kong-based Hopewell Holdings , provided for over 60 km of routes for the Thai State Railways (SRT) in the city of Bangkok, a combined suburban train and a toll city ​​motorway to stand on concrete supports over the railway lines.

The project was valued at $ 3.2 billion in 1990 when the Thai government approved it. The joint sponsors should be the Department of Transportation, SRT and Hopewell Holdings. The aim was to relieve the traffic in the Thai capital, which is constantly on the verge of collapse. The aim was to open the first section in 1995 and to complete the construction by 1999.

execution

When the cabinet approved the plan in 1990, there was neither a feasibility study nor a timetable for implementation. Even then, there was a suspicion that corruption and land speculation were the main driving forces behind the project. The sections were planned:

The project was discontinued in 1998 when the Asian financial crisis hit Thailand. At this point, only a little over 10% of the project had been completed.

A heated dispute ensued between the Thai government and Hopewell Holdings, who blamed each other for the failure of the project. At the end of 1998 the government dissolved the underlying contract. Attempts by Hopewell and the SRT in the following years to revive the project failed because of government objections.

Leftovers

More than 1000 concrete pillars that had already been erected remained, now also referred to as the "Hopeless Project" or " Stonehenge of Bangkok". In keeping with the tropical climate, these were quickly conquered by climbing plants , mosses and lichens . For the Don Mueang Tollway in the course of the Thanon Vibhavadi Rangsit , some driveways were built that cut the space required for BERTS. For the route of the new Suvarnabhumi Airport Rail Link airport suburban train , the pillars on the eastern branch were demolished between 2005 and 2007. On March 1, 2012, some pillars fell on the route of the northern runway , which led to the decision to demolish the pillars here as well. This has been implemented since 2013.

literature

  • Poona Antaseeda et al. Krissana Parnsoonthorn: Bangkok 1999 Economic Review: They said pigs would never fly . In: Bangkok Post.
  • BR Whyte: The Railway Atlas of Thailand, Laos and Cambodia . White Lotus Co Ltd, Bangkok 2010, ISBN 978-974-480-157-9

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ NN: Thais Revisit a Troubled Mass Transit Project . In: International Herald Tribune v. October 10, 1998.
  2. ^ Whyte: The Railway Atlas of Thailand , p. 136.
  3. ^ Whyte: The Railway Atlas of Thailand , p. 136.
  4. ^ NN: Studying the "7-Generation Project" . In: Matichon v. June 7, 2001.
  5. ^ Whyte: The Railway Atlas of Thailand , p. 136.
  6. ^ Whyte: The Railway Atlas of Thailand , p. 136.
  7. ^ Whyte: The Railway Atlas of Thailand , p. 136.
  8. ↑ Siriphan Pongthanee: Thaksin halts SRT's plan to revive Hopewell project . In: Business Day v. September 28, 2001.
  9. ↑ Antaseeda.
  10. ^ Whyte: The Railway Atlas of Thailand , p. 136.
  11. ↑ Montien Intaket Watcharapong Thongrung: Hopewell section crumbles . In: The Nation v. March 2, 2012.
  12. ↑ Amornrat Mahitthirook: Hopewell's pillars ousted by Red Line . In: Bangkok Post v. 1st February 2013.