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SRT to prepare for transfer of train operation from Hua Lamphong to Bang Sue

NationalFeb 05. 2021Bangkok Railway Station (Hua Lamphong)

By THE NATION

The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) has been told to study operations of the Red Line urban train running to and from Bangkok Railway Station (Hua Lamphong) to determine the appropriate number of trains and necessary routes to be provided for commuters during the transfer of train operation from Hua Lamphong Station to Bang Sue Grand Station.

Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob said on Thursday: “We estimate that the transfer will affect up to 33,460 commuters per day. SRT must determine a suitable fare rate for Red Line that does not impose a burden on commuters or affect its total revenue,” he said.

“I have also tasked the Department of Land Transport and Bangkok Mass Transit Authority to find traffic solutions to alleviate the impact on commuters, including providing feeder service during rush hours.”

The Bang Sue Grand Station and Red Line urban train are scheduled to open for the public in November. The Red Line’s first test run is expected to start on March 26, which is SRT founders’ day, while the public test run will begin in July when commuters can commute for free until the official opening.

“The ministry is also drafting a plan to transfer personnel from SRT to the SRT Electrified Train, which will be responsible for the operation of the urban train, and would soon submit it for Cabinet approval,” said Saksayam.

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Alleged baht counterfeiter arrested in Si Sa Ket

NationalFeb 05. 2021

By THE NATION

A man has been arrested in Si Sa Ket province for allegedly counterfeiting Thai currency.

Police from Muang Si Sa Ket station on Thursday arrested Phichaphob Phankham, aged 37 years, at his house in Nong Phai district after following the trail of fake Bt100 currency notes being found in Si Sa Ket and nearby provinces.

At the house, police reportedly found a photocopier with three original Bt100 bills inside, a paper cutter, 45 counterfeit Bt100 bills and several reams of copier paper.

Phichaphob reportedly confessed that he used the printer to make up to 100 counterfeit bills per day and had been using them at phone top-up kiosks in Si Sa Ket, Surin and Yasothon provinces, which could later be exchanged into cash.

“Earlier on Wednesday, we had arrested two suspects for using counterfeit bills at top-up kiosks in Si Sa Ket and seized over 300 fake bills,” police said.

Further investigation revealed that Phichaphob had just got out of prison on December 25 last year and had allegedly started making the fake bills since January 24.

Phichaphob was charged with manufacturing and using counterfeit money, which carries a maximum punishment of 10 years’ imprisonment to life sentence and fine from Bt20,000 to Bt40,000.

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Cool to cold weather in upper Thailand, thundershowers forecast for South

NationalFeb 05. 2021

By THE NATION

A moderate high-pressure system covers the North, the Northeast, the Central and the East, resulting in cool to cold weather in those regions, the Thailand Meteorological Department forecast on Friday.

Meanwhile, waves in the lower Gulf will rise up to about two metres high due to the moderate northeast monsoon across the Gulf and the South.

The department said that during February 7-9, outbreaks of thundershowers, strong winds and isolated hail would be likely over the North and the Northeast before the temperatures drops by 4-6 degrees Celsius.

The weather forecast for the next 24 hours:

North: Cool to cold weather; temperature lows of 16-19 degrees Celsius, highs of 32-36°C; temperature on hilltops is likely to drop to 4-12°C.

Northeast: Cool to cold weather; temperature lows of 13-19°C, highs of 30-33°C; temperature on hilltops is likely to drop to 9-14°C.

Central: Cool weather in the morning; temperature lows of 19-21°C, highs of 33-34°C.

East: Cool weather in the morning; temperature lows of 19-23°C, highs of 31-35°C; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres offshore.

South (east coast): Partly cloudy with thundershowers in 10 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 22-24°C, highs of 30-33°C; waves 1-2 metres high and two metres during thundershowers.

South (west coast): Partly cloudy with thundershowers in 10 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 22-25°C, highs of 33-34°C; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres offshore.

Bangkok and surrounding areas: cool weather in the morning; temperature lows of 23-24°C, highs of 33-35°C.

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Jurin eases restrictions on big ships to tackle container shortage

NationalFeb 05. 2021

By The Nation

Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit has resolved to tackle the global shortage of cargo containers by easing restrictions at Laem Chabang Port in Chon Buri.

Jurin, who doubles as deputy PM, said the ministry and the Port of Authority of Thailand had agreed to requests from shipping companies to allow large cargo vessels of 18,000 TUE (400 metres-plus) to dock at the port without asking permission.

Meanwhile export permits for shippers will take just one day to process and be valid for two years.

The new measures will enable large vessels to transport Thai exports directly to target countries without transferring via Singapore or any other port, which will help reduce costs, Jurin said.

Also, products that do not need to be shipped in containers – such as fruit, coconuts, rubberwood and other agricultural produce – will be redirected to ordinary ships to save container space for exports.

The measures will be implemented from the third week of February.

Meanwhile the Port Authority will ask the Cabinet for permission to reduce fees for importing empty containers as an incentive for shippers to ease the shortage.

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Krabi’s tourism sector sees light at the end of Covid tunnel

NationalFeb 05. 2021Krabi Airport

By THE NATION

To see the disastrous impact of Covid-19 on Thailand’s tourism industry, look no further than Krabi. Tourist arrivals in the southern holiday province plummeted from an average of 6 million per year to just 1.5 million in 2020. Meanwhile tourism revenue fell from around Bt120 billion to only Bt29 billion.

Towards the end of last year it seemed the worst was over, but then came another calamity.“There was hope when we saw some tourists return to Krabi after the first outbreak of Covid-19 in Thailand. But my businesses have suffered again from this second outbreak,” local restaurant owner Amarit Siripornjutagun told The Nation last week.

Amarit SiripornjutagunThere were now 80 per cent fewer customers at his Ruen Mai restaurant, said Amarit. Before the pandemic the place was regularly packed. Nowadays, “they even have to queue for dining”, he complained.Despite the downturn in business, so far none of his staff has been laid off. However, their hours would have to be cut if the virus situation fails to improve in February, he said.

Amarit’s Ruen MaiAmarit said he wants soft loans to be made more accessible during this new outbreak, along with practical assistance from social security.Meanwhile, Krabi city mayor Keeratisak Phukaoluan is confident the crisis will be resolved soon. He said the province plans to double the number of tourist arrivals in the future.

Keeratisak PhukaoluanHe cited the ongoing expansion of Krabi airport to accommodate parking slots for 30 jetliners. This will boost Krabi’s status as a tourism hub, thanks to its own attractions as well as those in surrounding tourism provinces such as Phuket and Phang Nga. Traffic in Krabi was also less congested than in Phuket, he added. Krabi airport

In more good news for the province, Absolute Clean Energy joined hands with Krabi City Hall on January 29 to build a zero-waste incineration plant. This will burn through 200 tonnes of daily waste in municipal areas and 800,000 tonnes dumped in local landfills since 1996.The new waste-disposal facility would also help tackle the impact of increased tourist numbers in the future, Keeratisak said.ACE incerination plant

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DLT unveils new rules on power, speed of electric vehicles

NationalFeb 04. 2021

By The Nation

New Department of Land Transport (DLT) regulations governing the minimum speed and power of electric vehicles (EVs) were published in the government gazette on Thursday.

The rules apply to the engine size of electric cars, pickups, taxis, three-wheelers and motorcycles.

The first category covers inter-provincial service vehicles carrying up to seven passengers – taxis, rental cars, pickups and small four-wheel trucks.

These must have an electric motor of least 15 kilowatts (kW) and a top speed of not less than 90 kilometres per hour. They must also show a letter E for regular EVs or S for small EVs at the rear of the vehicle.

The second category covers personal vehicles carrying up to seven people – personal cars, trucks and SUVs. These must have an electric motor of at least 4kW and a top speed of at least 45kph.

For the third category, three-wheelers must have a minimum 4kW of power and a speed of at least 45kph.

Meanwhile, electric motorcycles must be at least 250 watts and be capable of 45kph. E-motorcycles for public use (taxis, etc) must not exceed 4kW.

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Celebrity DJ admits alcohol secretly brought in at his birthday party

NationalFeb 04. 2021

By The Nation

After completing his first 15 days of treatment for Covid-19, celebrity DJ Techin Ploypetch, aka “DJ Matoom”, admitted in an Instagram post that his friends had secretly brought alcohol to his birthday party. The January 9 party ended up infecting at least 26 people.

He said his friend brought the alcohol in from outside because the hotel where the party was being held refused to serve any in line with government regulations.

The DJ also apologised for his irresponsible behaviour.

Meanwhile, Techin has chosen to stay on in hospital until he has fully recovered even though doctors believe he is well enough to go home.

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Thai consumers will hold off on spending this quarter: UTCC

NationalFeb 04. 2021

By THE NATION

Thailand’s Consumer Confidence Index has dropped from 50.1 points in December to 47.8, the lowest in nine months, due to the second round of Covid-19 infections, the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC)’s Centre for Economic and Business Forecasting announced on Thursday.

UTCC president Thanavat Phonvichai said consumers will spend less money until the beginning of this year’s second quarter as they wait for the crisis to ease.

However, he said, the government’s three stimulus schemes – Khon La Khrueng” (Let’s Go Halves), “Rao Chana” (We Win), and “Rao Rak Kan” (We Love Each Other) – should help generate more than Bt300 billion and create up to 900,000 jobs.

He added that the gross domestic product should grow 3.4 per cent if tourists start returning to the country in the fourth quarter.

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No celebrations to mark arrival of the Ox

NationalFeb 04. 2021

By The Nation

There will be no Chinese New Year celebrations in Bangkok’s Chinatown this year, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) announced on Thursday.

The festivities are being cancelled to curb the spread of Covid-19.

“As the country is suffering a Covid-19 crisis, we have decided to suspend festivities this year to protect people,” said Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang.

The Year of the Ox arrives on February 12.

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Thanathorn in court to defend his comments on govt’s Covid-19 vaccine plan

NationalFeb 04. 2021Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit

By The Nation

Progressive Movement leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit showed up at Bangkok Criminal Court on Thursday to answer questions.

Also present were officials from the Digital Economy and Society Ministry.

The court is looking into remarks Thanathorn recently made about Thailand’s Covid-19 vaccine plans, in which he also accused the government of granting exclusive AstraZeneca vaccine production right to Siam Bioscience, which is fully owned by the Crown Property Bureau.

The Digital Economy and Society Ministry responded by seeking a court order to remove Thanathorn’s comments from all online sources, claiming it raises doubts among people.

When the court ruled on Sunday to block his statement under the Computer Crime Act, Thanathorn submitted an objection.

The court is scheduled to rule on the case on Monday.