HSR investment has commonly resulted in:
1. reduced travel times;
In general, HSR offers faster net travel times than conventional road, rail and air travel between distances of approximately 150 kilometres (km) and 800 km.

2. reduced congestion on established modes of transport;
E.g., as air travellers move to HSR, short-haul flights are discontinued, increasing runway capacity for longer flights on which air travel maintains a competitive advantage over HSR.

3. improved access to markets and commerce;
Through reduced travel times, HSR reduces the opportunity cost -and commonly the expense of
inter-city commerce and tourism. This increases the reach of small businesses, improves the operational efficiency of larger ones, and enables commuting over longer distances while maintaining quality of life. Stations in underdeveloped communities attract new retail and hospitality investment, while businesses can take advantage of comparatively low property values and easy access to major city centres.This in turn can reduce regional disparities

4. decreased carbon footprint in comparison to road and air transport;
Comparative CO2 emissions between HSR development and the continued use of conventional
transport vary significantly case-by-case, but on a per-passenger, per-kilometre basis, HSR is a distinctly more climate-friendly mode of transport than either road or air travel.

5. ... and creating industry growth and export opportunities.

For more details ==> http://www.invensysrail.com/whitepapers/hs...arch-report.pdf

Wow! The world's most beautiful PM (Yingluck) is moving faster than us..

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/763048.shtml

Thailand expects to break ground for its first high-speed railway at the end of 2014, local media reported on Wednesday.

The Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima high-speed railway will stop at stations in Ayutthaya, Saraburi and Pak Chong. With an average speed of 250 km per hour, the 256-km distance between the capital city and the northeastern province will be covered in 90 minutes. The fare will be priced at 2.5-3 baht ($0.08-0.1) per kilometer.

Local transportation authorities are studying the feasibility of the project and a final plan will be put forward before next Feburary.

Local residents and businesspeople, as well as those whose land will be expropriated to make way for the train project, were given a chance to explain how their lives would be affected, according to project manager Niwat Tansawat.

He said that once all public hearings are completed for the project, land expropriation will begin next year followed immediately by construction, which will take five years to complete.

This is part of a major project covering four main routes from the capital, including routes to Chiang Mai, Hua Hin and Pattaya.