The director of the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP), Sarawut Songsivilai, has been appointed as head of the new Rail Department. According to a source at the meeting, his name was put forward by Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith. Mr Sarawut said the administration has poured hundreds of billions of baht into new rail projects, including double-track rail routes, electric train and high-speed rail schemes. He said the department will be chiefly responsible for enhancing rail transport services, such as formulating criteria to assess the performance of the rail services, ranging from punctuality to passenger satisfaction. A Transport Ministry source said the emergence of the department has fuelled concerns among rail operators about the agency's use of power.

Source: Bangkok Post May 21, 2019 22:41 UTC