Thai premier a passenger on shinkansen

[bikkuri bahn]

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Sunday flew from Tokyo to Kyushu Island to learn about the operations of Shinkansen bullet trains before wrapping up her four-day visit to Japan.

 

Yingluck attended a lecture on high-speed trains at Hakata Station in Fukuoka and then rode roundtrip on two types of bullet train operated by Kyushu Railway Co., known as JR Kyushu -- the N700 Series Shinkansen and the New 800 Series Shinkansen -- between Hakata and Kumamoto stations.

 

She was accompanied by JR Kyushu Chairman Susumu Ishihara, who later told reporters that Yingluck posed many technical questions to him and also showed interest in train design.

 

Thailand has enlisted Japan to conduct a preliminary feasibility study on high-speed rail links on the Bangkok-Chiang Mai and Bangkok-Rayong routes in the country.

 

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20120423p2g00m0bu043000c.html

[The_Ghan]

Interesting.

 

Bangkok - Rayong is only 188km.  A bit longer if it passes through Suvanabhumi International Airport and Pattaya, which it must do to attract the foreigners.  Personally, I'd like to see the route extended to Trat as there are plenty of great resort towns down that way.

 

Bangkok - Chiang Mai also makes a lot of sense.  That line would benefit by diverting north to Don Muang Airport initially, then west at least as far as Kanchanaburi university, to cater for tourists wanting to see the River Kwai bridge and Hellfire pass, before heading north to Chiang Mai.

 

In fact, all of the above could be combined to form one long line from Chiang Mai - Trat.

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[cteno4]

Question, why did she fly down...

 

Jeff

[The_Ghan]

Question, why did she fly down...

 

Jeff

 

It was quicker.

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[disturbman]

I think that Jeff was merely underlying the absurdity of flying down from Tokyo to Kyushu to test HST and not looking for an explanation.

[bikkuri bahn]

I think it was the the first leg of her journey back to Thailand.  The plane would have had to fly into Fukuoka anyway, so better to take her and her staff along between Haneda and Fukuoka.  Anyway, relatively few people take the Shinkansen between Tokyo and Hakata, it's too long.

[westfalen]

Don't forget she's a politician, when they're on a fact finding trip they don't like to see too much in case they have to do anything about it, best to just see enough so that you have to conduct another feasibility study when you get home. But at least she did have a look, I'd like to know the last time our Prime Minister was near a train anywhere.

[Eisenbahn]

Perhaps the train of choice for many politicians is.... the gravy train.

[The_Ghan]

I think that Jeff was merely underlying the absurdity of flying down from Tokyo to Kyushu to test HST and not looking for an explanation.

 

Nothing absurd about it.  She is the Prime Minister of Thailand.  Politicians don't have the luxury of time.

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[keitaro]

I think that Jeff was merely underlying the absurdity of flying down from Tokyo to Kyushu to test HST and not looking for an explanation.

 

Nothing absurd about it.  She is the Prime Minister of Thailand.  Politicians don't have the luxury of time.

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

 

Yes there too busy spinning lies and bull shit

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Gillard