(Yicai Global) Dec. 22 -- The China-Thai railway cooperation project has officially kicked off in Pak Chong in northeast Thailand's Nakhon Ratchasima province. It will be Thailand's first standard high-speed railway and will speed up construction of Trans-Asian railway link, state-owned Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday.

The railway is in line with the Belt and Road Initiative and will bring more opportunities for the development along the line, said Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha at the commencement ceremony. The project will build the first standard high-speed railway in Thailand, with its Phase I work linking the capital city of Bangkok and Nakhon Ratchasima. It will go through six stations in four Thai provinces, with a total length of 253km and the maximum design speed of 250km/h.

The Phase II work will extend to Nong Khai, which is separated from the neighboring Laos capital city of Vientiane by a river, and connect Boten-Vientiane section of the China-Laos railway. After the Bangkok-Nong Khai section of the project is completed and connected with the China-Laos railway, it will halve the travel time from Bangkok to Vientiane to only about 4 hours, enhancing Thailand's position as a transport hub in southeast Asia .

The China-Thai railway cooperation project will, for the first time, introduce China's high-speed rail technology to the southeast Asian country. The elevated and ground sections and the building facilities of the railway will be designed, constructed and supervised by high-standard Chinese engineering. China will also be responsible for the track, power supply, vehicle supply, manpower training and other work.

The China-Thai railway is not only connecting the two countries, but also links Thailand with the world, said Thai PM Prayuth previously.

China and other countries along this railway route are planning and building three international railway lines in East, Central and West Asia, also known as the "Trans-Asian Railway." These railways will depart from Kunming in southwestern China's Yunnan province and go through Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Malaysia, eventually reaching Singapore. The construction of these railways will help China and the southeast Asian countries to achieve more extensive and convenient interconnection.