The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) has signed a consultancy agreement for the feasibility study of the Bangkok–Rayong high-speed rail (HSR) line. The study is expected to take 14 months to complete and construction bids are expected to be invited in early 2014. The 221 km HSR line that will link Bangkok, starting at Suvarnabhumi airport, to Rayong is likely to be developed by 2019, at an investment of 100.63 billion baht. It is expected to have a daily ridership of around 16,000 passengers by 2022 and 23,000 passengers by 2027. Trains running at a speed of 250 km per hour on the HSR line should reduce the travel time between Bangkok and Rayong to one hour and 15 minutes. In the future, an extension to the easternmost province of Trat is planned.
