Salaries of more than 100k proposed for Thailand’s high-speed train drivers

PHOTO: www.scmp.com

The drivers of Thailand’s high-speed trains will need to be highly skilled, a ministerial level committee says, suggesting they be paid similar salaries to those of airline pilots.

Thai Rath reports that drivers of high-speed trains will face the same amount of stress and responsibility as airline pilots do and in order to attract the most skilled drivers, salaries of over 100,000 baht a month are being proposed, similar to what is paid in China.

The proposal comes after Transport Ministry officials and rail industry representatives began defining standards and expectation in Thailand’s rail sector, including holding talks with drivers from metropolitan systems such as the BTS and MRT, along with those on high-speed and intercity routes.

Thailand currently has two proposed high-speed routes – the three airport link (Don Muang – Suvarnabhumi – U-Tapao) and the Thai-Chinese Bangkok to Nakorn Ratchasima route and high driving standards and efficiency are the priorities being emphasised.

Currently, 4 levels of train driving licence are being considered, covering metropolitan drivers, intercity cargo drivers, intercity passenger drivers, and high-speed train drivers. At present there are about 2,000 train drivers in Thailand with about 800 on city networks and 1,200 on intercity routes.

High-speed train drivers in China are paid around 150,000 baht a month and it’s proposed that Thailand’s high-speed train drivers should be paid the same. Intercity drivers are currently paid between 50,000 and 80,000 baht a month.

It’s also been pointed out that in developed countries, train drivers are re-tested every 5 to 10 years and that Thailand should bear this in mind.

SOURCE: ThaiVisa and Thai Rath