The government may have hit a snag in its plan to call for bids on three mass-transit projects as existing contracts with Germany's Siemens for the Skytrain and subway do not require information disclosure and technology support for route extensions, a Transport Ministry source said last week.

"If a company other than Siemens wins the bidding, we may have to buy more trains, and passengers may have to pay twice, because they will have to use two different systems," the source said.

In 2002 Siemens AG signed a contract for the turnkey subway project. It comprised, besides project management and system integration, delivery of 19 three-part underground trains, including rail power supply, signal technology for the automatic running operations and monitoring, telecommunications, Scada, assembly, commissioning, workshop facilities, depot and maintenance of the whole system for 10 years.

According to the source, if Siemens loses the job to build the extensions, it will not be required to cooperate with the winner on technical issues.

Without necessary information for system connections and communications, the new systems might not be compatible with the existing ones, and trains from other operators might not be able to run on the track technically supported by Siemens, the source said.

This loophole may affect the final decision as to which company wins the bidding, the source said.

The government plans to open bidding for the construction and management of three mass-transit lines to connect with the existing Skytrain and the subway as well as the airport express link, which is now under construction.

All three systems involve Siemens' overall project management, supply and system integration of both electrical and mechanical elements.

Since Siemens does not need to disclose information on, for instance, the signalling system and the hardware and software communications, the government may have to allocate more budget to buy trains compatible with the new system if it chooses another supplier, the source said.

At present the budget for the extended lines is set at Bt145 billion, mostly for the systems and trains.

However, if the government awards a contract to Siemens to operate the extensions, the company can run its existing trains on the new rail tracks, allowing the trains to cover the whole system, the source said.

Prapat Chongsanguan, governor of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA), said that when the old contracts were drawn up, commuter train systems had been something quite new here.

"Thais had no broad knowledge of the system and didn't think about the technical obstacle of integrating extensions," he said.

The MRTA board is now trying to prevent similar potential problems by improving the wording of the terms of reference (TOR) for the three new projects, he said.

The source said that although the prospective TOR might try to force the winning bidder to reveal essential information on the electric train system for future expansion, it might be too late.

"The government would be better advised to negotiate with Siemens now for critical information on technology," he said.

The government is due to announce the TOR for the three light-rail lines on August 15. The extensions should encourage people to use mass transit to commute in heavily congested Bangkok. The three new lines are designed to feed the BTS Skytrain and MRT subway. Many foreign firms are reportedly interested in bidding, including majors from Germany, France, Spain and Japan.

The government wants to call for tenders as soon as possible for the Purple, Blue and Red lines. The Purple Line will run from Bang Yai to Bang Sue. The existing Blue Line, now called Chaloem Ratchamongkhon, will be extended from Hua Lamphong to Bang Khae and from Bang Sue to Tha Pra. The Red Line will connect Rangsit-Yommarat-Phya Thai to the Makkasan-Suvarnabhumi Airport express-train route.

The source suggested that the government try to persuade Siemens to set up a train manufacturing and repair facility and transfer technology here.

As things stand, whenever equipment is damaged, MRTA has to order imported replacement parts from Siemens, which is free to adjust its prices whenever it wants. After last year's subway accident, MRTA had to send the damaged train parts to Germany for repair.

Watcharapong Thongrung

The Nation