Pattaya to Become "Beachside Suburb" of “World's Best City

Siripun Sinbuathong

The new high speed train will make it easy for people to live in Pattaya and work in Bangkok and vice versa.

New High Speed Train -- Pattaya to Bangkok in 30 Minutes

At a recent closed door meeting of Pattaya business people, Pattaya Deputy Mayor Ronnakit Ekkasing unveiled plans for the extension of the high speed train from Bangkok to the airport to make stops in Pattaya and along the way to Rayong.

“The first route chosen for the project travels to Pattaya, and continues from there to Rayong,” the hard working Deputy Mayor said.

The high speed train tracks will replace the outdated tracks running parallel to the east of Sukhumvit Highway. Currently, only one train operates a day, coming to Pattaya from Bangkok in the morning and returning to Bangkok in the afternoon. The cost is 37 baht per passenger and the train stops numerous times, taking more than four hours one way.

Pattaya property developer Drew Noyes told the Pattaya Times "With Bangkok soon to be only a short 30 minute trip train away,

Pattaya will become a fashionable "beach side suburb" of the city recently voted best in the world."

The high speed train will be completed by 2015 and will reduce the time it takes to go from Pattaya to Bangkok to less than 30 minutes.

At the train station you can buy a ticket to and from any city in Thailand. This system will stay in place after the upgrade to high speed rail.

Outgoing Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva came to Pattaya weeks ago and vowed to spend up to 10 billion baht per year until the high speed train service was complete. Now, Prime Minister elect Yingluck Shinawatra is expected to assure the project is properly funded.

Former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva helped establish and lay the initial political groundwork for the project. The plans have already met with cabinet approval.

The Bangkok-Pattaya-Rayong route has been finalized, and other routes are currently being finalized.

The existing Wat Yan train depot and the Siam Country Club train depot will be the two stops in Pattaya.

The Siam Country Club train station is only a kilometer from Sukhumvit and almost opposite Pattaya Klang (Central Road) leading to the beach and the entertainment and shopping district.

The Wat Yan train station has recently been expanded and renovated. It is located on the east side of Sukhumvit and is opposite the beautiful public beach and park of Baan Amnpur .

A bus or car ride between Pattaya and Bangkok takes over 90 minutes. The train will travel at over 200 kilometers per hour, shortening the 90 minute car ride by a full hour, while also reducing automobile traffic on Bangkok Motorway 7.

“With seven members of the Phalungchon Party in Parliament from this region and Pattaya’s planned status as a special development area under the government, the train project will move quickly as a high priority,” averred Pattaya Deputy Mayor Ronnakit Ekkasing.

The Pattaya labor market is expected to receive a big boost from the development of the railroad. Pattaya could become a suburb whereby residents who prefer the quality of life in the resort city could live in Pattaya but earn higher incomes from working in the Rayong industrial estates or Bangkok thanks to the quick commute.

Thitiphan Deepet, a graphic designer at Tong Graphics in Pattaya, expressed his hopes that he might be able to “live close to Pattaya’s beautiful beaches” while “making more money at a Bangkok firm.” “I used to live in Bangkok but couldn’t handle the traffic and pollution so I moved to Pattaya and took a pay cut. With the new train, I can commute easily to Bangkok every day.”

Land prices are already soaring in Pattaya, as “Asia’s most popular beach resort” looks destined to become a beachside suburb of Bangkok.

LPN Public Company showed foresight in launching their Lumpini CondoTown North Pattaya-Sukhumvit. The massive project is being built just north of Bangkok Hospital Pattaya and the Highway 7 Motorway entrance to Bangkok on Sukhumvit highway with ocean views of Naklua and Laem Chabang.

Other major developers are expected to follow suit in investing in property in Pattaya.

LPN’s 32-story twin buildings will house 1500 condominiums. The 750 units of Building A sold out in five days and the identically sized building B, launched a month later six months ahead of schedule, similarly sold out with 1,000 people eventually lining up for a “lucky draw” chance to buy an LPN condo. LPN, formerly a developer exclusive to Bangkok chose Lumpini CondoTown as their first project in Pattaya.

The railway will tie Pattaya’s fortunes more closely to Bangkok’s, which bodes well for the resort town because the capital city was recently voted by Travel + Luxury Magazine’s readers as the number one city on their “World’s Best City” list.

Julio Cesar, a Brazilian investor, is now considering moving to Pattaya because he says, “I’d much rather live in Pattaya and commute to Bangkok for business.”

Pattaya City Council will offer shuttle services from the train station to every major location in the city. Baht buses, taxis and hotel courtesy vans will await arriving passengers and assist departing passengers.

Pattaya Deputy Mayor Ronnakit Ekkasing added, “Transportation in Pattaya is quite cheap and convenient relative to Phuket and Bangkok, with a ride on a songtaew costing ten baht to what may be a 300 baht ride in Phuket. Traffic in Pattaya is also a considerable improvement on Bangkok’s oft-congested roads and highways."

Those already living in Pattaya will have best of both worlds, enjoying the laidback lifestyle of Pattaya with the luxuries of Bangkok, like restaurants and malls, only half an hour away. Shopping will now be an easy day trip saving the cost of overnight accommodation.

Other high-speed train projects are also planned with routes extending from Bangkok to Chiang Mai – a total of 745 kilometers. That particular route is expected to cost 209,396 million baht, with a 615 kilometer route from Bangkok to Nong Khai costing 234,071 baht.

The Bangkok-Pattaya-Rayong line spans 221 kilometers and will require an estimated 56,601 million baht to build.