FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Thailand's province of Phuket is in talks with Siemens (>> Siemens) and Bombardier (>> Bombardier, Inc.) over a contract to supply a rail connection to the airport, German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reported.

The investment for a rail link at the popular tourist destination could be more than $1 billion (713.06 million pounds), the paper quoted Phadet Jinda, head of Phuket's city development committee, as saying.

The contract is to be awarded this year and construction is to begin in 2019, FAZ said.

"In three years (the train) should be driving," Jinda said.

Neither Siemens nor Bombardier was immediately available for comment.

Tourism accounts for 12 percent of Thailand's economy, with the country expecting 37.55 million arrivals this year, up 6.1 percent from 2017.

(Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Additional reporting by Alexander Huebner; Editing)

Stocks treated in this article : Siemens, Bombardier, Inc.