Prachuap Khirikhan train crash
MAJOR TRAIN ACCIDENT
3 killed, 73 injured in train crash
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Hua Hin, Prachuap Khirikhan - Three train workers were killed and 73 other people were injured when a passenger train rammed into another in this seaside town early Sunday morning.
The State Railway Authority said it has yet to investigate to find out whether the accident at the Nong Kae staton in Hua Hin district was caused by the system or human error.
Police and railway officials said the Bangkok-Yala train was being parked at the station to wait for the Langsuan-Thonburi train to pass through the station first, but the incoming train did not enter the alternative track. Instead, it rammed into the Bangkok-Yala train.
The impact reduced the engine of the Bangkok-Yala train into rubble, pushed it back to crash into the first passenger carriage. Three passenger carriages were also derailed by the impact.
Siva Saengmanee, chairman of the SRT board of directors, said the accident took place at 2:30 am. The cause of the accident has yet to be investigated, he said.
He said a total of 73 were injured and most of them slightly. He said 65 passengers were discharged after receiving treatments at hospitals.
He said eight people were severely injured and three of them were SRT employees.
Five of the eight severely injured were being treated at the Hua Hin Hospital, and three in San Paolo Hospital.
The three slain train workers were on the Bangkok-Yala train. They were identified as Phaichit Chuyod, the driver, Wanida Photihpan, a train attendant, and Thirapong Boonchai, a mechanic.
Other passengers were provided a temporary shelter before were transported to a nearby bus station to continue their travel on buses.
Channel 7 reported quoting an official as saying that the driver of the Langsuan-Thonburi train might be responsible for the accident because the station already flashed the red light for him to stop pending the switching of track for his train.
The accident disrupted train service until 7 am.
Siva said six Bangkok-bound trains from southern provinces resumed their travel to Bangkok at 7 am.
The Nation
Train driver probably fell asleep, says SRT
RAIL ACCIDENT / PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION
Train driver probably fell asleep, says SRT
AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK
A train driver probably fell asleep and caused Sunday's crash which killed three people and injured 93 others in Prachuap Khiri Khan's Hua Hin district, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT)'s preliminary investigation has found.
There was also a good chance that the automatic system which should stop the train if the driver does not respond to the controls was not working, SRT chairman Siva Saengmanee said yesterday.
The driver of the north-bound Chumphon-Thon Buri rapid train probably fell asleep and his train ploughed head-on into the Bangkok-Yala sprinter at Nong Kae station, he said.
The crash happened at 2.42am when the sprinter was waiting for the Chumphon train to pass so it could continue south.
Three railway employees on the sprinter, including the driver, died at the scene. Ninety-three passengers were taken to hospital in Hua Hin.
Most were allowed to go home later on Sunday.
Mr Siva said the SRT would check the vigilance system of the Thon Buri-bound train to see whether it was operational when the accident took place.
The vigilance system is set to lock the brakes automatically within 102 seconds if the driver does not respond to the train's controls or becomes incapacitated.
The system had been installed in 212 locomotives to prevent drivers from falling asleep at the controls, but only 35% of the devices were operative, said Mr Siva.
He conceded that most rail tracks and locomotives were also old and needed repair.
"The SRT needs to speed up the repair of those devices," the SRT chief said.
"But the problem is that the agency is short of funds to cover repair and maintenance costs due to its huge debts."
The agency was understaffed, and particularly short of train drivers. Mr Siva said 2,400 drivers were needed, but the SRT had only 2,000 drivers and most of them were almost 50 years old.
The SRT budgeted 400 to 500 million baht for maintenance each year. This was inadequate, resulting in frequent train accidents, he said.
The agency needed 21 billion baht to repair 813km of old and damaged track.
The SRT earned about four billion baht a year from passenger train services, two billion baht from freight and another two billion baht from land rental fees, but its spending stood at 14 to 15 billion baht a year, the SRT chairman said.
Bangkok Post
