Bus Hit by Train Near Rama 9 Bursts Into Flames

1 minute ago, jacko45k said:

Too busy focused on other things. One tale my Mrs told me was of a lady focused on her phone who looked up at the bus window to see a train coming at her. I don't know how full the bus was.

Imagine if that lady was on a video call to a loved one.....................jeez..................

On 5/16/2026 at 6:59 PM, Bangkok Barry said:

Common sense says that you do not, ever, drive onto the tracks unless your exit is clear. Unfortunately, common sense doesn't exist in Thailand and so people die.

"common sense doesn't exist in Thailand "

Offending and humiliating post ❗

Do you think common sense exists only in your "superior" country??

On 5/16/2026 at 6:06 PM, VocalNeal said:

As maybe will the bus driver for stopping on the tracks when his exit was obviously compromised.

Empathy for the train driver who saw it all but was helpless to do anything.

Except I believe he has failed an initial drugs test. So my empathy has dissipated some what.

What is a human life worth in Thailand? There is a lot of excitement today, but what will happen tomorrow?
I almost think the biggest problem with this accident was: causing major traffic disruption along the Asok-Din Daeng route.

On 5/16/2026 at 6:32 PM, Callmeishmael said:

Diesel shouldn't do that

I thought Blue buses were EV's, Orange buses were ICE.

My condolences. We all know that many Thai drivers will ignore a yellow no-parking zone. If it is known to be problem time/area then why is there not police directing traffic?

On 5/16/2026 at 10:26 AM, Georgealbert said:

A passenger bus burst into flames after being struck by a train near the Rama 9 junction in Bangkok on Saturday afternoon, causing major traffic disruption along the Asok-Din Daeng route.

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The crash happened at about 3.40pm on 16 May 2026 near the Makkasan railway crossing on the Asok-Din Daeng road. According to FM91 Trafficpro, the train collided with a public bus travelling from the Rama 9 intersection towards Asok Phet junction.

The impact triggered a fire, with flames rapidly engulfing the bus at the scene. Emergency responders and rescue teams were dispatched to contain the blaze and assess the situation.

Authorities warned motorists to avoid the Asok-Din Daeng road and nearby areas unless absolutely necessary, as the accident was expected to cause significant traffic congestion. Delays were reported on surrounding routes as emergency crews worked to bring the fire under control.

At the time of reporting, officials had not confirmed the number of casualties or injuries linked to the collision. The cause of the crash also remained under investigation.

The incident occurred on one of Bangkok’s busiest transport corridors, where road traffic and railway crossings regularly intersect. The Makkasan area is a key link between central business districts and eastern parts of the capital, meaning disruptions can quickly spread across the city road network.

Naewna reported that emergency services continued operations at the site into the afternoon, while traffic police monitored diversions around the affected junctions. Commuters were advised to seek alternative routes while access to the area remained restricted.

Further updates are expected once investigators complete an initial examination of the scene and authorities release information regarding injuries, damage and the circumstances leading to the collision.

Pictures courtesy of Naewna

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Adapted by ASEAN Now Naewna 16 May 2026

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Who ever put a laughing emoji here should be banned from this forum .

Terrible tragedy and RIP to the poor victims. But 2 questions

1. Did anybody kick out the back window of the Bus, there was at least 30 seconds after impact to do this.

2. Did the train blow it's horn to warn the people in the vicinity, while the bus couldn't move, passengers could run to the back of the bus.

10 minutes ago, superal said:

Who ever put a laughing emoji here should be banned from this forum .

<deleted> stupid idiots are everywhere, also in this forum. Unfortunately.

On 5/16/2026 at 6:32 PM, Callmeishmael said:

That bus burst into flames immediately after it was struck! Diesel shouldn't do that.... I wonder if if was converted to run on CNG?

I think the flames were caused by all of the motorbikes and scooters the bus hit.

33 minutes ago, bfc1980 said:

I think the flames were caused by all of the motorbikes and scooters the bus hit.

Covered in the updates.

“Officials said the train struck the bus near its CNG tanks, causing them to rupture and the vehicle erupt into flames in seconds.“

5 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Oh, so all these people were well aware they are going to hit by a train.

You're saying they are suicidal, just waiting to be hit by the train?

They SHOULD have been aware, shouldn't they. The red lights were flashing, the alarm was sounding, which to you and me would indicate that a train was coming and it might be a good idea to get off the track, abandoning vehicles if need be. But no, they totally ignored the danger they were in. Didn't react at all. Not deliberately suicidal, but totally, totally unaware that A might/probably/will result in B. No awareness at all.

4 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Too busy focused on other things. One tale my Mrs told me was of a lady focused on her phone who looked up at the bus window to see a train coming at her. I don't know how full the bus was.

Alarm sounding, red lights flashing, stuck in the path of a train, and no awareness at all of the danger they were in. If I was in that position I think I'd be quite concerned at being in that situation, but no video I've seen showed anyone getting themselves out of danger. Totally oblivious.

1 hour ago, newbee2022 said:

"common sense doesn't exist in Thailand "

Offending and humiliating post ❗

Do you think common sense exists only in your "superior" country??

Many are poorly uneducated and taught in schools to obey and not think and work things out for themselves. That is actively discouraged, and I've experienced it. That in turn leads to poor decision making and doing things that make no sense to us. Many cannot understand that doing A might result in B - the way they drive might be a danger to themselves and others, killing someone over nothing that results in many years in jail. In this case, crowding onto a railway track with alarms bells and lights clearly indicating that a train is approaching, while leaving themselves no way to escape. Common sense tells us that is a pretty stupid, possibly fatal thing to do, but that is lacking in every one of those on the crossing. Perhaps you think they were acting with common sense, and on that we'll have to agree to disagree.

UPDATE

Train Driver in Bangkok Crash Had No Licence

2 hours ago, BerndD said:

What is a human life worth in Thailand? There is a lot of excitement today, but what will happen tomorrow?
I almost think the biggest problem with this accident was: causing major traffic disruption along the Asok-Din Daeng route.

Pictures on Facebook this morning of exact same thing, a bus stradling the railway line at same spot waiting to move!!

Wowzers, off his chops and no licence.

He gunna be swinging from a noose !

On 5/16/2026 at 4:26 PM, Georgealbert said:

A passenger bus burst into flames after being struck by a train near the Rama 9 junction in Bangkok on Saturday afternoon, causing major traffic disruption along the Asok-Din Daeng route.

Get today's headlines by email

The crash happened at about 3.40pm on 16 May 2026 near the Makkasan railway crossing on the Asok-Din Daeng road. According to FM91 Trafficpro, the train collided with a public bus travelling from the Rama 9 intersection towards Asok Phet junction.

The impact triggered a fire, with flames rapidly engulfing the bus at the scene. Emergency responders and rescue teams were dispatched to contain the blaze and assess the situation.

Authorities warned motorists to avoid the Asok-Din Daeng road and nearby areas unless absolutely necessary, as the accident was expected to cause significant traffic congestion. Delays were reported on surrounding routes as emergency crews worked to bring the fire under control.

At the time of reporting, officials had not confirmed the number of casualties or injuries linked to the collision. The cause of the crash also remained under investigation.

The incident occurred on one of Bangkok’s busiest transport corridors, where road traffic and railway crossings regularly intersect. The Makkasan area is a key link between central business districts and eastern parts of the capital, meaning disruptions can quickly spread across the city road network.

Naewna reported that emergency services continued operations at the site into the afternoon, while traffic police monitored diversions around the affected junctions. Commuters were advised to seek alternative routes while access to the area remained restricted.

Further updates are expected once investigators complete an initial examination of the scene and authorities release information regarding injuries, damage and the circumstances leading to the collision.

Pictures courtesy of Naewna

Join the discussion?

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Adapted by ASEAN Now Naewna 16 May 2026

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To all the wannabe Sherlock Holmes, why not wait until a real analysis has been completed before guessing at what happened and finger pointing ?

Er what happened after the bus fire that killed all them children before.

They said all buses will be checked that they are using the correct fuel and that fire spreading quickly couldn't happen again after the checks .

All mouth and no action again it seems 🤬

59 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

Many are poorly uneducated and taught in schools to obey and not think and work things out for themselves. That is actively discouraged, and I've experienced it. That in turn leads to poor decision making and doing things that make no sense to us. Many cannot understand that doing A might result in B - the way they drive might be a danger to themselves and others, killing someone over nothing that results in many years in jail. In this case, crowding onto a railway track with alarms bells and lights clearly indicating that a train is approaching, while leaving themselves no way to escape. Common sense tells us that is a pretty stupid, possibly fatal thing to do, but that is lacking in every one of those on the crossing. Perhaps you think they were acting with common sense, and on that we'll have to agree to disagree.

Partly I agree.

However, take a deep breath. How many times you will have the same lacking common sense in Western countries?

To beat Thailand by not having common sense is arrogant.

This is why I interfered.

A terrible tragedy. I hope we all learn all of the facts that caused this tragedy- at present so much speculation with modest knowledge of all the issues

RIP and deep condolences to all this affected by this awful event

14 minutes ago, ronster said:

Er what happened after the bus fire that killed all them children before.

They said all buses will be checked that they are using the correct fuel and that fire spreading quickly couldn't happen again after the checks .

All mouth and no action again it seems 🤬

Sorry but there is no comparison between the two incidents.

The school bus fire was caused by a gas leak, which ignited. Checks were carried out after, to check systems, fittings and maintenance. It had nothing to do with “correct fuel”. NGV’s run on CNG, the properties of CNG, ignition temperature and flammable range don’t change, so it is impossible to change the fire characteristics. You could question if the seating,etc. meet current fire resistance standards, but that does not mean they would not burn in this type of fire development.

This picture shows that the fire damage to the fittings and seats inside the bus.

Note that the main international standards for vehicle CNG tanks (compressed natural gas cylinders) are:

1. ISO 11439 — international standard

2. UNECE R110 (ECE R110) — European/UN vehicle regulation

3. NGV2 — North American standard (mainly USA/Canada)

The standards require tanks to survive:

* Drop tests

* Bonfire/fire exposure tests

* Pressure cycling

* Hydraulic burst tests

* Penetration and environmental tests

* Accelerated aging

* Impact from road debris/gravel

* Vibration and fatigue testing

This bus could have passed inspection just moments before the collision, and no safety standard anywhere in the world would have made an impact of this severity safe. Standards have to be realistic and impact from a train would not feature.

On 5/16/2026 at 7:56 PM, Yagoda said:

All things being equal, I find Thai driving to be overall pretty poor in terms of road safety.

OMG "pretty poor" ... is water wet? They are among the worst drivers in the world. They have no anticipation or they are really rude and or stupid. How many time do they pull out in front of an other vehicle and don't accelerate or only going a couple hundred meters and stop or turn - all when the vehicle they so rudely went in front of had no one behind it. It happens daily to me.

Our Bangkok condo is right next to that intersection and we can see the intersection from our condo--badly traffic-clogged all the time. We have to cross this railroad crossing to get to our condo when we come from Pattaya--it can be 10 to 15 minutes of waiting in traffic to get through this final very congested stretch to our condo.

Sometimes we find ourselves stopped on the tracks as we are moving with the traffic flow and then it stops--for whatever reason. There is just so much chaotic traffic at that intersection that when the light is green you really need to go with the flow and hope for the best. It's easy for posters to say don't stop on the tracks but, in reality, it sometimes happens--you think you're going to get across the tracks and then suddenly you don't, as all sorts of traffic stuff out of your control can happen.

I think the train driver is completely responsible for the accident. The track there is perfectly straight and if he had been alert he should have been able to see from a distance that there was traffic on the track. He certainly should have been especially alert with this very well-known, very congested, very unsafe intersection. This was especially important on his part since this was a freight train and it was not stopping at Makkasan, so it was going faster as it approached the intersection than a passenger train, which is preparing to stop.

I'm going to ask the musical question, why is a freight train being routed through always very busy traffic-clogged Bangkok in the middle of the day? The first thing they ought to do is re-schedule the freight trains to go through that intersection in the middle of the night, not at the busiest times of the day, traffic-wise. The passenger trains are much less of a safety issue as they stop at the train stop there. The added benefit of moving the freight trains through in the middle of the night would be better day time traffic flow, with fewer times for all the traffic coming to a halt to wait for a train to pass through. Will anything change? Likely not. The bigwigs will make all the usual appropriate noises when something bad happens and that will be that.

1 hour ago, Bangkok Barry said:

Many are poorly uneducated and taught in schools to obey and not think and work things out for themselves. That is actively discouraged, and I've experienced it. That in turn leads to poor decision making and doing things that make no sense to us. Many cannot understand that doing A might result in B - the way they drive might be a danger to themselves and others, killing someone over nothing that results in many years in jail. In this case, crowding onto a railway track with alarms bells and lights clearly indicating that a train is approaching, while leaving themselves no way to escape. Common sense tells us that is a pretty stupid, possibly fatal thing to do, but that is lacking in every one of those on the crossing. Perhaps you think they were acting with common sense, and on that we'll have to agree to disagree.

that's correct and the driving tests are much too easy and even the driving teachers have no idea of the traffic rules. They still teach in driving school to put the hazard warning lights on when they enter a crossing without traffic lights, how stupid is that.

On 5/16/2026 at 6:32 PM, Callmeishmael said:

That bus burst into flames immediately after it was struck! Diesel shouldn't do that.... I wonder if if was converted to run on CNG?

You're right. Had to be gas.

1 hour ago, Bangkok Barry said:

They SHOULD have been aware, shouldn't they. The red lights were flashing, the alarm was sounding, which to you and me would indicate that a train was coming and it might be a good idea to get off the track, abandoning vehicles if need be. But no, they totally ignored the danger they were in. Didn't react at all. Not deliberately suicidal, but totally, totally unaware that A might/probably/will result in B. No awareness at all.

There is a term that explains the psychology of this and many other crazy things we see, from driving to smoking and vaping to all sorts of other dangerous and harmful behavior. It's called "normalization". It becomes simply the "normal" and accepted way. "Everybody does it". Happens everywhere, by everyone, every day, thus becoming part of the landscape and status quo until something horrible reveals the true risk and nature of the thing. Like piling up a half dozen moms and kids on a motorbike. So yes, a lack of awareness as to potential consequences, because up to that moment no one had seen a bus explode in front of them at an intersection. But you can blame the government for not making the public and train/bus drivers aware of these things, and instituting and enforcing rigid safety measures. As far as I remember, a train approaching a known busy intersection is (in most countries) required to slow to a crawl and honk its horn starting from a kilometer or so distant. I don't know under what specific circumstances they do or don't do it. SRT undoubtedly is fully aware of the driving habits of the public. What about installing gates that you cannot cross? I would hold them accountable. That train was going too fast. What a horrible thing for everyone, horrible to see and think about.

On 5/16/2026 at 9:56 PM, Bangkok Barry said:

I wonder if that is why, as far as we know, there was no evacuation of the bus when they saw the train coming. Did they just wait there like sitting ducks?

I think something went wrong with the warning system and the barriers. Normally, the barriers go down and all the traffic--going both directions across the tracks--stops and waits for at least a minute before the train approaches. When working properly, there is no question that a train is coming. Even if your car was stopped on the tracks and got caught by the barrier going down, you still would have ample time to exit your car and get to safety.

Take a look at the video posted above by Georgealbert, with the bus in the foreground, and look beyond the bus. Traffic going in the other direction--to the right in the video--is still going through the intersection beyond where the bus is sitting. They have no idea a train is coming. That traffic should have also been stopped, for at least a minute, waiting for the train to pass. It wasn't. When the train hits the bus, it pushes it to the other lanes, where it hits cars that are still driving over the tracks, as there were no barriers down and traffic was moving in those lanes.

On 5/16/2026 at 12:59 PM, Bangkok Barry said:

Common sense says that you do not, ever, drive onto the tracks unless your exit is clear. Unfortunately, common sense doesn't exist in Thailand and so people die.

SPOT ON, have you ever watched people taking their driving test in Thailand, they don't go anywhere near a road. Drive around a 5 minute compound if you don't get it right first time, keep going until you do. It's laughable

Massive green box junctions, cannot miss them, but as usual rules are there for other people. that is if the drivers do actually understand the meaning of them. I noticed the barriers were not down, but the bus should not have been on the tracks.

R.I.P. to the innocent passengers.