Trains Resume Southern Service

[george]

Train service in deep South resumed

YALA: -- The train service from Yala Railway station to Sungai Kolok station were resumed Sunday after it was suspended last week.

The first train to use the route between Yala and Sungai Kolok stations ws the Surat Thani-Sungai Kolok train, which left Surat Thani at noon.

The service was suspended on April 14 after Muslim insurgents opened fire at a train between Laloh and Ruesoh stations in Narathiwat, injuring a train staff and two passengers.

-- The Nation 2007-04-22

[george]

Bangkok tickets fully booked as border trains head north again

NARATHIWAT: -- Advance bookings for rail tickets from Sungai Kolok district on the Malaysian border to Thailand's capital of Bangkok for Monday are fully subscribed after service -- suspended for a week due to armed attacks on passenger trains -- resumed Sunday, according to a station master.

The Sungai Kolok station master said that only third class seats for Monday’s train service from Sungai Kolok to Bangkok are now available while the first and second class seats are already fully booked.

Train service between Yala and Sungai Kolok was suspended last Sunday (April 15), one day after insurgents ambushed a train, wounding the engineer and a passenger.

Services resumed Sunday with one train operating between Surat Thani and Sungai Kolok being offered to the public. Full service starts Monday.

State Railway of Thailand employees in the region agreed to return to work following assurances from state security agencies such as the Internal Security Operations Command and the Fourth Army Region, responsible for security in the South, pledged to improve security for both SRT workers and passengers.

--TNA 2007-04-22