Thailand consumers council calls for investigation into yellow line malfunctions

[webfact]

 

An urgent call for an independent examination of the Yellow Line’s recent malfunctions has been made by the Thailand Consumers Council (TCC). The TCC, led by Dr Anuchar Sethasathien who presides over the transport and vehicle sub-committee, has requested that transport experts along with the Rail Transport Department and Consumer Protection Board conduct a thorough investigation into the incidents that have disrupted services since Thursday.

 

Dr Anuchar expressed the need for a meeting to establish compensation measures for those impacted by these malfunctions. He emphasised that these investigations must consider both the rail traffic system and preventative measures to avoid any future mishaps.

 

In an attempt to better manage such situations, Dr Anuchar suggested the creation of specific guidelines for commuters in case of rail system malfunctions. Regular drills to ensure swift response times were also recommended. He reiterated that these points should be stipulated in future monorail construction contracts to prevent similar incidents from recurring.

Chalie Charoenlarpnopparut, a fellow member of the sub-committee, agreed with Dr Anuchar, stating that an investigation should be initiated to identify the root cause of these incidents.

The issues led to the temporary closure of six stations along the Yellow Line on Saturday. Alterations to the train schedules between the Lat Phrao and Si Kritha stations, and from Si Iam to Samrong station, were made in response to the ongoing situation. Commuters wishing to travel to Si Kritha were advised to switch trains at Lat Phrao station.

 

This comes after the Metropolitan Rapid Transit Authority’s monorail resumed limited services on Friday following an incident where parts fell from the track between the Kalantan and Si Udom stations on Thursday. The incident, while causing damage to several vehicles, did not result in any reported injuries, reported Bangkok Post.

 

The Yellow Line’s operator, Eastern Bangkok Monorail Co Ltd (EBM), stated that an initial investigation traced the problem to a finger plate installed on the rail expansion joint that had slipped. This led to the plate and other debris falling onto the track.

 

After resuming services on Friday with modified train frequencies, another issue arose when a track switch malfunctioned, leading to a power outage at the Hua Mak station.

 

by Mitch Connor

Picture courtesy of MGR Online

 

Source: The Thaiger 2024-04-01

 

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[RobU]

Lack of maintenance, poor build quality. It seemed to become apparent with the poor woman who had her leg amputated by a badly maintained travelator at swampy airport. Soon there will be a major incident possibly a few deaths. When will they learn that constant inspection and proper maintenance is necessary on all public facilities 

[Skipalongcassidy]

9 minutes ago, RobU said:

Lack of maintenance, poor build quality. It seemed to become apparent with the poor woman who had her leg amputated by a badly maintained travelator at swampy airport. Soon there will be a major incident possibly a few deaths. When will they learn that constant inspection and proper maintenance is necessary on all public facilities 

There is no Thai translation for "maintenance"

[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Chalie Charoenlarpnopparut, a fellow member of the sub-committee, agreed with Dr Anuchar, stating that an investigation should be initiated to identify the root cause of these incidents.

Preventative maintenance... it's all it takes.

[OneMoreFarang]

35 minutes ago, RobU said:

When will they learn that constant inspection and proper maintenance is necessary on all public facilities 

I wouldn't be surprised if there would be a decent budget for such work, and probably lots of people received lots of money out of that budget...

[bamnutsak]

Yellow Line must replace all bolts on finger plates for safety

 

The Rail Transport Department has ordered Eastern Bangkok Monorail (EBM) to replace all the bolts used to tighten finger plates along the entire length of the Yellow Line track, after it was discovered that some bolts were missing between the Rama 9 and Si Udom stations, due to joint expansion. They fell onto the walkway below.

 

The Yellow Line concessionaire was also ordered to speed up the recovery of a train which is blocking a track, so that the full service can resume, said Pichet Kunadhamraks, head of the Rail Transport Department, adding that the removal could take 2-3 months.

 

https://www.thaipbsworld.com/yellow-line-must-replace-all-bolts-on-finger-plates-for-safety/

 

 

 

 

[RobU]

24 minutes ago, bamnutsak said:

Yellow Line must replace all bolts on finger plates for safety

 

The Rail Transport Department has ordered Eastern Bangkok Monorail (EBM) to replace all the bolts used to tighten finger plates along the entire length of the Yellow Line track, after it was discovered that some bolts were missing between the Rama 9 and Si Udom stations, due to joint expansion. They fell onto the walkway below.

 

The Yellow Line concessionaire was also ordered to speed up the recovery of a train which is blocking a track, so that the full service can resume, said Pichet Kunadhamraks, head of the Rail Transport Department, adding that the removal could take 2-3 months.

 

https://www.thaipbsworld.com/yellow-line-must-replace-all-bolts-on-finger-plates-for-safety/

 

 

 

 

Seems a bit like locking the stable door after the horse has bolted(pun intended)

[brianthainess]

Jeez they don't even know how to tighten nuts and bolts to prevent them coming undone or they have tightened them to much, No lock nuts, not using a torque wrench. Look how they put pressure in tyres on M/C, look how they tighten wheel nuts, same same, No forking Idea on what they are doing, same as the one with the wheel dropping off, no split pin fitted, all they did was replace the bearings, no mention of drilling the stub axles to take pins.

IMO it's not even about maintenance, its about not having built them right in the first place. 

[MikeandDow]

1 hour ago, brianthainess said:

Jeez they don't even know how to tighten nuts and bolts to prevent them coming undone or they have tightened them to much, No lock nuts, not using a torque wrench. Look how they put pressure in tyres on M/C, look how they tighten wheel nuts, same same, No forking Idea on what they are doing, same as the one with the wheel dropping off, no split pin fitted, all they did was replace the bearings, no mention of drilling the stub axles to take pins.

IMO it's not even about maintenance, its about not having built them right in the first place. 

Totally Agree  No quality in Workmanship, No standards, Bad design   total knee jerk reaction  to replace All bolts, no wonder Thailand is a 3rd world country No Idea!!

[bamnutsak]

3 hours ago, brianthainess said:

Jeez they don't even know how to tighten nuts and bolts

 

I think it's more than loose nuts.

 

To me (non-expert, based on photos posted to date) it looks like the fastening hardware used to attach that power conduit housing is getting sheared off by something in the train's undercarriage, which is out of tolerance or has some lateral movement, which is also out of spec. And some of the bits manage to fall to the ground.

 

In this photo you can see that ~ 12 of these failed, all in a row.

 

 

[tomazbodner]

34 minutes ago, bamnutsak said:

 

I think it's more than loose nuts.

 

To me (non-expert, based on photos posted to date) it looks like the fastening hardware used to attach that power conduit housing is getting sheared off by something in the train's undercarriage, which is out of tolerance or has some lateral movement, which is also out of spec. And some of the bits manage to fall to the ground.

 

In this photo you can see that ~ 12 of these failed, all in a row.

 

 

And this thing is only a few months old. Just think of what state it will be in after 10 or 20 years...

[Digitalbanana]

5 hours ago, bamnutsak said:

And some of the bits manage to fall to the ground.

In the photo the conduit line falls to the rail platform but the conduit line on the external side simply falls into the traffic on the road below. Who in their right mind thinks this is a good design?