Two Subway Trains Crash

[Sunbelt Asia]

Located at Thailand Cultural Center

[stickman]

Just listening to the reports on the Thai radio at the moment. They said that there are approximately 50 + people injured, not too serious and that they believe no-one has died. There are many ambulances outside the area near the Thailand Cultural Centre in attendance.

[Sunbelt Asia]

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6833705/

Bangkok subway accident injures dozens

Subway car apparently lurches forwardThe Associated Press

Updated: 10:24 p.m. ET Jan. 16, 2005BANGKOK, Thailand - Two trains collided at a subway system in central Bangkok on Monday, injuring dozens of passengers, police and media reports said.

TV footage showed some of the victims bleeding as rescue workers carried them up the stairs of the Cultural Center station to ambulances during the morning rush hour. Other dazed and crying victims walked up the stairs with help.

TV and radio reports said that as many as 100 people were injured in the accident, which occurred when a train preparing to leave the station was rammed into by another train from behind. But police had no injury total of their own.

[qualtrough]

AP reports 100 injured. Thai TV says that an empty train from a repair depot ran into a train stopped at the cultural center. If this is true this is not the first time an empty train has run into another train. A number of years ago an unattended locomotive ran all the way from Bang Sue into Hualomphong and crashed through all the way to the concourse. Taxi driver was killed on the way in and a number of people killed at Hualomphong. I don't know if they ever established whether it was a genuine accident or deliberate. Will be interesting to see how this could happen on such a new and presumably modern system with the latest controls. Scratch a few more tourist arrivals...

[qualtrough]

Correction to my previous post. It looks like the train that hit the other train did have a driver as Thai TV is showing the rescus effort to get him out of the crushed cab. Sorry about the misinfo. I haven't been following it 100% so I shouldn't have gone off without my facts straight.

[danone]

what a security desaster - what a desaster for siemens. they hope to get the speed train to the airport - well well well, that could turn out as a very expensive lost chance for siemens:

"It happened because a train accidentally slid out of a maintenance section of the station, and ran into another train that was waiting for passengers to board" ...

[Tarragona]

"Empty" doesn't mean no driver, just no passengers.

[JoJo]

what a security desaster - what a desaster for siemens. they hope to get the speed train to the airport - well well well, that could turn out as a very expensive lost chance for siemens:

Nothing at all to do with Siemens. All due to the ignorance of the Thai drivers, nothing technical.

[corkscrew]

BANGKOK, Jan 17 (Reuters) - More than 100 people were injured in a rush-hour crash on Bangkok's new underground train system on Monday, Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit said.

The crash, the first on the single-route subway that opened in August, 2004, occurred when an empty train collided with a crowded train parked at the Thai Cultural Centre station in the heart of the capital.

About 700 passengers were on board the crowded train, Suriya said.

"The service is suspended indefinitely until we can pinpoint the cause. We don't know how an empty train could have entered a track in service," Suriya told reporters.

"We extremely regret this accident. Our priority is to move out the injured. The Bangkok Metro Co will be responsible for all expenses. We are quite disappointed with Bangkok Metro," he said.

"From what I can see, there was no death. But many of the injured were carried out on stretchers, some with dislocated shoulders," said Police Lieutenant Colonel Somnuk Pothanapan.

"It happened because a train accidentally slid out of a maintenance section of the station and ran into another train that was waiting for passengers to board," one subway official told Reuters.

Another subway official told reporters a train driver and some passengers received serious injuries in an accident he blamed partly on a failure of the computerised safety system.

A rescue worker said more than a dozen passengers were taken to hospital while another 20-30 people sustained minor injuries.

The $2.8 billion subway, run by the Bangkok Metro Co, a consortium led by property developer Ch Karnchang, runs for 20 km (12.5 miles) beneath the traffic-laden streets of the sprawling Thai capital.

It is designed to carry more than 250,000 passengers a day.

The 18-station Metro system is part of a $7.5 billion, 110-km (68-mile) city-wide transport network aimed at resolving Bangkok's traffic woes by 2011.

[steadirob]

Last night I had one of the last trains going to Bang Sue and near that station (Cult. Centre), rachadapisek and sutisan was some strange uncontrolled movement in the train. It didn't seem to be stopped automatically, like the driver was pushing the brakes too firm and releasing it then. It stopped not in front of the doors so it had to advance another meter.

In my opinion, the it was on manual control. Maybe they have some serious problems with the computer program?

Edited January 17, 2005 by steadirob

[Insight]

Good news nobody was killed.

Extremely bad news for the Metro. They've already had a PR nightmare with the smoke incident last year, and now they've got a crash to deal with. They're going to have a very tough time tempting the locals back to their service in the future....

[Sphere]

My sympathies to the injured and best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Standing by meanwhile, for the customary govt announcement of a crackdown - on empty trains perhaps, or alternatively trains with passengers

Edited January 17, 2005 by Sphere

[meemiathai]

what a security desaster - what a desaster for siemens. they hope to get the speed train to the airport - well well well, that could turn out as a very expensive lost chance for siemens:

Nothing at all to do with Siemens. All due to the ignorance of the Thai drivers, nothing technical.

Even if it was Siemens' fault, who is going to believe? Let's just blame it on the Thai drivers for now. Afterall it is what most people want/tend to believe.

I recall Semens screwing up some similar projects here in HK a few years back. Can't remember what exactly it was.

[stumonster]

pushing the brakes too firm and releasing it then.

like your average bangkok taxi.........

[WilliamIV]

A Thai friend says that initially the Thai Media were Reporting 100 DEAD !!!!

Did anybody else hear this?

Or is there a Translation problem?

[Wolfie]

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