60,000 People Returning To Bangkok

[Lite Beer]

60,000 people returning to Bangkok

By NUPPOL SUVANSOMBUT.

BANGKOK, 17 April 2011 (NNT)-People have started to make their trips back to Bangkok after the long holiday period has ended.

A large number of people have reportedly been arriving at Hua Lamphong railway station this morning as people from across the country are getting ready for work tomorrow.

According to the Public Relations Division at Hua Lamgphong, more train services have been increased since yesterday on Bangkok bound routes from the North and Northeast. It is said that no passengers will be left stranded although the added services may be delayed as over 60,000 passengers are expected to arrive in Bangkok before Monday.

The last trains from Ubon Ratchathani and Chiang Mai provinces are expected to arrive at Hua Lamphong station no later than midnight today. CCTV cameras have been installed around the station to ensure the safety of all passengers. There will also be enough taxi services to accommodate them as well.

-- NNT 2011-04-17

[arrowsdawdle]

Police have alternate lanes setup southbound on Mittiphap Hwy from Khon Kaen to Korat. Going north, one of two lanes is filled with southbound vehicles while the standard southbound lanes are not at all busy. Amazing.

[Lite Beer]

Airlines, trains and buses increase service to cater to demand; Road casualties continue rising

BANGKOK, April 17 -- Every mode of transportation increased services Sunday to cater to huge demand of travellers returning to the Thai capital after celebrating Songkran festival, while fatalities from road accidents during the first six days of the “seven dangerous days,” continued rising but less than the same period of 2010, senior officials said.

Wiboon Sanguanpong, director-general of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, said statistics compiled by his department showed that 2,932 road accidents took place between April 11-16, down about 8.9 per cent from the corresponding period of last year.

The number of people killed in accidents during the period stood at 229, a decrease of 25.2 per cent from the same period of last year, while the number of injuries was 3,172, down 9.4 per cent.

Nakhon Sawan recorded the most deaths at 13 followed by Bangkok and Ayutthaya at 11 each.

Despite stricter traffic control measures by police, motorcyclists and passengers not wearing safety helmets while travelling continued to be the main cause of the accidents as they constituted 34.7 per cent of the total accidents followed by drinking-and-driving at 31 per cent.

At Mo Chit bus terminal, Wuthichart Kalayanamitr, managing director of state-run Transport Co., Ltd., said his company had doubled bus services from 3,000 to 6,000 from upcountry to Bangkok to meet demands by passengers who have to return to work tomorrow.

Many bus passengers, especially those travelling from the northern and northeastern regions, carried rice along with them. Prices of rice upcountry are cheaper than in Bangkok and many families of the revelers also grow rice at home.

At Suvarnabhumi Airport, it is expected that over 130,000 passengers, both locals and foreigners, are due to arrive, an increase in the number of arrivals in the past festivals.

Twenty-five airlines, including chartered flights, had increased flights to the Thai capital to cater to huge demands by air travellers.

Heavy traffic was also seen at Bangkok’s Hualampong railway station, as the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) increased services from the northern and northeastern routes bound for Bangkok by 12 trains. The increase was seen since yesterday and ends tomorrow.

SRT has projected that train passengers would increase about 40,000 daily during the period. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2011-04-17

[tigermonkey]

Again we have reams of statistics from the government to support their contention that they are doing something about the carnage on the roads. However, we get very little in the way of explanations about what they are doing by way of concrete action.

For example, I would love to hear Kuhn Wiboon's explanation of accidents actually caused by not wearing safety helmets. Yet he makes the claim that "motorcyclists and passengers not wearing safety helmets while travelling continued to be the main cause of the accidents ".

Edited April 17, 2011 by tigermonkey

[sirchai]

Airlines, trains and buses increase service to cater to demand; Road casualties continue rising

BANGKOK, April 17 -- Every mode of transportation increased services Sunday to cater to huge demand of travellers returning to the Thai capital after celebrating Songkran festival, while fatalities from road accidents during the first six days of the "seven dangerous days," continued rising but less than the same period of 2010, senior officials said.

Wiboon Sanguanpong, director-general of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, said statistics compiled by his department showed that 2,932 road accidents took place between April 11-16, down about 8.9 per cent from the corresponding period of last year.

The number of people killed in accidents during the period stood at 229, a decrease of 25.2 per cent from the same period of last year, while the number of injuries was 3,172, down 9.4 per cent.

Nakhon Sawan recorded the most deaths at 13 followed by Bangkok and Ayutthaya at 11 each.

Despite stricter traffic control measures by police, motorcyclists and passengers not wearing safety helmets while travelling continued to be the main cause of the accidents as they constituted 34.7 per cent of the total accidents followed by drinking-and-driving at 31 per cent.

At Mo Chit bus terminal, Wuthichart Kalayanamitr, managing director of state-run Transport Co., Ltd., said his company had doubled bus services from 3,000 to 6,000 from upcountry to Bangkok to meet demands by passengers who have to return to work tomorrow.

Many bus passengers, especially those travelling from the northern and northeastern regions, carried rice along with them. Prices of rice upcountry are cheaper than in Bangkok and many families of the revelers also grow rice at home.

At Suvarnabhumi Airport, it is expected that over 130,000 passengers, both locals and foreigners, are due to arrive, an increase in the number of arrivals in the past festivals.

Twenty-five airlines, including chartered flights, had increased flights to the Thai capital to cater to huge demands by air travellers.

Heavy traffic was also seen at Bangkok's Hualampong railway station, as the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) increased services from the northern and northeastern routes bound for Bangkok by 12 trains. The increase was seen since yesterday and ends tomorrow.

SRT has projected that train passengers would increase about 40,000 daily during the period. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2011-04-17

Heavy traffic was also seen at Bangkok's Hualampong railway station, as the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) increased services from the northern and northeastern routes bound for Bangkok by 12 trains. The increase was seen since yesterday and ends tomorrow.

So glad to sit at home watching the full trains passing by to the capital. :jap:

[webfact]

Expected Heavy Traffic Continues as Thais Head Back to Capital

With yesterday being the last day of the long Songkran break, people from the North and Northeast headed back to the capital, causing heavy traffic on major roads.

In Nakorn Sawan Province, a large number of people headed back to the capital yesterday causing heavy traffic on Paholyothin Road and the Asian Highway.

The inbound lanes from Nakorn Sawan to Phitsanulok were heavily congested with cars backed up for as many as 3 kilometers in some parts of Nakorn Sawan Province.

Traffic police worked hard during the long holiday, setting up tents for rescue teams and forklifts to provide immediate assistance in case of an accident.

Both of the Nakhon Ratchasima Transport stations increased the number of bus trips from 227 rounds per day to 370 rounds per day, in response to the increased demand, as a large number of people are returning to the capital after the long holiday.

Mitrapap Road, heading back to Bangkok yesterday was also crowded. Police moved the Public Service centers along the road to help reduce traffic jams.

Meanwhile, Director-General of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department Wunlop Theppakdi said that there were 148 car accidents, with 160 injuries and 8 deaths in Nakhon Ratchasima, Chaiyaphum, Buriram, and Surin provinces.

The accidents caused 10 million baht in damages.

The province with the highest number of accidents was Surin Province, with 56 car accidents.

The province with the highest death toll is Nakhon Ratchasima Province, with 5 deaths.

Most of the accidents occurred as a result of drunk driving and speeding.

Updated numbers are expected to be reported later today.

-- Tan Network 2011-04-18