Chiang Mai-bound train derails in tunnel

[Lite Beer]

ACCIDENT
Chiang Mai-bound train derails in tunnel
The Sunday Nation

UTTARADIT : -- Six carriages of a Chiang Mai-bound express train derailed early yesterday in an over-100-year-old tunnel in Uttaradit's Muang district. No injuries were reported.

The train left Bangkok on Friday night with 415 passengers, many of whom were foreign tourists. It derailed at around 3am yesterday in the 382-metre-long Khao Pleung tunnel, located between Ban Pang Ton Phueng in Uttaradit and Huai Rai Station in Den Chai, Phrae.

The six carriages ended up leaning against the tunnel wall; however, its five leading carriages were undamaged and able to resume their journey to Den Chai. The affected passengers were transported by rail trolleys to Sila-at Station, where 15 buses took them to Chiang Mai and other destinations. The derailment caused Bangkok- and Chiang Mai-bound train services to be suspended for hours to allow for track repairs.

-- The Nation 2013-08-04

[Credo]

I dislike flying and have always taken the train if feasible. These derailments are getting to be a little too common in Thailand. It's going to be back to flying, I guess.

Driving is too dangerous, buses are pretty dangerous and now trains are dangerous as well.

[PoodMaiDai]

Being #6 in the world for road accidents is not enough. Thailand clearly also wants to be on the World's Most Dangerous Trains list.

[jackr]

That must've been a bit hairy with the recent incidents in Europe in mind. Although the latter were human error, the difference here is the equipment is just decrepit and it'll happen more often. An Asian tiger with third world overland transport... surely an embarrassment? If the elites were made to travel everywhere by train, watch how quick the system would be dragged into the 21st 20th century.

[NongKhaiKid]

Wonder what the boss of the SRT will say this time and will it include the stock phrase about a schedule of maintenance and up-grading ?

[anon467848]

The key government transport people don't really give a shit about the state of the railways as they never use them, so things won't change. They either fly everywhere or travel by road in their nice mercedes.....TIT...

[scotinsiam]

Wonder what the boss of the SRT will say this time and will it include the stock phrase about a schedule of maintenance and up-grading ?

There is no problem with trains all very safe, The problem seems to have been overweight foreigners who had too much luggage which made the train topple over. Only the fantastic driving by the Thai driver saved the day. Last weeks derailment was also a foreigner problem as were all the others in the past months. Foreigners should not come here if they are fat.

[chooka]

Isn't this 2 derailments on the same line in 2 weeks? I think the line needs to be closed indefinitely for public safety until a full and thorough inspection of the tracks have been completed. Forget about the tourist money for a moment and put safety first. Strike 3 might be disastrous.

Edited August 4, 2013 by chooka

[PaullyW]

I think what saves people with these Thai trains is simply the fact that these old trains on their old tracks do not gain enough speed to be truly deadly in the derailments. However, when they finally do get around to upgrading and going much faster, trains here might become nearly as dangerous as the roads..

[Thai at Heart]

Isn't this 2 derailments on the same line in 2 weeks?

Guess so. Reassuring isn't it.

[noitom]

Never an interview with the tourists about the experience, ramifications, and Thai handling of the situation. Did the trainman flee?

[chooka]

Never an interview with the tourists about the experience, ramifications, and Thai handling of the situation. Did the trainman flee?

You don't interview the passengers /tourists because that could harm Thailand's tourist reputation and a possible loss of money. You interview a government official in BKK and he will tell you what a wonderful experience it is to travel on the train. He is even considering taking his 1st ride sometime in the future when safety issues have been addressed.

[EyesWideOpen]

I think what saves people with these Thai trains is simply the fact that these old trains on their old tracks do not gain enough speed to be truly deadly in the derailments. However, when they finally do get around to upgrading and going much faster, trains here might become nearly as dangerous as the roads..

I agree 100 percent. These slow Thai trains falling off the tracks seem to do more damage to Thailand's transport image than to the passengers. However when the speed is increased such as what happened in the Spain train wreck, you can clearly see the death increases radically...

I personally will not be setting a foot on a Thai high speed train, the very notion is absurd........

1. Train transport. Under Thai regulations, spotty safety record

2. Bus transport. Under Thai regulations, VERY spotty safety record

3. Airline transport. Under international regulations, excellent

safety record.....

[scotinsiam]

Isn't this 2 derailments on the same line in 2 weeks? I think the line needs to be closed indefinitely for public safety until a full and thorough inspection of the tracks have been completed. Forget about the tourist money for a moment and put safety first. Strike 3 might be disastrous.

Yes unfortunately, last one on the 17th July and it was a bit more serious.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Train-derailment-leaves-23-injured-30210630.html

[LuckyLew]

If I remember correctly, they checked all the Thai train equipment

and they found that the average age of a train car in Thailand is 35-40 years old

I have never been on a train on Thailand and never will ... until they get that

high speed sucker going to Chang Mai

[jko]

If I remember correctly, they checked all the Thai train equipment

and they found that the average age of a train car in Thailand is 35-40 years old

I have never been on a train on Thailand and never will ... until they get that

high speed sucker going to Chang Mai

If the high speed train is built, and maintained in a similar way to the current system, I hate to think what might happen down the line.

[elektrified]

I dislike flying and have always taken the train if feasible. These derailments are getting to be a little too common in Thailand. It's going to be back to flying, I guess.

Driving is too dangerous, buses are pretty dangerous and now trains are dangerous as well.

Flying is the safest way to travel; here or anywhere for that matter.

[Credo]

I dislike flying and have always taken the train if feasible. These derailments are getting to be a little too common in Thailand. It's going to be back to flying, I guess.

Driving is too dangerous, buses are pretty dangerous and now trains are dangerous as well.

Flying is the safest way to travel; here or anywhere for that matter.

Yes, I know it's the safest way to travel. I just don't like flying. I am not scared of flying or anything, I just find the whole process of flying to be stressful. On the other hand, the train is a nice slow, relaxing ride. With all the derailments, though, I am afraid it would be less enjoyable.

[lee b]

Will this ever stop happening???

[angelbat]

I love train travel. I have taken the Bangkok <-> Chiang Mai sleeper several times and always enjoyed it, always slept like a baby. Now however, after all these derailments, I think I'd be too tense to sleep, and probably won't be taking the train any more. It's a shame that the Thai rail system is so poorly maintained.

[chooka]

I love train travel. I have taken the Bangkok <-> Chiang Mai sleeper several times and always enjoyed it, always slept like a baby. Now however, after all these derailments, I think I'd be too tense to sleep, and probably won't be taking the train any more. It's a shame that the Thai rail system is so poorly maintained.

I also have taken the trip, enjoyed it and did it for the experience, just to say I have actually done it. Not sure if I will do it again in the near future with derailments in quick succession.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

I dislike flying and have always taken the train if feasible. These derailments are getting to be a little too common in Thailand. It's going to be back to flying, I guess.

Driving is too dangerous, buses are pretty dangerous and now trains are dangerous as well.

Flying is the safest way to travel; here or anywhere for that matter.

Flying is so much safer, mainly because all the aircraft maintenance is done in other countries.

[chooka]

I dislike flying and have always taken the train if feasible. These derailments are getting to be a little too common in Thailand. It's going to be back to flying, I guess.

Driving is too dangerous, buses are pretty dangerous and now trains are dangerous as well.

Flying is the safest way to travel; here or anywhere for that matter.

Flying is so much safer, mainly because all the aircraft maintenance is done in other countries.

as long as you don't fly Qantas.

[ginjag]

Never an interview with the tourists about the experience, ramifications, and Thai handling of the situation. Did the trainman flee?

You don't interview the passengers /tourists because that could harm Thailand's tourist reputation and a possible loss of money. You interview a government official in BKK and he will tell you what a wonderful experience it is to travel on the train. He is even considering taking his 1st ride sometime in the future when safety issues have been addressed.

This driver or rail boss will be pulled over the - rails- for this and brought into - line-, Bosses should be - steered - onto the right - track,- instead of some of their stupid excuses--blowing their own - whistles - more - training - needed. The warning -signals- are there.

[pete66]

New slogan for Thai Train services - "Safety Last"

Seriously, this is way beyond not funny. The service must be cancelled or there will be fatalities in the near future.

[LeeThayer]

Being #6 in the world for road accidents is not enough. Thailand clearly also wants to be on the World's Most Dangerous Trains list.

I think Thailand is working on a new hub.

[theblether]

I think what saves people with these Thai trains is simply the fact that these old trains on their old tracks do not gain enough speed to be truly deadly in the derailments. However, when they finally do get around to upgrading and going much faster, trains here might become nearly as dangerous as the roads..

I agree 100 percent. These slow Thai trains falling off the tracks seem to do more damage to Thailand's transport image than to the passengers. However when the speed is increased such as what happened in the Spain train wreck, you can clearly see the death increases radically...

I personally will not be setting a foot on a Thai high speed train, the very notion is absurd........

1. Train transport. Under Thai regulations, spotty safety record

2. Bus transport. Under Thai regulations, VERY spotty safety record

3. Airline transport. Under international regulations, excellent

safety record.....

You'll note that the airlines will be banned from flying into foreign airspace if they don't meet international safety standards. Some countries are better than others at enforcing the standards though, that in itself is a disgrace.

Thailand doesn't need a high speed rail link, it needs a functional dual track train system, that's all. On the Chiang Mai link, passengers would accept, in fact be delighted with an eight hour journey from Bangkok with the promise of the train being relatively on time and actually arriving in one piece.

This applies across the country. I was down in Isaan the other week and I can't believe the government hasn't upgraded the line to dual track, it would be easy to do, and there are plenty of substantial population centres that would be prime.

I've heard the argument about the people down there not wanting to part with the additional fare required however every VIP bus I was on was fully booked, predominantly by Thais, which proves that people will happily pay a premium for comfort and reliability.

[Bagwan]

Never an interview with the tourists about the experience, ramifications, and Thai handling of the situation. Did the trainman flee?

Maybe not. But I'll bet that the Permanent Way Inspector has done a runner.

In late 1959 I took the Night Mail from Singapore to Butterworth. In the middle of the night one of the coaches derailed so all the able bodied men amongst the passengers (but not me!) levered the coach back on the rails and our journey resumed. I excused myself on the grounds that I was on R & R leave and excused everything especially, on the grounds of common decency, the wearing of shorts. :-)

[chooka]

Being #6 in the world for road accidents is not enough. Thailand clearly also wants to be on the World's Most Dangerous Trains list.

I think Thailand is working on a new hub.

nah a bit ambitious as it will probably get derailed.

[tolsti]

I dislike flying and have always taken the train if feasible. These derailments are getting to be a little too common in Thailand. It's going to be back to flying, I guess.

Driving is too dangerous, buses are pretty dangerous and now trains are dangerous as well.

Flying is the safest way to travel; here or anywhere for that matter.

Flying is so much safer, mainly because all the aircraft maintenance is done in other countries.

Load of &lt;deleted&gt;.... Thai do their own maintenance at BKK.