Chiang Mai train bound for Bangkok derails

[ginjag]

It's been raining long and hard in the north the past few weeks (surprise, it's rainy season ;-) which is why/when you get most rail problems year-round and it always seems to be in the hilly northern part of the line between Uttaradit and Lampang. Anyone remember that sinkhole two years back?

This not a sink hole, it's a Thai rail suspension bridge. Note the electric post for easy access.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I would say, for any one who values their safety, that the Chiang Mai-Bangkok rail line/trip ought to be TOTALLY OFF LIMITS until further notice.

[harber8]

Every cloud has a silver lining.

With the images of the train crash is Spain some weeks ago in my head, the slow and sluggage speed these Thai trains go can be a good thing.

[ratcatcher]

You know what, it really would not surprise me if at least the latest few of these derailments (ie the ones where nobody is hurt and the train is going really slow) were deliberately "engineered" by someone with a financial interest in either pushing for a new railway line, or the closure of the line in order that people/freight would have to go elsewhere.

Actually, freight trains tend to manage fine without falling off the lines, perhaps because they are heavier.

My understanding is that all the fuel for northern fuel stations (except lpg/ngv) travels by train freight, can anyone confirm or deny this ?

You are correct. Tank car trains are a familiar sight on the SRT. There is a fuel transfer facility just south of Phitsanulok town. Fuel is transferred there into a modern fleet of road tankers for distribution.

But, unfortunately, like other countries, they can't always keep the railcars on the tracks.

[bangkokpoppys]

The trouble with the harmless and cute incidents is that they have the same ingredients S the harmful and not-so-cute tragically deadly ones . Whether it's worn loco bogies, worn tracks, track level/speed it is only a matter of time before Sombat the driver is pished off his head and lets his cousins kid have a go at the stick whilst he takes a nap and there could be a lot more fatalities. Just like the unthinkable with the Russian commercial passenger jet that fell out of the sky with the pilot's son and daughter at the controls a few years back....http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroflot_Flight_593 all 75 died and there was nothing found wrong with the aircraft! ( apart from the fact that it was a crashed twisted heap of molten metal...)

[harrry]

They have dificulty keeping the country on track let alone keeping the trains on track.

[realenglish1]

I know why the trains are derailing

They are toooooooooooooooooooooooooo OLD you need a new system

[greg71]

Or is this some kinda sick ploy by the government to quickly pass budget on the so called fast railway.These repairs could been completed in rather quick time .

[AmyCM]

Argh.... this is happening way too often for my liking.

I'm seriously thinking about telling friends coming to visit us in Chiang Mai to fly here rather than risk it, and not sure that I'll risk it next time I need to go to Bangkok.

Risks were made to be taken, but being in a train crash sounds terrifying.... no thanks!

[finnomick]

Second derailment on the same section of track within a couple of weeks. Someone should sue the authorities becasue the maintenance obviously hasn't been done as promised....or was just bodged

[NoshowJones]

Another one? Just how bad is this track?

Stop bashing Thailand.

95 per cent of the track is perfectly safe. It's just the other 5 per cent that's likely to throw the train onto it's side at any time.

Five per cent is still too much if it is risking peoples lives.

[Bagwan]

Let the train take the strain? Not bloody likely! Go to work on an egg. (and the yoke will be on you)

[nong38]

You know what, it really would not surprise me if at least the latest few of these derailments (ie the ones where nobody is hurt and the train is going really slow) were deliberately "engineered" by someone with a financial interest in either pushing for a new railway line, or the closure of the line in order that people/freight would have to go elsewhere.

Actually, freight trains tend to manage fine without falling off the lines, perhaps because they are heavier.

My understanding is that all the fuel for northern fuel stations (except lpg/ngv) travels by train freight, can anyone confirm or deny this ?

The sidings at Nakhon Sawan are full of oil wagons as the rainy season arrives so I think you are correct.

[SOTIRIOS]

UGH! Yet another one? This is stunningly bad news and reflects very poorly on the country. I took this train not 6 weeks ago. There have been I think 3 derailments since then. Such an acute problem should be addressed with urgency. Urgency . . . not something I would anticipate will happen though.

.....no money...

...besides no money to be made in such an endeavour.....

[nong38]

My model railway has less de railments then SRT .Have to admit though that I dont keep records either.

Everyone should be assured that.............."Thailand knows."

[lorbhaim]

Can make a big adventure tourist attraction.....

[slipperylobster]

The chances of being a victim of a train accident are sure increasing. I don't want to get "off-track", but what are the chances of being in an airplane accident vs train accident in Thailand? I bet pretty one sided. I suggest higher insurance for train travel vs air travel and use proceeds to fix the tracks. Perhaps lowering train fares and increasing optional insurance.

[Bakseeda]

i would rather lick dogs pee of stinging nettles than take a train in Thailand

Mmmmm.. that sounds like fun... where can I buy a ticket..?

[Malthus101]

I don't know much about trains and how they derail but I took that night train to Chiang Mai (the best bit of the trip) and although there were no problems, I do remember the train crossing a ravine on an old rickety bridge of some sort.

It's all well and good to derail on a nice flat open bit of track but if it were to happen above that ravine....

Would be fatal.

[Lancelot]

greedy monkeys cant even fix a train track

Who are the real fools? The locals that sell tickets, collecting money or the tourists that happily buy tickets for a train journey likely to derail?

[greg71]

Ive just been watching channel 3 with that surayud guy ,the government has just purchased 27 louis vuitton chairs sets and 1 million baht per set .27 million baht for chairs but cannot repair this Asap.Damn this PTT party (seriously incompetent).

[delgarcon]

[ginjag]

UGH! Yet another one? This is stunningly bad news and reflects very poorly on the country. I took this train not 6 weeks ago. There have been I think 3 derailments since then. Such an acute problem should be addressed with urgency. Urgency . . . not something I would anticipate will happen though.

.....no money...

...besides no money to be made in such an endeavour.....

Will never have money for saving life when you spend millions on the police station at Ban Saen Chon Buri, but it was for interior only, it is a tourist attraction with 5 star hotel furnishings-unbelievable.

Yesterday on the IN channel Thai TV. footage shown at the end of the news.

[culicine]

Nevermind...no one is dead...carry on as usual! How can they build a high speed railway when they regular transport systems are so abysmal?

[boomerangutang]

Well, at least this photo doesn't show farang with backpacks, walking away on the track bed. That's an improvement of sorts.

[boomerangutang]

Ive just been watching channel 3 with that surayud guy ,the government has just purchased 27 louis vuitton chairs sets and 1 million baht per set .27 million baht for chairs but cannot repair this Asap.dam_n this PTT party (seriously incompetent).

Great, they can set up the chairs near the 75,000 baht clocks they bought. It will give government heads a comfy place to sit while learning how to tell time.

[transam]

Soon to be upgraded to 1st Class travel............................................

.......................

[klubex99]

And they want a Singapore to China line?

Haha, the weak link in the entire system will be shown to be in Thailand on a repetitive basis. Then Singapore, Malaysia, Laos, Vietnam and China can see just what sort of a tin pot country this is run like.... Lets hope they get the message of this international loss of face on a constant basis wakes them up to the reality that this over-bloated sense of pride of their own Thai identity is totally insular and in reality they are just fooling themselves.

Self praise is no praise at all.

Do you think anyone will be riding the high speed service without shitting themselves all the way? Thais included. With the amount of derailments here one at high speed will be carnage, and I would put money on it happening within 6 months of opening. Flying NokAir would be safer. and even that is iffy.

[lomatopo]

There were no casualties. Why is it that a Thai news story never, ever includes an interview with some of the passengers?

Not an interview per se but a first-hand account of the most recent derailment, prior to this most recent one:

http://thatbackpacker.com/2013/08/04/bangkok-chiang-mai-train-derailed-august-3/

[Soupdragon]

Don't worry the Transport Minister said the toilets would be upgraded within a month!

That's handy because I am pretty sure I would sh*t myself on those trains