Heavy rain blamed for Oriental Express derailment in Thailand

[ratcatcher]

Train derailment still making news? Another slow day obviously.

Plane crash, train crash, boat sinks, garbage stinks. It's all in the news for me.

Still, good of you to pop by.

[Bpuumike]

 

The trains derail, the airplanes crash, the cars have plenty of fatal accidents, the boats sink.

I better stick posting on TVF........feel more safe.

Husbands who are attracted to young ladies behind the till at their local store can suffer worse fates.

Especially if they post it on TVF. Thai ladies are networked.

Edit: Apologies Mods, realised I went off the rails.

Edited July 28, 2014 by Bpuumike

[zydeco]

Travel by . . . anything . . . is dangerous in Thailand. If the cars, trains, mini buses, buses, planes, motorcycles, or scooters don't kill you, the soi dogs chasing you walking down the street or riding your bike will.

[rametindallas]

Heavy Rain Blamed For Oriental Express Derailment

I'm calling BS on the SRT! From the photo, there was not a 'wall of water' that washed the bed out from under the tracks and, anyway, there is supposed to be adequate drainage for rainfall. It is not like Thailand isn't used to having heavy rain. It is clear that the tracks haven't been maintained to any standard and no one in management got off their asses to check if the work was even done, much less done well. The SRT unions are totally useless for running a real railroad but are only good at keeping the 'money train' running for its members.

[Thai at Heart]

Prices start from $2,170 (that's US dollars not Singaporean) per person. Obviously most passengers travel in couples. It is popular with Japanese honeymooners.

Will this batch of passengers get a refund?

Is this the equivalent of taking your wife to the Somme for a romantic get away?

[doctorproc156]

Train derailment still making news? Another slow day obviously.

This is an Oriental express luxury train and the tickets cost 83,000 baht, a little different but at it's just rich people anyway

[Commander Tamson]

Just think of the stories they'll be able to tell the folks back home.

As for it taking a month to do a proper investigation- yeah right! All it'll take is the usual brown envelope

[alant]

Refund. In Thailand. Allow me to giggle softly.

Best bet is they get a coupon to come next time at half price, if that.

Mind you, I've contemplated to take the trip myself because in principle it is a very pleasant journey with good food and wines, nice cabin etc.

Can they still serve wine?

[Johnnie99]

So, not poor maintenance then.

[SCARLETIBIS1]

"Wet" rain is absolutely the worst kind of rain especially when it falls on train tracks in Thailand, which are not waterproof.

Edited July 29, 2014 by SCARLETIBIS1

[wwest5829]

Okay, so this time the rains are allegedly to blame, and not the long-known fact that...

"Derailments and delays are common on Thai railways, due in part to old facilities and a lack of proper maintenance."

You're forgetting the 4th law of thermodynamics:

Sometimes stuff happens

Googled "train derailment -Thailand" and got 4.1 million hits without the word Thailand anywhere in the article.

Interestingly (okay, maybe not), first hit: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_26227532/northern-colorado-officials-eye-risk-oil-train-derailments, which included this:

There have been five train accidents this year, including LaSalle, that spilled a total of almost 140,000 gallons of crude oil

Another interesting one:

http://www.weather.com/news/boeing-737-fuselages-tumble-montana-river-after-train-derails-20140706

Interesting, 4.1 million hits and no mention of Thailand for train derailments, ergo, there must be no train derailments in Thailand.

[Yann55]

The trains derail, the airplanes crash, the cars have plenty of fatal accidents, the boats sink.

I better stick posting on TVF........feel more safe.

Most people still die in bed.

Absolutely. Which is why going to bed is a lot more dangerous than taking a train, plane, car or boat, and that is statistically proven.

[canarysun]

Traveling by train is still the best way to travel in Thailand.I don't understand why anybody would even need to use " the roads " in Thailand with 100's of accidents every day.I can only imagine that most of you "road users" have very busy schedules and I (myself) am not in a rush......

farang jaidee

Sent from my Lenovo S920_ROW using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Thaiready]

Yeah...right.....Would have nothing to do with maintance

[welshlady]

I should have been travelling on this train today, it was my 50th birthday present, trip of a lifetime, I was so gutted when they rang me on Samui yesterday but the company was very prompt in issuing a refund and helping with the cost of new flights to Singapore so I can carry out the rest of my trip as planned

[welshlady]

Train derailment still making news? Another slow day obviously.

This is an Oriental express luxury train and the tickets cost 83,000 baht, a little different but at it's just rich people anyway

I'm not rich it was a long slog saving for this by working hard for my 50th birthday you horrible ignorant person

[Lupatria]

Must be pretty convenient to know that neither the wind, the sun, the rain, the heat and the cold can lose face...

[Trouble]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Never mind wrong kind of rain! Wrong kind of money! 83,000B You must be joking. That is 2 return tickets BKK-LHR

Some people enjoy the finer things in life, have the money, and are willing to pay for it. What's the problem?

[Benmart]

Never mind wrong kind of rain! Wrong kind of money! 83,000B You must be joking. That is 2 return tickets BKK-LHR

Freedom of choice is a wonderful thing. I opt to let others decide how they spend their money as its none of my business.

[davidmann]

Trains in Thailand are Great ,its a trip into the past nothing chafed since 1970 or maybe 1950 ,apart from the view ,where did ll the trees go

[Maroon Watcher]

Wrong message again - to quality tourists...

Pro-active.

[lostmebike]

The trains derail, the airplanes crash, the cars have plenty of fatal accidents, the boats sink.

I better stick posting on TVF........feel more safe.

But how can we be safe from you Costas?

[Costas2008]

The trains derail, the airplanes crash, the cars have plenty of fatal accidents, the boats sink.

I better stick posting on TVF........feel more safe.

But how can we be safe from you Costas?

That's very simple, just don't read my posts.

You have a choice here, that you don't have when you are on the train, airplane, car or boat.

[lostmebike]

The trains derail, the airplanes crash, the cars have plenty of fatal accidents, the boats sink.

I better stick posting on TVF........feel more safe.

But how can we be safe from you Costas?

That's very simple, just don't read my posts.

You have a choice here, that you don't have when you are on the train, airplane, car or boat.

It's not about reading your posts ... it's just seeing your name!

[CqK]

Does not bode well for TAT's desire to attract more affluent tourists . . .

[Costas2008]

The trains derail, the airplanes crash, the cars have plenty of fatal accidents, the boats sink.

I better stick posting on TVF........feel more safe.

But how can we be safe from you Costas?

That's very simple, just don't read my posts.

You have a choice here, that you don't have when you are on the train, airplane, car or boat.

It's not about reading your posts ... it's just seeing your name!

Another simple solution.

Go to your user CP.

Click on Manage Ignore prefs.

Add Costas2008 on the list.

Then press save

Job done

[ratcatcher]

Thank God no one was raped!

Most of the people who can afford to and want to go on that trip are so old not too many people want to do that.

I'm not sure what kind of people you associate with harrry, but the people that choose to spend money on a vacation to S.E.Asia and a trip on the Eastern Oriental are not all geriatric. There are many younger wealthy people who find this kind of trip to be an adventure and a look at S.E.A. form a different angle. Some may think the fares quite reasonable, others, like the poor lady who was on the journey and was cancelled had to save up for a long time.

I haven't yet seen a wheelchair - bound passenger, but I'm sure they can be catered for.

Judging by these photos, I can't see too many old farts on the train.

[ratcatcher]

Does not bode well for TAT's desire to attract more affluent tourists . . .

They may have the desire to attract the more affluent but in doing so they may merely attract more effluent.

[transam]

The trains derail, the airplanes crash, the cars have plenty of fatal accidents, the boats sink.

I better stick posting on TVF........feel more safe.

Don't be so sure of that............... ........................

[MaxLee]

The only way of safety in Thailand:

FACE-SAFETY