The Eastern Bangkok Monorail (EBM), the operator of the Yellow Line monorail announced the resumption of services with a frequency of every 10 minutes on Thursday after a wheel fell off a monorail train and hit a taxi in Samut Prakan on Jan2.
Expressing regret over the incident, Keeree Kanjanapas, director of the EBM Co Ltd emphasized the unprecedented nature of such occurrences, previously witnessed only once in China.
The company took immediate action, conducting inspections on all 1,080 wheels of the 21 trains used in the system. The inspection of 624 wheels has been completed, with the remaining expected to finish within the next day or two.
From now on, trains will run every 10 minutes per trip, gradually increasing the frequency until the normal schedule is restored.
Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit warned the ministry would punish concessionaires by putting them on a blacklist if such an accident involving public transportation occurs.
The EBM director said the minister was not specifically targeting his company but was speaking in the broader context of all concessionaires providing services to the government.
The minister wanted them to prioritize safety, considering the responsibility to serve the millions of citizens who rely on public transportation. -819 (TNA)
