PHATTHALUNG, Aug 23 – Eight carriages on a southern train derailed in Phatthalung this morning, with many passengers slightly injured. State Railway of Thailand (SRT) workers are urgently trying to reopen services.
The Malaysia-originated Butterworth train had picked up passengers at Narathiwat’s Su-ngai Kolok station en route to Bangkok’s Hua Lamphong station, but derailed in Phatthalung.
Eight train carriages have slipped from the rail track 200 metres from Ban Khuan Kiam station in Falami subdistrict, Pak Phayun district. There were some 300 passengers on the train and many of them were slightly injured.
SRT staff helped passengers to move their luggage to Ban Khuan Kiam station to transfer them by other transport to their destinations.
According to the initial investigation, the railways sleepers were damaged and could not hold the tracks when the train passed, causing the train to derail.
Ban Khuan Kiam station staff informed the maintenance centre at Hat Yai Junction asking for more engineers and staff to bring in heavy machinery to retrieve the carriages and repair the track to reopen the services.
