Two trains end up on same track at Hua Lamphong

Two trains end up on same track at Hua Lamphong

Two empty passenger trains push up against each other as they arrive on the same switching track at Hua Lamphong station in Bangkok on Saturday morning. (Photo by 'Winya41')
Two empty passenger trains push up against each other as they arrive on the same switching track at Hua Lamphong station in Bangkok on Saturday morning. (Photo by 'Winya41')

The State Railway of Thailand is investigating how two passenger trains managed to end up on the same track at Hua Lamphong station in Bangkok on Saturday morning. The incident caused a derailment but no injuries.

The move came after images of the two empty trains squeezing onto the same track went viral online.

SRT deputy governor Thanongsak Pongprasert said the incident happened at 6.45am at the capital's main station. It involved ordinary passenger train No.285 running between Bangkok and Chachoengsao and rapid train No.78 operating on the Nong Khai-Bangkok route.

The Chachoengsao-bound train was moving from a garage to pick up passengers waiting at the station while the other train was about to go a nearby garage after dropping off all its passengers. 

The trains suddenly moved onto the switching track between tracks No 9 and 10 at the same time. They pressed against each other on the same track as the switching mechanism apparently failed to stop one of them. 

The two left rear wheels of the Nong Khai-bound train lifted off the track and resulted in a derailment. Two front wheels of the first car of the Chachongsao train also were lifted off the track, said the deputy governor.

The two trains were later removed from the track and services continued to operate as normal.

Mr Narongsak said the incident caused no injuries as the trains were not moving at high speed and the incident occurred outside the public service areas.

Thai media later quoted Mr Thanongsak as saying that human error, in the form of poor communication, caused the incident. A disciplinary investigation is planned as state property was damaged, he added.

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