Train services to the upper Northeast resumed on Friday following Thursday morning’s train-lorry collision at an unmarked crossing in Khon Kaen that claimed five lives and injured 42 other people.
Trains began running again from Ban Nong Kung railway station in tambon Sila of Khon Kaen’s Muang district, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) said.
Railway work gangs took more than six hours to clear the wreckage and repair the damaged track.
The wreckage of the demolished 10-wheel truck hit by the train in the picture, Khon Kaen province. (Photo by Jakkrapan Nathanri)
Twenty-seven damaged sleepers on the track were replaced. Limited train services resumed at 10.49pm on Thursday before resuming as normal on Friday.
Five people were killed and 42 injured, 12 seriously, when a Nong Khai-Ratchasima passenger train hit a 10-wheel lorry which cut across the tracks at a makeshift crossing near Ban Nong Kung railway station about 10.30am on Thursday.
The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital. One of them was discharged from the hospital on Friday, while the others remained under medical treatment. Most sustained minor injuries, but one was seriously injured.
Araya Pinthadit, deputy director of SRT railway operations, on Friday visited the injured passengers at the hospital. He promised to compensate families of the dead and injured people.
Although there was no crossing barrier at Ban Nong Kung railway station, there was a clear warning sign, he said.
The SRT planned to build an automatic crossing barrier in the area to prevent a recurrence of the crash.
Damage from Thursday’s collision was estimated at over 2 million baht.
Natthapong Bunyen, manager of Viriyah Insurance Co’s northeastern branch office, said tha truck was insured and Viriyah would pay compensation to families of the dead victims.