The driver of a trailer truck was killed and a woman seriously injured when a passenger train slammed into the 18-wheel vehicle at a railway crossing in Pak Tho district of Ratchaburi on Saturday morning.
The accident occurred at 10.40am in Bo Takro village of tambon Bo Padan, said Pol Lt Theerasak Yimjoey, a duty officer at the Pak Tho police station.
He said the No 38 train from Sungai Kolok to Bangkok was travelling at high speed when it encountered the truck about to cross the tracks at the crossing, which had no barrier.
The impact of the collision badly damaged the trailer, which bore a Ratchaburi licence plate, detaching the front from the body. Driver Prawit sae Tan, 53, was killed instantly. A woman, identified later as Supat Sangthong, 45, was seriously injured and rushed to a nearby hospital, said police.
A preliminary investigation found that the trailer, which was travelling from Pak Tho to tambon Khu Bua, had been forced to edge close to the tracks because a nearby signpost was blocking the driver's view.
Police said they would ask the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) to set aside funds to build a barrier at the crossing as there had been frequent accidents in the area.
A Transport Ministry survey last year showed that the country has a total of 2,517 railway crossings, but only 775 have been approved by the SRT. The rest are unregulated and few have barriers.
In the 12-month period to Sept 30 last year, official statistics show, 127 accidents took place at both illegal and legal rail crossings, leaving 27 dead and 91 injured.
About 87% of rail crossing accidents happen where there are no barricades, officials say.