SRT Electric Train Co, which runs the Airport Rail Link, may have had the nerve to admit that its own management errors have caused delays to eight of its trains undergoing a major maintenance programme. But this bravado does not make the oversights less embarrassing.
The company may have forgotten that it is responsible for the safety of thousands of Thai and foreign commuters who rely on the service each day.
The integrity of its trains and rail service can never be compromised. It is thus shocking that the company would simply tell the public that it has no choice but to continue the train services while letting the public travel on them at their own risk.
Making do with a mass transport service is never a good idea. It could easily risk tragedy.
On Wednesday, SRT Electric Train's acting president Kamrob Leeyawanich admitted that maintenance work for the Airport Rail Link trains has had to be pushed back by more than a year to next October.
What is even more worrisome is that the maintenance, which requires a major overhaul of the trains that have clocked up more than one million kilometres, should have started in April.
ACM Kamrob admitted that the trains have missed their scheduled servicing because the company had made mistakes in managing the maintenance plan, budget approval and spare parts procurement.
According to him, the company has yet to hire foreign experts who will be able to implement the maintenance programme.
As for the spare parts necessary for the overhaul, SRT Electric Train has not even imported them yet.
All this sounds unbelievably bad.
The mistakes that the acting president cited make the Airport Rail Link appear like an unprofessional train service provider.
The company did not give any reason why such a series of errors was allowed to happen nor did it promise a disciplinary probe or appropriate remedial action.
Following the revelation, ACM Kamrob said a budget of 380 million baht has finally been approved for the maintenance programme.
He said the budget will allow some minor repair work to begin in December which will allow the company to extend the service periods for each train a little longer until the entire fleet is fixed, which should take a year.
ACM Kamrob insisted that even though the trains are typically required to undergo an overhaul after covering 1.2 million km, the maximum mileage could be extended by 10%.
At present, the train with the most mileage has travelled 1.28 million km. That leaves only some 40,000 km for the train to travel before it exceeds the outer maintenance limit.
The margin appears too small to provide comfort for the travelling public.
At present, the Airport Rail Link has already suspended its Phaya Thai express line because it does not have enough trains to run the service.
Despite the budget approval, there is no assurance that it will be able to hire the qualified experts in time for the maintenance to take place or that it has planned for the spare parts procurement yet.
The management mistakes at the Airport Rail Link are a cause for concern for people who have to use its service.
The apparent inability by the company's management to recognise how serious the oversights can be and to realise that there is a need for it to ensure that such mistakes do not happen again make for a disturbing trend that brings into question the efficiency of its entire management team.