The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) is hastening modification work on train doors so that they are compatible with both the old lower platforms and the new, higher ones being made for its new double-track rail system.
The SRT is still in the process of raising the height of its platforms to 1.1 metres and as this transition period continues, the doors of all trains -- old and new -- will require modification to ensure safe disembarkation on both the old and new platforms, acting SRT governor Worawut Mala said on Thursday.
The modification work is expected to be completed by the end of this month, he said.
The task has been divided into three sub-tasks, he added.
In the first task group, a total of 20 third-class trains are being modified and another 40 such trains will be modified after work on these 20 trains is completed.
The SRT has already started using some of the modified trains as of March 25.
In the second task group, 16 out of all 42 trains with diesel locomotives used for local operation services have already been modified, while work on the remaining trains is being streamlined and is expected to be done very soon.
In the third task group, the SRT plans to modify all 20 trains with diesel locomotives used for services which operate on Bangkok routes only.
So far, 10 have already been modified and the remainder will be completed by the end of this month, Mr Worawut said.
During modification, each train carriage will be converted to have two doors. The front door will be used for the lower platforms while the back door is for the new, higher platforms.
The train driver will control switching between the opening of old and new doors.
Signs will be also put on the new doors to inform passengers that they are only to be used on the new, higher platforms.
Aside from modifying these trains, the SRT also plans to purchase 184 new air-conditioned carriages with diesel locomotives to be used from between 2022 and 2023 onwards.
The SRT is seeking permission from the government about this new train procurement project. "We plan to add another 216 new diesel trains in the future," he said.
Meanwhile, since not all trains have been modified to make them compatible with both old and new platforms yet, SRT staff are being instructed pay extra attention to ensure passenger safety as they disembark from a train onto a platform that is not at the same level as the door.