SONGKHLA: Train services to southern border provinces from Hat Yai station will resume on Thursday after security authorities pledged better security measures on the route.
The decision on service resumption was reached after talks that lasted for more than two hours between security officials led by deputy commander of the 4th Army Region Maj Gen Uthis Anantananon and the labour union of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT).
They agreed to resume service of all trains from Hat Yai to Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat on Thursday after authorities promised more patrols on the track and stepped-up security measures on board.
On Wednesday morning, the labour union of the State Railway of Thailand stopped all train services to southern border provinces from Hat Yai district pending talks on security measures after a local train was damaged by a bomb on Monday.
A labour union source said all services from Hat Yai train junction to Sungai Kolok station in Narathiwat province were halted, affecting Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat provinces.
The stoppage was indefinite pending discussions with security authorities and SRT executives on Wednesday afternoon about security on far south trains.
The move follows the bombing of Train No. 452 (Sungai Kolok-Nakhon Si Thammarat) in Khok Pho district of Pattani on Monday. Two railway employees and a passenger were injured.
Hat Yai train junction was quiet on Wednesday morning.
Rapid train No.171 from Bangkok to Sungai Kolok was terminated at Hat Yai. SRT staff arranged vans to carry about 100 passengers to destinations in the three southern border provinces.