SONGKHLA: Train services from Bangkok to Hat Yai resumed on Saturday after the southern tourist town was disrupted by flooding last Sunday (Dec 18).
However, train services from Hat Yai to Padang Besar remained suspended, as repair works on tracks damaged by two bomb blasts in Sadao district early this month were not yet complete.
At Hat Yai junction, passengers arrived at the station early Saturday morning to buy tickets after services on local trains and Bangkok-bound trains resumed on the first day.
Heavy downpour had inundated railway routes in Songkhla and Phatthalung provinces, causing railway authorities to halt services from trains that departed Hat Yai station since last Sunday.
Bangkok-bound trains provided services on Saturday were train No. 31/32 Bangkok-Hat Yai-Bangkok, train No. 37/38 Bangkok-Sungai Kolok-Bangkok, train No. 45/46 Bangkok-Padang Besar-Bangkok (at Hat Yai destination only), train No. 169/170 Bangkok-Sungai Kolok-Bangkok, train No. 171/172 Bangkok-Sungai Kolok-Bangkok and train No. 985 Bangkok-Sungai Kolok.
Train services on Hat Yai-Padang Besar were expected to resume on Tuesday (Dec 27) following the two bombings in Sadao. The first bomb that occurred on Dec 3 caused a freight train to derail and the second blast on Dec 6 killed three railway workers and injured four of their colleagues.
Hat Yai junction in Songkhla province. (Photo: Assawin Pakkawan)