Northern train services resume following weekend derailment
Play
Services on all north-bound trains resumed on Monday morning after being suspended since Saturday evening following the derailment of an empty Chiang Mai-Bangkok train in Lamphun.
Lamphun station chief Pichit Dokphut said the derailed Nakhon Phing special express train between Chiang Mai and Bangkok had been successfully retrieved.
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) staff took two days to clear the seven derailed carriages and repair the track, he said. The northern train service between Lampang, Lamphun and Chiang Mai resumed normal operation at 9am this morning.
The Nakhon Phing special express train arrived at Lamphun train station at 9.30am and reached its terminus in Chiang Mai at 10am.
Other local rail services are now operating normally.
The SRT earlier mobilised staff from various stations to repair the tracks and retrieve the locomotive and seven carriages that derailed in a valley near the provincial seat some three kilometres before Nhong Lom Station.
The operation progressed slowly because of continuous rain and the accident happening in a valley, preventing staff from accessing area.
No one was injured in the incident as the train wasn’t carrying passengers when it derailed. The cause of the accident is being investigated.
The SRT executive board has ordered an investigation as derailments, which have occurred at least three times this year, could dampen passenger confidence in train services.
