All luggage to be scanned at train stations in South

For over a month, passengers and their belongings have had to undergo scanning for bombs and drugs at train stations from Hat Yai to Narathiwat’s Sungai Kolok district. 

Stations with heavy passenger traffic, such as Hat Yai, Yala, Tanyongmas and Sungai Kolok, will now have two scanning devices, which are on par with those used in airports nationwide. 

Smarn Raksawong, an official at the Songkhla train station, said the project was aimed at ensuring safety for passengers and preventing violence as well as combating the drug trade. 

Insurgents are known to smuggle explosives via trains, a popular mode of transport for people in the South, who often become targets of the insurgency. 

Train officials and passengers will have to make adjustments during the three-month trial period, during which officials will be more lenient. “Many passengers are shopkeepers and traders, transporting goods, who cannot take their stuff by air due to restrictions. Hence, we have to be lenient with them and give them time to adjust,” he said. 

However, Smarn said guns, knives or other suspicious items would be seized. 

Apart from the scanning devices, each station will have 10 defence volunteers and two railway police officers. The stations have also been modified so they have clearly marked exits and entrances to allow for efficient checks. 

More than 90 per cent of the passengers have said that they will comply with the checking system even though it is inconvenient. 

Pranom Promcheck, a teacher at Donsala Namwithaya, in Phattalung province, said she felt more confident about using the train service because these scanning devices ensured safety. “Insurgents often target train passengers. Most passengers carry baggage on board and nobody knows if there are dangerous items inside. I feel safer now that scanners are in place,” she said. The trial period will be over in two months, after which train passengers in the South will face strict security measures.