Safe, clean, punctual trains: is it too much to ask?

Following a lengthy court battle, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) has agreed to pay Bt5.2 million in compensation to a woman passenger who was raped by a sleeper-train worker 13 years ago. Earlier this year, the rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl, also by a sleeper-train worker, raised public concern over the safety of travelling by train.

Passenger safety is just one among many problems that have been haunting the SRT for decades. 

The railway operator became a state enterprise in 1951, making it one of the country’s oldest. It is also among the most uneconomic, with estimated accumulated losses totalling Bt50 billion. 

And it’s not just regular train routes that are a drain on public funds, but also the Airport Rail Link. The SRT’s Bt100-billion electric train project connecting Suvarnabhumi Airport with downtown Bangkok is still operating at a loss. 

Much of the SRT’s revenue comes from the long-term lease of its properties across the country. Among its Bt120 billion in assets are coveted plots in Bangkok and other provinces, some of them harvesting high rental fees from shopping malls and hotels.

Thailand’s rail service began 117 years ago during the reign of King Rama V, when carriages were still pulled by steam locomotives. At that time the country was among the first in the region, if not the continent, to boast the then-modern means of transport.

But more than a century later, Thailand’s train service now lags behind those offered by our regional neighbours and, indeed, much of Asia. Plagued by complaints of chronic delays, lack of passenger safety, poor service and frequent accidents, rail travel here has lost the popularity it enjoys across much of the rest of the world.    

In response there are calls for reform of the SRT to improve its efficiency and reduce its huge losses. One promising proposal is for structural change that splits the operator into two parts – one to manage property and the other to oversee train services.

However, attempts by previous governments to overhaul the SRT have met with strong opposition from its powerful labour union. Strikes by train workers have forced administrations to shelve their reform plans. 

But after decades of financial losses and mounting public dissatisfaction at poor service, it is clear that the SRT is in urgent need of reform. It is now the responsibility of the government of General Prayut Chan-o-cha to make that happen. If deep and wide-ranging structural reform should prove too difficult, changes must at least be made to improve passenger safety, punctuality of trains, their cleanliness and the general service.

To mark 117 years of the Thai railway, the SRT has adopted the pledge “We will return as a national pride again”. Rail travel might have been a source of great pride for Thailand in a previous age, but those days are long gone and show little sign of returning any time soon. For the SRT to keep its promise and reverse years of disappointing performance, lawmakers must have the courage to set a new direction for the state enterprise.