In Tested of a tragic accident final week in Chachoengsao, the place a freight prepare collided with a pickup truck at an unrecognised railway crossing, taking eight lives and injuring three, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) resolved to close 693 unauthorised railway crossings across Thailand.
The accident happened on an unauthorised crossing, missing official signalling mechanisms. Of the 437 incidents involving trains that transpired between 2005 and 2021, SRT knowledge signifies that 44% occurred at illegal crossings.
Tayakorn Chandrangsu, SRT Director of Safety and Maintenance, yesterday revealed that Thailand’s 4,000-kilometre railway network boasts 2,697 level crossings. Some 2,004 of these have the official stamp of approval while 693 don’t. The unauthorised crossings due for closure are distributed erratically across the country, with 52 in the north, fifty four within the northeast, 68 within the east, and 519 within the south.
Freebie said the persistence of locals in utilising these unauthorised railway crossings as they usually present essentially the most direct and handy route to their chosen destination.
The SRT previously urged each province to formulate efficient options to minimize back accidents at degree railway crossings, but the end result has been unsatisfactory and underwhelming, based on Chandrangsu.
In discussions about preventative measures taken by the SRT, he talked about the closure of some illegal railway crossing points, which however led to protests from residents. Despite the closure, locals would discover ways to reopen these passages.
In addition to plans for shutting down illegal railway crossings, the SRT intends to assemble further walkways across the rail network, primarily in communities bisected by railway tracks. Encouraging the usage of the DRT’s Crossing Application app, which allows customers to flag points with local crossings, is one other measure on the agenda, reported Bangkok Post. Chandrangsu said…