All northbound trains resume normal service schedules

May 28, 2012

LAMPHUN, May 28 -- All northbound trains resumed service Monday morning after being suspended since Saturday evening because of the derailment of an empty Chiang Mai-Bangkok train in the northern province of Lamphun.

Lamphun station chief Pichit Dokphut said that the derailed Nakhon Phing special express train between Chiang Mai and Bangkok has 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. Northern train service between Lampang, Lamphun and Chiang Mai resumed normal operation at 9am this morning.

The Nakhon Phing special express train arrived at Lumphun train station at 9.30am and reached its terminus in Chiang Mai at 10am.

Other local rail services are operating normally now.

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 which provided an obstacle for staff to access for work.

No one was wounded in the incident, as there were no passengers on the train when it derailed. The cause of the accident is being probed.

The SRT executive board ordered an investigation as derailments which have occurred at least three times this year could dampen passenger confidence in train services. (MCOT online news)

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