All rail services in Thai South suspended after train derailment

BANGKOK, May 5 (TNA) - A Bang Sue–Hat Yai cargo train derailed Saturday afternoon in Thailand’s southern Nakhon Si Thanmarat province, injuring 2 people and resulting in a temporary suspension of all rail services on the country's southern routes. An official at the Chong Khao Railway Station in Nakhon Si Thanmarat's Ron Pi Bun District said that the 19 bogie-train, number 721, derailed after passing some 300 meters from a tunnel located near the station, and that the aging rail line was initially assumed to be the cause of the derailment; while a thorough investigation on the incident is underway. Police Colonel Prawit Chantabat, who went to inspect the scene, confirmed that there were two injured men who were sent for treatment at a nearby hospital and were later declared safe. According to the police officer, all the 19 bogies of the train were derailed and an over 100-meter-section of the rail line has been damaged, with its repairs expected to cost at least 10 million baht. Meanwhile, Virasak Ditrak, a chief railway maintenance engineer at Ron Pi Bun district, said that it will take at least a week to remove the train out of the rail line before maintenance operation can be carry out to repair the track. (TNA)