Five Killed in Train Crash in Thailand's Lop Buri Province by Phakamat Rattanakorn 18-2-2003 Five people were killed and 45 injured after a freight train collided head-on with an express passenger train in Thailand's Lop Buri province. The freight train travelling from northeastern Udon Thani to the eastern seaport of Lam Chabang smashed into the express train which was carrying some 300 passengers from the capital Bangkok to northeastern Nong Khai province. Four of 14 cars of the express train crashed off track and caught fire, police said. Damage to the trains was estimated at 50 million baht. The crash was blamed on the lack of a transceiver, which the State Railway of Thailand said it could not afford to pay for the device. The crash occurred shortly before midnight on February 5, 2003 in Lop Buri province, 153 kilometers north of Bangkok. Authorities said three of the 45 injured were in a serious condition but were expected to survive. Police said there was speculation that the accident was caused by brake failure on the freight train, but the governor of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) said the cause would be determined only after a five-day probe. "There were two possible causes, including a brake system failure or the freight train running over the speed limit," officials quoted SRT governor Chitsanti Dhanasobhon as saying. Chitsanti Dhanasobhon, governor of the State Railway of Thailand, said an inquiry had been set up and was expected to deliver its findings in five days. It was too early to be sure but the accident could have been caused by a freight train brake failure or the driver's failure to wait at a siding. "There had been no communication problems, as far as I know," said the governor at first. Later he said that it had been partly caused by communications problems. A freight train is required to wait and let a passenger train go first. The freight train driver reported loss of brakes to officers at Khok Khlee station after the train failed to stop there and change tracks. The train then crashed into the Bangkok-Nong Khai passenger train, which had left Phaendin Thong station, at 11pm. An assistant chief at Khok Khlee station, who asked not to be named, said he had radioed Phaendin Thong station and told the station officer there not to release the passenger train. However, he was told that it had already left. The assistant chief said he then tried to contact the driver of the passenger train, but to no avail. He said he eventually contacted an officer at the rear of the passenger train, who pulled the emergency brake. The five people pronounced dead at the scene are Bunpok Nakbutr--driver of the passenger train--two passenger-train cleaners, and two passengers. Mr Chitsanti said it would take two days to clear the wreckage. Rail services to Nong Khai and Udon Thani would continue but there might be some inconvenience. Trains going to the two northeastern provinces would have to detour via Nakhon Ratchasima. The five killed in the train accident were identified as passenger train driver Boonpob Nakbutr, and passengers Saowarot Mangkalakul, Songwut Thienkham, Chalerm Tasoong and Khomsan Ya-ngarn. Most of the injured were discharged from hospital on February 6. Mr Chitsanti said relatives of the dead and the injured could claim compensation from the SRT. The immediate family of a dead victim would receive 100,000 baht in compensation, while each of the injured would get 10,000 baht. The SRT would also pay their medical expenses. (1 US Dollar = 42.88 Thai Baht) Crash blamed on lack of transceiver - SRT cannot afford to pay for the device A shortage of communication devices was partly to blame the train collision in Lop Buri, said the state railway authority chief the day after the crash. Chitsanti Dhanasobhon also dismissed reports that a brake failure caused the accident involving a freight train and a rapid passenger train near the Koke Kli station. Mr Chitsanti said the freight train was running downhill just before it collided head-on with the passenger train bound for Nong Khai. The freight train was supposed to wait at a siding at the Koke Kli station and let the passenger train pass first. The freight train driver apparently could not pull to a stop as the train had been allowed to go too fast downhill, he said. The SRT governor maintained railway officials at all stations nearby were in constant contact prior to the accident. Initial investigations showed railway officials tried to warn the passenger train driver of the on-coming goods train, but the driver could not be reached because he did not have a radio transceiver, the governor said. Mr Chitsanti said the SRT did not have sufficient funds to equip its train drivers with a transceiver. They had to pay for the device themselves if they wanted one. A budget would be set aside to acquire more communication devices, he added. Mr Chitsanti said SRT trains were fitted either with an air-suction braking system or an air-compression type. The air-suction type was more effective, but old trains were equipped with the air-compression system including the freight train involved in this collision. The employees who died would also be given posthumous promotions, and their families would receive financial assistance worth more than two million baht, he said. Meanwhile, an SRT source said owners of goods carried on board the freight train had rushed to retrieve their goods after the accident, sparking suspicion that the train might have been overloaded and certain parties had to empty the cargo hold in a hurry to avoid criminal prosecution. The cargo-weighing procedures were also lax because of corruption among train company officials and the freight train might have carried a heavier load than legally permitted.